Andersen Aluminum Ultimate and RAM OEM puck

[eb145]

Just passing along some information to help others out that might be in the same situation I am now in.

I have a 2014 RAM 3500 SRW crew cab with the RAM OEM 5th wheel prep.

I just purchased the Andersen Aluminum Ultimate 5th wheel hitch (goose neck version) and I ordered the Andersen safety chains to use with it. I will be using the safety chains to minimize the chance of the trailer falling off the rear of the truck in case of goose ball failure, as well as to help keep the trailer out of the back seat of the truck cab in case of a collision.

I purchased the Curt brand goose neck ball and safety chain anchor kit that is compatible with the RAM OEM 5th wheel prep.

And when I went to do a test assembly last night I found a little surprise / incompatibility:

It turns out the Curt safety chain anchors can't be used in my truck with the Andersen hitch. The reason is the Curt safety chain anchors are manufactured with an angle to the anchor loops and they use a pin that needs to be clipped on that interfere with the base of the Andersen pyramid. Here is a picture of the Curt product:


The angle on the anchor loops and the way the pin is used to secure the anchor loop to the truck just doesn't work in my setup.

So,I looked closely at pictures of the Reese brand gooseneck ball and safety chain anchor and I see it will work with my setup so I ordered it. You can see the Reese brand anchor chain is a different shape and has a different attachment mechanism that will not interfere with the Andersen pyramid base.


So in summary, the Curt brand safety chain anchors fit my 2014 RAM 3500 SRW crew cab but they can't be used with the Andersen Aluminum Ultimate 5th wheel hitch due to the shape of the Curt brand anchors.

Hopefully this information will save someone the aggravation of discovering this for themselves the hard way.

Ed

[ranchertx]

rskeans wrote:

rhagfo wrote:

rskeans wrote:
He's not pulling it with a goose neck. He's just using the goose neck ball in the truck bed. The Andersen attaches to the bed goose neck ball. The advantage is that he has full use of the truck bed when removing the 32 lb hitch. Check out Andersen ultimate 5th wheel hitch to understand what's happening.

Call it what you want, it is still a ball hitch, and requires safety chains in most states. It is not a 5et wheel in the true terms of pin and ball.

True. Safety Chains are certainly not a big deal. When I plug in to the 7-pin, and connect my 'break-away' switch, I also spend about 2 seconds each slapping the safety chains on the Eye-Bolts. I'm not sure I understand the revelance of your last sentence.

Fyi, in Texas, no safety chains required.

[Me_Again]

e-light wrote:
Awesome! Youre going to love the way it feels while towing. Im heading out for an 1800 mile round trip with mine tomorrow. Cant wait...stress free. Congrats enjoy!

Why would it feel any different than any other 5th wheel hitch?

How many other 5th wheel hitches have you towed with?

Or are you refering to towing a 5th wheel vs a bumper pull?

Chris

[e-light]

Awesome! Youre going to love the way it feels while towing. Im heading out for an 1800 mile round trip with mine tomorrow. Cant wait...stress free. Congrats enjoy!

[Sport45]

Looks good! Thanks for sharing.

[eb145]

OP here.

Well my Reese Gooseball and Safety Chain Anchors arrived yesterday. However, it was raining yesterday so I finally tested it all together today. And it turns out that yes, they are compatible with the puck system and this hitch in my 2014 RAM 3500. Both sides are attached and they fit together and function just fine.

I had to buy a 5/8" shackle from a trailer store near me to connect the chain to the anchor. The smaller shackle on the end of the chain (see picture below) came with the Andersen safety chain kit - but it is way too small to fit on the Reese safety chain anchor. The anchor is pretty hefty.

Here is a picture of one side:



Details of what I purchased that worked together:
- Andersen Aluminum Ultimate 5th wheel hitch
- Andersen safety chain kit for the Ultimate 5th wheel hitch
- Reese Gooseneck for RAM OEM kit (that comes with the 2 safety chain anchors)
- 5/8" shackle

And the lesson I learned earlier is that the Curt brand gooseneck and safety chain kit for the RAM OEM system is NOT compatible with this hitch because the Curt safety chain anchors have a 45 degree offset to them (see the original post for pictures).

Ed

[Sport45]

Orezona wrote:
This thread looks a lot like diesel forum threads 10-12 years ago.

It does, doesn't it?

People get so engrossed in what looks or feels right they put their blinders on to engineering principles and calculations.

It's also similar to the old "destined to fail" arguments about aluminum heads on a diesel. Seemed that worked out well enough for GM and now Ford is using aluminum heads too.

