Andersen WD Ball Housing Maintenence

jerem0621 wrote:
I spoke with Andersen and they admitted that they do not do as good a job at WD as a spring bar hitch.

They said that they control bounce better and makes for a smoother ride.

I think its a great hitch for a HD truck that really doesn't need much WD but does need some and needs some sway control. i may be speaking out of turn, but its a $450.00 gamble I am not willing to take at this point.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

I have also spoken to them about scale weights and distribution, their response was "it's a little soft on weight distribution, specifically on trailers with tongue weight in the area of 1000 lbs. It works great with lighter tongue weight."

My tongue weight is in the 1000 lb area, and it meets my truck's specs on wieght distribution.

My old hitch (wore it out) was a standard trunion bar type. It may have transferred a little more weight (don't know, never hit the scales with it), but the bouncing, sway control (friction bar), and the noise were much worse than with the Andersen.

I actually had purchased two hitches, Andersen (I had heard about the weight transfer issue, but, liked the other features) and a Blue Ox Swaypro. Figured I'd send the Andersen back, if it didn't perform. I tried the Blue Ox first (installation looked faster) and had a trunion bar break within a mile. I was leaving on a trip in two days, and Blue Ox sent one "overnight". That was on a Friday, Monday morning I left with the Andersen, and four years later, I'm still using it.

There can be issues with any hitch. You're looking at less than 500 lbs tongue weight. I don't think the Andersen hitch would be any gamble for your setup, but, I might feel the same as you, if I had not tried one.

What ever you decide, get the hitch and tow with it, before you are ready to leave on an extended trip.