Andersen Aluminum Ultimate Hitch Redesigned

[jerem0621]

I follow Andersen hitches on Facebook and they have announced a redesign of their Aluminum Ultimate Fifth Wheel Hitch...here are some screen shots of the Facebook post.





Thanks!

Jeremiah

[minnow]

LEt's not forget that Andersen has a competitor to this design as well. Pullrite with their SuperLite 20K 5th Wheel Hitch Adapter. I would imagine Pullrite did their due diligence when designing their version of the Andersen. If this was such a faulty design, I doubt you'd have another competitor entering this market.

[SabreCanuck]

Bobandshawn wrote:


I think seeing one small issues with the Andersen bending slightly under a panic brake situation does not tell me the company has a failed product. I'd be suspect the person did not have the brake controller set properly or had bad brakes on the rig. The trailer had to be putting a heck of a lot of forward weight pressure on that hitch to do that which would indicate something was wrong with his trailer brake system. My trailer doesn't push me through an intersection when I brake hard. In a perfect world the braking should be fairly neutral with the TV stopping itself and the trailer stopping itself. Now in a front end collision I can understand hitch failure. And if he did indeed have a partial or total brake failure of the trailer I'd say the hitch held up fine.

Could not agree more with this statement.
I have yet to see one single Anderson hitch FAILURE. I saw the same pictures as everyone else and saw a hitch DAMAGED but it didn't Fail. Sorry, I'm on the team of "It's just as good a hitch as the rest".

The nay-sayers will still continue with their bashing of the 'bent' hitch being a catastrophic failure and the company is on the brink of massive law suits and recalls. At the end of the day, under the impressive description of the incident, the hitch did it's job and kept the trailer BEHIND the truck. It did not FAIL as seems to be thrown around quite rapidly.

For me, it's irrelevant as my used truck came with the Reese hitch already on it. So, this continues to be pure entertainment for me but not so sure about anyone actually shopping. 🙂

I hope those shopping are taking into consideration that anyone that has ever bought anything has 'the best' and the rest of the available product is probably sub-par to what they currently own. Even if they have never actually used it. Not just this topic but in general.

P.S.. to those -> My GMC is better than your Dodge. 🙂

[WTP-GC]

Bobandshawn wrote:

I think seeing one small issues with the Andersen bending slightly under a panic brake situation does not tell me the company has a failed product. I'd be suspect the person did not have the brake controller set properly or had bad brakes on the rig. The trailer had to be putting a heck of a lot of forward weight pressure on that hitch to do that which would indicate something was wrong with his trailer brake system. My trailer doesn't push me through an intersection when I brake hard. In a perfect world the braking should be fairly neutral with the TV stopping itself and the trailer stopping itself. Now in a front end collision I can understand hitch failure. And if he did indeed have a partial or total brake failure of the trailer I'd say the hitch held up fine.

There's been several comments similar to yours, which basically all echo the same thought: was there a problem with TV brakes or 5er brakes, was it setup properly, what were the circumstances, etc. We should be reminded of the exact words of the person who posted this:

"After about 7000 miles of flawless performance, I had a problem with it. We had a panic stop, going down a pretty steep hill. Brakes to the floor, anti-locks chattering, wife screaming, you get the picture. Pretty much the worst case scenario for putting lateral stress on a hitch, short of running into a wall, train, semi, etc."

A few salient points to consider:
1. The guy clearly had some sort of equipment failure related to the brake system which contributed to his circumstances.
2. This fellow is the only verifiable incident of having sustaining hitch damage I've seen. THE ONLY VERIFIABLE ONE. I don't consider the one single negative Amazon review to be valid, especially since folks clearly aren't buying these from Amazon.
3. Later in that thread on CumminsForum, the guy states that he installed his hitch based upon the original instructions (tighten/torque bolts then connect trailer), whereas the new instructions tell you to do that AND re-torque after the trailer is connected. From personal experience, I can tell you that after the trailer weight is on it, it does need to be re-torqued. No doubt that this very likely contributed to his issue.
4. He stated that he towed at 15K or 15,500 pounds. His truck is noted in his sig line, and without knowing all the details, its safe to say that, at those numbers, he's on the upper end of his TV's limits.

Contrary to the point that some folks are trying to make, Andersen didn't just dream up some sort of hitch arrangement, fab it up, crush it, and then put it on the market. Some engineer(s) had to dutifully take the time to evaluate every known criteria related to all the forces applied to this hitch. That person(s) has professional licenses, education, and experience in this field. Some person(s) has assigned their livlihood and career to this design, and some insurance company is standing behind it.

It has become foolish to continue to debate this matter. Andersen is the proprietor of the design, and the engineering is in their favor. If anyone wishes to further doubt the structural attributes of their product, then bring the engineering to the table and prove it. Talking about locking the hitch or safety chains or how it may deflect your bed is fair game in the name of product improvement. But discussing structural matters is truly a moot point without facts and figures.

[laknox]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

laknox wrote:

Me Again wrote:


(snipped to keep the mods happy 🙂 )


If your hitch is full forward as mine was in my 11 Dually then sitting still the pin is directly above the post that the hitch attaches to. Now you push and pull the RV and the load transfers to the base. If you have the spacers then the road gets transferred to the bed rails and then to the frame.

Now if you have the hitch mounted towards the back then there is weight directly being placed from the base to the bed just sitting there.

The additional "weight" transferred to the bed is the rotational force applied when starting/stopping. The main hold-down pin and under-frame mount still carries the majority of the weight. Think about why most of us won't use a GN adapter because of the extra stresses on the FW frame. Now, raise the hitch point up into the same plane as our FW hitches and that rotational force has to go somewhere, and that's to the bed. The pin still carries the weight, as I keep saying, the bed picks up the stresses from the rotational forces.

FWIW, I just emailed B&W and we'll see what =they= say about it. 🙂

Lyle

[Bobandshawn]

LOL Over the years all of those companies have indeed had upgrades. they do that to have a better product. I don't think Andersen is upgrading their product as they know the NTHSA is going to take those deadly Ultimate hitches off the road. Google Andersen hitch failures. Not much there other than forums with this sort of stuff. Try to fine unsatisfied users of the hitch, not many there. Customers are the best advertisers.
Now look up Reese problems/failures.
Here is one. http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27647785.cfm

Pullrite: http://tinyurl.com/hdk8h2x



I think seeing one small issues with the Andersen bending slightly under a panic brake situation does not tell me the company has a failed product. I'd be suspect the person did not have the brake controller set properly or had bad brakes on the rig. The trailer had to be putting a heck of a lot of forward weight pressure on that hitch to do that which would indicate something was wrong with his trailer brake system. My trailer doesn't push me through an intersection when I brake hard. In a perfect world the braking should be fairly neutral with the TV stopping itself and the trailer stopping itself. Now in a front end collision I can understand hitch failure. And if he did indeed have a partial or total brake failure of the trailer I'd say the hitch held up fine.

[fj12ryder]

"If folks think the hitch is going to fold up on them when they hit the brakes they may consider putting brakes on the trailer. Those trailer brakes really take a lot of that pushing load off the hitch/truck. I don't have a 5th wheel, but my tow behind 31' Keystone has brakes on all 4 wheels. Really helps from my truck hitch getting torn off in a panic stop."

Honestly if I was worried about my hitch giving way during a hard stop if I lost trailer brakes, which does happen, I'd be looking for a new hitch. The Anderson lightweight obviously has a bit of an issue with that.

"Hopefully BW, Reese, Curt, Hensley, Pullrite and all the others never upgrade their stuff. as that would imply they had failures."

Maybe they just got it right the first time. 🙂 You know the old saying: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." 🙂

[Bobandshawn]

LOL I think Andersen must be an oil or tire company as it gets plenty of attention.
What I have learned reading these 12 pages of stuff.

No reason the Andersen latch can't be locked, you just need to build or buy a lockable box for it. I'd say worrying about a zombie apocalypse is much higher on my list than me driving off with my hitch not latched, the awning still down, the poo pipe still attached, a wheel missing, the wife still in the rig.

If folks think the hitch is going to fold up on them when they hit the brakes they may consider putting brakes on the trailer. Those trailer brakes really take a lot of that pushing load off the hitch/truck. I don't have a 5th wheel, but my tow behind 31' Keystone has brakes on all 4 wheels. Really helps from my truck hitch getting torn off in a panic stop.

Hopefully BW, Reese, Curt, Hensley, Pullrite and all the others never upgrade their stuff. as that would imply they had failures.

Most important is we should never accept something which is adrift from the norm. We should never listen to satisfied customers using products they really like if said product is adrift from the norm.

[jerem0621]

Cummins12V98 wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
A little weight is a small price to pay for peace of mind, IMO. Besides, it's supposed to pull a 5th wheel. That's like complaining your semi tractor weighs too much.

EXACTLY!!!

That's why fifth wheel above bed rails never bothered me. I'm no going to load a bunch of drywall or more than a few boards Into the truck...

