Andersen Ultimate not working for me

[wvcampers]

I went from a Reese 16K slider to the Andersen ultimate. My trailer was very stable with the Reese, with the Andersen the trailer is constantly moveing around. It is bad enough that can feel it and it is uncomfortable towing. I have a short bed F350 SRW CC 6.7 diesel. The camper is a 34' Cardinal. I have the Andersen in the rear position because the Cardinal has a flat nose and I need the clearance to get into my driveway. I put the Reese back in the truck and all is well. Any ideas why the trailer movement with the Andersen?

[N-Trouble]

The coupler orientation doesn't affect the attach point relative to the TV, only the hitch orientation does. The coupler orientation is just an extension of the pinbox.

[goducks10]

Bobandshawn wrote:

laknox wrote:



Since you've moved your hitch point further back, you've got more leverage for the FW to move the truck. It only takes a couple inches to get this. Unless I had a =very= light FW, compared to my truck, I'd never have the hitch point behind my axle center line.

Lyle

I don't think he said he mounted it further back. I imagine if he has the rail mount he could move the rails back. If it's a gooseneck type ditto, he'd have to move the gooseneck back. The Anderson has no adjustment fore and aft.

If he has the rail version then you have two positions. You can rotate the base 180* depending on whether you have an SB or LB. You can also rotate the pin coupler.
If he has the pin coupler in front of the normal pin location and has rotated the Andersen to the rear for SB cab clearance then he's compounded the situation.

[laknox]

Bobandshawn wrote:

laknox wrote:



Since you've moved your hitch point further back, you've got more leverage for the FW to move the truck. It only takes a couple inches to get this. Unless I had a =very= light FW, compared to my truck, I'd never have the hitch point behind my axle center line.

Lyle

I don't think he said he mounted it further back. I imagine if he has the rail mount he could move the rails back. If it's a gooseneck type ditto, he'd have to move the gooseneck back. The Anderson has no adjustment fore and aft.

Just going by wvcampers' statement in post #6:

"Could this be because the ball is behind the rear axel?"

Lyle

[Bobandshawn]

laknox wrote:



Since you've moved your hitch point further back, you've got more leverage for the FW to move the truck. It only takes a couple inches to get this. Unless I had a =very= light FW, compared to my truck, I'd never have the hitch point behind my axle center line.

Lyle

I don't think he said he mounted it further back. I imagine if he has the rail mount he could move the rails back. If it's a gooseneck type ditto, he'd have to move the gooseneck back. The Anderson has no adjustment fore and aft.

[laknox]

wvcampers wrote:
I went from a Reese 16K slider to the Andersen ultimate. My trailer was very stable with the Reese, with the Andersen the trailer is constantly moveing around. It is bad enough that can feel it and it is uncomfortable towing. I have a short bed F350 SRW CC 6.7 diesel. The camper is a 34' Cardinal. I have the Andersen in the rear position because the Cardinal has a flat nose and I need the clearance to get into my driveway. I put the Reese back in the truck and all is well. Any ideas why the trailer movement with the Andersen?

Since you've moved your hitch point further back, you've got more leverage for the FW to move the truck. It only takes a couple inches to get this. Unless I had a =very= light FW, compared to my truck, I'd never have the hitch point behind my axle center line.

Lyle

[N-Trouble]

wvcampers wrote:
The Reese has the side pivot. The movement is enough that I am aware of it all of the time. Watching the trailer through the mirror, the rear is always moving like a dogs tail wagging. It also seems that the wind affects the trailer more than it has before. A friend followed me on a trip 600 miles each way. He said that the trailer never stopped moving around. It seems that if it was due to the ball connection that gooseneck trailers would have the same characteristics. Could this be because the ball is behind the rear axel?

I doubt that is your issue but to rule it out flip the hitch base around and take it for a tow and report back. With the rail mount version of the Andersen you can run the hitch base in either direction. This will put the attach well in front of the rear axle. Just don't make any really sharp turns while doing this as you will likely run into cab clearance issues.

[time2roll]

Any other differences such as full vs empty holding tanks?

[shepstone]

Too much weight in the back of the rv could contribute to the situation

[Searching_Ut]

kyle86 wrote:
I have the anderson ultimate in aluminum and really like it a lot. I don't understand why you are having issues with it.

I believe trying to find answers is why the Op is posting. The problem is one of those things my mind keeps wandering back to as something that should be easy to solve and provide useful inputs on.

Thoughts:

Nose height of 5er changed enough to have a negative affect on handling.

Low friction of the ball mount is allowing some sort of oscillation with the 5er that is somehow damped by the other hitch through friction. I can't really make this theory plausible in my mind.

Changing effective length of kingpin arm, or moving the load center of gravity on the truck has changed handling significantly.

While it wasn't mentioned, maybe the OP has a chucking damping kingpin that is not compatible with the ball adapter of the Andersen hitch.

[kyle86]

I have the anderson ultimate in aluminum and really like it a lot. I don't understand why you are having issues with it.

[kyle86]

Is the coupler facing forward or rearward?

[Bobandshawn]

Cdash wrote:


The other thing could be your truck. Conventional fifth hitches put the center of pin just in front of the axle. The Anderson, especially in the rear position, is going to increase load on the trucks rear axle and decrease load on the trucks front axle. This is because more load is going towards the back legs of the Anderson. That could cause some change in handling too.

You sure that there isn't any movement in the block that attaches to the pin?

I spoke with the Anderson folks and any weight you put on the hitch will be the same as putting the weight on a fifth wheel hitch. The weight goes on the frame of the hitch which is stationary. The frame fits the truck in the same location as does a rail system. The Anderson hitch frame has no front or rear position. You can swap the pin box adapter end for end to move the trailer 4" further forward, but it still mounts to the ball on the hitch in the same location.

[Searching_Ut]

Interesting, I have mine installed with the ball adapter placing the ball behind the kingpin because the back of the kingpin arm hits the tailgate if I install it the other way. Luckily I have the cutouts in the nose of my fiver so it works out pretty good. I'm running up to North Dakota this weekend to tow the kids triple axle Presidential Suites rig down to Wyoming so I'll get a chance to try a different configuration soon. Hopefully my experience works out better than yours. The son in Laws 5er doesn't have the rounded nose so if possible I'll be setting up the hitch the way you were just using yours to get as much cab clearance as possible. I'll let you know how it works out for me, but that will just be as a point of interest as it won't have any impact on how your setup works for you.

[Earl_E]

wvcampers wrote:
The block that attaches to the pin never moved. Trailer sets level with the Andersen. It was a little nose high with the Reese until I installed the Correct Track that raised it 2". Now it is level with both hitches. I guess it could be because of moving the hitch point behind the rear axel.

I'm no great expert but I would guess you are right. With the pivot point back two inches every waggle of the truck would waggle the trailer. Just a case of that not being the right hitch for your application.

[wvcampers]

The block that attaches to the pin never moved. Trailer sets level with the Andersen. It was a little nose high with the Reese until I installed the Correct Track that raised it 2". Now it is level with both hitches. I guess it could be because of moving the hitch point behind the rear axel.