ralphnjoann wrote:
Searching_Ut wrote:
For those unfamiliar with the Andersen Ultimate hitch, 100 percent of the weight of the trailer is carried by the bed of the truck, and none is carried on the ball in the bed of the truck. The truck bed ball is used as an anchor point with a pin that goes under the ball to anchor the hitch. You then tighten a bolt on on top of the tube that pulls a tub within the tube to pre-load the the base tightly against the bed of the truck. The truck bed ball is used for pulling to pull the hitch down, not to support the weight.
The other thing to keep in mind is that all of the pin weight for the trailer is transferred to the two set screws on the pin adapter between the ball and pin. The pin box not being designed to support the weight in a small area rather than distributed across the pin box base plate is what resulted in damage to my bighorn
Well, for one thing, the Andersen hitch does not cause "100 percent" of the weight of the trailer to be carried by the bed of the truck.
Second, the pin weight is carried by a ball mounted on a cross member secured to the rails of the truck. Snugging down the hitch so it doesn't shift does not place pin weight on the bed. That 40 or so pounds of force is there whether or not a trailer is attached.
Finally, the problems you had with your pin box must not be widespread since yours was the first and only one I have read about on these forums. The OP is asking about failures of Andersen hitches, not pinboxes.
Go back a and look at your hitch again. The square tube that goes over the ball is just a square tub closed at the top with threads for a bolt that comes down from the outer tube. There is nothing in there to rest on top of the ball, it's sole purpose is to help anchor the hitch from horizontal movement and to pull the hitch down firmly on the bed. Again, the ball carries none of the weight of the trailer, it's all carried by the bed of the truck. As for the pin box deformation, it's enough of a problem that Andersen is aware of it, and sends out shims to help prevent it once you contact them. They won't do anything about the damage though, nor do they advise it could happen. As for hearing about it on the forums, I'm not sure why you don't hear about it more as I've been checking others pin boxes when I see this hitch and have seen a half dozen now with noticeable deformation, with not all of them being Lippert pin boxes either.
IdaD, my bad on the hitch weight. Didn't realize the rail version was that much lighter than the steel ball mount version. Mine was 85lbs plus pin adapter. Guess half that weight was the base plate which I should have realized. I'm surprised you haven't experience binding of the ball in the socket when trying to hitch and unhitch with the truck and trailer at widely different angles. It's possible you're leveling your trailer prior to unhitching. I just unhitch, then put blocks under the low side levelers and level it out with hydraulics. Often end up with the wheels on one side as much as six or so inches off the ground. We normally spend about 45 days a year camping in Idaho, mostly boondocking as that is where most of my family is. Just got back from a little over a week up there in Island park. Three day weekend with the family boondocking, then 6 days in the upper coffee pot campground.