After the Andersen has been out for a decade or so and nobody is reporting failures the arguments will quietly fade away.

[DirtyOil]

I wonder how many Fifth wheel hitches have failed to lock properly and ruining a truck bed in the meantime? A lot I imagine since I know a couple of guys that had issue myself.

X2... yes I have to raise my fiver a few inches higher to "hook-up", but once I've lowered it onto the "ball" I don't have to worry about mistakenly having it slide out of the hitch and onto the box rails!

[Cummins12V98]

gtsum wrote:
I use the B&W drop in hitch for the pucks (and love it), but I can see the advantages to the Anderson as well. If they would have had a hitch that drops into the 4 pucks directly (without need for adapter), I would have seriously considered it (I feel better about having 4 points directly on the frame of the truck for the hitch...but thats just me and I am a newb to 5th's

With your weight and mine we are running the appropriate hitch. I would not have a problem with the Andersen on a much lighter RV.

[gtsum]

I use the B&W drop in hitch for the pucks (and love it), but I can see the advantages to the Anderson as well. If they would have had a hitch that drops into the 4 pucks directly (without need for adapter), I would have seriously considered it (I feel better about having 4 points directly on the frame of the truck for the hitch...but thats just me and I am a newb to 5th's

[Orezona]

This thread looks a lot like diesel forum threads 10-12 years ago.

[ranchertx]

DirtyOil wrote:
Until someone reports or posts on a RV forum, a bent frame or broken welds on a frame using the Andersen Ultimate Fifth wheel hitch, I will continue to use mine.


FYI from Grand design, check last post.

http://www.granddesignowners.com/forum/showthread.php/1121-Anderson-Ultimate-Fifth-Wheel-Hitch

They won't post a failure because it has not happened, and as I posted above Anderson is so sure their product is safe that they give you a 5 million dollar product liability guarantee. There will always be skeptics, and they certainly have a choice to buy something different if they want.
I know when I bought mine, at the time, I had a brand new 13 Ram with factory prep, a trip lined up, and n one had a fifth wheel hitch to fit my truck. I was not going to put a Gooseneck adapter on a 23,000 lb mobile suite and found the Anderson product. I called them and questioned them a lot before I bought it. Since then I have found NO evidence of product failure reported and no one has reported any frame damage.
I wonder how many Fifth wheel hitches have failed to lock properly and ruining a truck bed in the meantime? A lot I imagine since I know a couple of guys that had issue myself.

[DirtyOil]

Until someone reports or posts on a RV forum, a bent frame or broken welds on a frame using the Andersen Ultimate Fifth wheel hitch, I will continue to use mine.


FYI from Grand design, check last post.

http://www.granddesignowners.com/forum/showthread.php/1121-Anderson-Ultimate-Fifth-Wheel-Hitch

[N-Trouble]

There is nothing difficult or time consuming about hooking up the Andersen. So easy my wife has done it.

[Me_Again]

pressure_welder wrote:
haha first and formost I would never put a gooseneck adapter on my fifth wheel for numerous reasons, HUGE leverage point for one... on an already weak king pin support structure constructed by the RV manufacturer, they fail on their own with just the king pin I can just visualize the stress put on it with a gooseneck adapter. Secondly being a high pressure pipe welder ill tell you right now aluminium fatigues far quicker than steel and is much more susceptible to stress induced cracking when dynamically loaded I don't really care what their "crush" force shows. Ask me how many aluminium semi trailers ive fixed with superstructure cracking in the heat affected zone. To each their own for sure, but ill continue to lift my 100LB 20K fifth wheel hitch into my truck once a year and keep my piece of mind!

Couple all of that with a single mounting point for those that attach to a gooseneck ball and see what happens in a wreck. The trailer is 10 or 20 times more likely break free and crush the truck. Whoops, I forgot it passed a vertical crush test! Maybe two safety chains will hold back a 14-16K missile. Chris

[pressure_welder]

haha first and formost I would never put a gooseneck adapter on my fifth wheel for numerous reasons, HUGE leverage point for one... on an already weak king pin support structure constructed by the RV manufacturer, they fail on their own with just the king pin I can just visualize the stress put on it with a gooseneck adapter. Secondly being a high pressure pipe welder ill tell you right now aluminium fatigues far quicker than steel and is much more susceptible to stress induced cracking when dynamically loaded I don't really care what their "crush" force shows. Ask me how many aluminium semi trailers ive fixed with superstructure cracking in the heat affected zone. To each their own for sure, but ill continue to lift my 100LB 20K fifth wheel hitch into my truck once a year and keep my piece of mind!