Appliances, several plywood sheets, heavy things like that go on the utility trailer with a ramp and much shorter height...easier to load too. Stuff that goes in the bed has an extra tie down location with the fifth wheel rails...

But I am digressing my own thread. Lol

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Cummins12V98]

fj12ryder wrote:
A little weight is a small price to pay for peace of mind, IMO. Besides, it's supposed to pull a 5th wheel. That's like complaining your semi tractor weighs too much.

EXACTLY!!!

[Cummins12V98]

minnow wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:


Non issue to you but many do lock their hitches and yes several have reported people unlocking the handle.

Only 5 locks on this baby! Now you know at least one.

For your viewing pleasure.

One of the few but most common complaints about this hitch, is it's weight. Msybe the hitch itself is not as heavy as is reported if one removes the 75 pounds worth of locks.

HAAAAA

The hitch easily comes apart. The head is not too bad most anyone can handle it. The base is heavier for sure but how darn difficult is it to get some help on occasion if needed???

Everyone wants BIGGER but many don't want to step up to buy a product that will do the job.

NC Hauler had a stroke and his arm has limited use and he was able to get the job done.

Sorry but it seems a lot of people are always looking for the easy way out.

[fj12ryder]

A little weight is a small price to pay for peace of mind, IMO. Besides, it's supposed to pull a 5th wheel. That's like complaining your semi tractor weighs too much.

[minnow]

Cummins12V98 wrote:


Non issue to you but many do lock their hitches and yes several have reported people unlocking the handle.

Only 5 locks on this baby! Now you know at least one.

For your viewing pleasure.

One of the few but most common complaints about this hitch, is it's weight. Msybe the hitch itself is not as heavy as is reported if one removes the 75 pounds worth of locks.

[Sport45]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
There have been plenty of reports of hitch tampering resulting in dropped RV's. It would be very easy to do with the Andersen since the handle is typically mounted where it is easy to access.

I have read incidents of this happening too.

The good thing about the Andersen hitch is the release handle should be visible from the driver's seat and when approaching the vehicle. You don't have to look over the bed rail to see it. I think a good improvement Andersen could make would be to color the shaft below the handle fluorescent orange so it would really stand out when not engaged.

I don't have a trailer now, but when I was pulling I always did a walk-around checking the tires and hitch after every stop. If I saw something unlatched I'd correct it before getting behind the wheel. I wouldn't have enough confidence in a small padlock to not look at the hitch (and I did have a padlock on the hitch for multi-day trips to hopefully not lose the trailer in motel parking lots).

If I ever drop a trailer because someone unlatched it while I was doing something else then shame on me - lock, or no lock.

[Sport45]

rhagfo wrote:
Just a thought that Andersen could redesign their hitch, to place less leverage on the attachment to the Gooseneck ball.
Currently they have about a 10" to 12" lever above the floor of the bed. I would suggest a couple of stringers alongside the GN attachment and supporting the upper ball with a diagonal brace to the front between the stringers that would hold the GN attaching coupler.

If our truck frames were tough enough you wouldn't need the pyramid at all. You would just have a post extending up from the bed with a ball mounted on top. (Similar to a typical gooseneck adapter but mounted to the truck instead of the pin box.

Of course that would transfer all that trailer-destroying torque to the pickup...

[Cummins12V98]

laknox wrote:

Me Again wrote:


With both the Andersen and Companion the hitch base is pulled down onto the bed floor. The Turnover Ball holds it down. The load is placed on the sheet metal and tophats on the bottom of the bed. Verses onto the frame in puck and rail systems.

Some on here is the pass have claimed that it can for held down by the Turnover Ball and held up at the same time!!!!!!! Chris

Yes, the TO Ball base holds the Companion (or Andersen) down, while pulling the frame UP, but it also supports the base and transfers that load directly to the frame. On my '02, the foot pads of the Companion are directly over the frame rails and act more to stabilize the Companion than to carry the load. If your supposition were correct, I certainly wouldn't need those heavy cross-members to support the Companion. Now, take out the Companion and hook up my GN trailer. Where is that =entire= pin load carried? Yep, right on the ball, meaning that the entire sub-frame is carrying the load, with =nothing= on the bed!

Lyle

If your hitch is full forward as mine was in my 11 Dually then sitting still the pin is directly above the post that the hitch attaches to. Now you push and pull the RV and the load transfers to the base. If you have the spacers then the road gets transferred to the bed rails and then to the frame.

Now if you have the hitch mounted towards the back then there is weight directly being placed from the base to the bed just sitting there.