what kind of fifthwheel hitch?

ralphnjoann wrote:

Redaman wrote:
Greetings!

After lurking on this thread (and others along the same topic) regarding which FW hitch to buy for the last week or so, I went out and bought the Andersen Ultimate rail version.

I drive a 2011 F-250 SB Super Duty and I have been towing a 2005 Montana 297 RKS using a Reese 16K Kwik slide hitch for the last 10 years until now. My reasons for changing are:

- That darned Kwik Slide is a heavy bugger
- The occasional Kwik Slide "Slide" where it decides when it wants to lock in place or not (those of you with them know what I am talking about)
- The moaning and groaning of a tired 5th wheel hitch
- Did I mention it's HEAVY?
- Price

In reality, it has been a good hitch except for the few times where I thought it was locked and it wasn't and it's all I have ever owned until now.

I just picked up the Andersen hitch today and it's already installed in the truck and the coupler is mounted to the kingpin on my trailer. I just need to torque the screws.

With that said, with all the posts saying how good the Andersen hitch is, nobody has mentioned hooking it up (that I have seen). I found the Kwik Slide extremely easy to connect to, and now I will have to learn how to connect to the Andersen set up, so any connecting tips would be appreciated. I do have an I-Ball camera I am thinking about putting to use for a 2nd set of eyes.

Someone mentioned that the new version of the Andersen Ultimate comes with a cone on it that facilitates connecting?? I did not get this piece in my kit so I plan on calling Andersen tomorrow to check on that.

Cheers!

I have a rail mount Anderson, and I too was concerned about hitching. It turned out to be a breeze. The ball is much easier to see than the traditional fifth wheel plate. I line it up with the adapter on the pin then back under the adapter. It's easy to keep centered side to side. I then get out to see if I need to go back farther or come forward a little. This is usually all it takes and I'm ready to lower the trailer.

I forgot to mention that when installing the Andersen I had to grind off some material in the rails slots to get the hitch to fit properly. This was because when they welded the upright supports to the base flange, the heat distorted the base metal a little and the tabs that go in the slots weren't true any longer. It wasn't a big deal, but something to watch out for.

I took it for a spin this weekend to a local campground and it was a very pleasant experience. It was MUCH quieter than my old Reese Qwik Slide and all things considered, I'm still glad I made the decision to switch. I still have a few tweaks to work out but I am happy and that is what matters.

Here are a couple of pix: