Andersen Trailer Hitch

Two years, so far works good.

There are a couple long threads here, on the forum. Do a search for Andersen hitch.

The Andersen works great for me, but my tow vehicle "requires" very little if any weight distribution. The Andersen is quiet, lightweight, clean, and transfers more than enough weight back to the front axle for me.

Previous thread on the Andersen hitch.

Another one.

And another.

And finally, this one, which I believe started the whole Andersen hitch dialog on this forum. :)
Barney

lakeman48 wrote:
I need to replace my 13 year old Draw-Tite weight distribution hitch. I have a 26ft.Freedom Express travel trailer. 6000lbs.w/load. Pull w/2007 Chevy 1500 extended cab 4x4 w/5.3 v-8. I've been looking at the Andersen No-Sway weight distribution hitch and wanted to know if any one has any experience w/this hitch.

The Owners Manual for your truck states:

When using a weight-distributing hitch, the hitch must be adjusted so the {front wheel well height} remains the same both before and after coupling the trailer to the tow vehicle.

This implies the WDH must be able to restore 100% of the load which was removed from the front axle due to application of tongue weight.

Your 6000# TT should have a TW of around 800#.

Based on Andersen user reports, it is not likely that you will be able to achieve 100% load restoration for your TV/TT combination if using the Andersen WDH.

Ron

For those that don't know how to do searches, there are hundreds of pages on the Airstream forums also. In general, the folks that actually own the Andersen hitch are happy with the product and those that don't, aren't. About like most other products or comparisons. Examples; Gas versus diesel, Ford versus Chevy, fifth wheel versus travel trailer, mine versus yours.

Not an Anderson owner, but from what I've read you're right in the sweet spot for an Anderson. The only negative I've read is folks with very heavy tongue weight, say 1,000 lbs or more and they were dissatisfied with the amount of weight transfer to the front axle. For your use, I would go for it. As Tom said, there's lots of info out there and the Anderson now has a "body of work" so you can make up your own mind. Most of what I've read has been very positive.

Thanks for all the input. I never thought to do a search. Will do now and decide. Thank you all again !!

lakeman48 wrote:
Thanks for all the input. I never thought to do a search. Will do now and decide. Thank you all again !!

Lakeman, it's entirely up to you to decide how much Front Axle Load Restoration (FALR) you want your new WDH to provide.
Some people follow the TV manufacturer's specification (100% for your TV), and others accept a lesser amount.

The following chart is a compilation of FALR values calculated from front-axle load or height measurements provided by actual Andersen users.
Based on the user-reported measurements, you might expect an Andersen WDH to provide an FALR of about 50% for your tongue weight.

Candid comments regarding the limited load transfer ability of the Andersen WDH can be found by searching Airforums.com for recent posts by users SteveH and dkottum.

Following the chart is a listing of user names and forum names if you want to search for the actual reports.

Front Axle Load Restoration (FALR) is chosen as the indicator of load transfer effectiveness.
For measured front-axle loads, FALR is defined as the amount of load added by application of WD
divided by the amount of load removed by tongue weight (with NO WD applied).
For measured front-axle heights, FALR is defined as the front-end lowering due to application of WD
divided by the front-end rise due to tongue weight (with NO WD applied) .
When the front end is observed to be returned to the unhitched height, the FALR is taken to be 100%.

The data indicate FALR=100% can easily be achieved for low tongue weights.
However, for tongue weights in excess of 1000#, it is not clear that FALR=100% can be achieved.

The curves labeled "FALR Theory" are calculated from: FALR = 100*CT*2*LA*(1+BOH/TTL)/TW/BOH
where
CT = chain tension in #/chain
LA = lever arm from ball center to chain in ft (assumed to be 6.5"/12 per Bruce H.)
BOH = ball overhang in ft (assumed to be 5')
TW = tongue weight in lbs
TTL = distance from ball to mid-point between axles (assumed to vary from 12' for TW=400# to 20' for TW=1200#)

Contributors of data can be identifed by their TW and achieved FALR in the following table:

TW - FALR - Load/Height - Contributor - DataSource

400---100%----hgt.----SteveH------Airforums.com
400----91%----load----Bruce H.-----Lanceowners.com, RV.net, Airforums.com
900----75%----hgt.----gallifrey------RV.net
800----57%----load----airheadsrus---Airforums.com (updated for 10 threads)
600----54%----load----hbillsmith-----RV.net
800----50%----load----airheadsrus---Airforums.com
800----36%----load----airheadsrus---Airforums.com (new data for 9 threads)
1250---45%----load----housedad-----RV.net
960----43%----load----renojack------RV.net
600----43%----hgt.----zues----------Airforums.com
670----40%----load----HowieE-------Airforums.com
560----63%----load----eartha--------RV.net
800----19%----load----CHD Dad 3/16"--RV.net
800----50%----load----CHD Dad 7/16"--RV.net
946----50%----load----babies_dadeo---RV.net
680----33%----load----idroba--------Airforums.com
680----50%----load----idroba--------Airforums.com
700----50%----hgt.----PHS79-----------RV.net
(chart updated 11/16/2013)

Ron

Posting undocumented "Internet" sources and presenting it with charts and graphs is the oldest trick in the book when it comes to knocking some product. How many of those "sources" sell other brands? How many actually know how to determine their FALR? Why not quote the dozens of satisfied users? I know what the Andersen can and can't do, because I have actually use one. I notice one name is notably missing from the "compilation", the authors.

Having read the other threads, it seems quite likely to me the sources are actual users of the hitch. However, what's not clear is how many of these users tried to get 100% FALR. There are several people in the other threads that admit that they don't try to achieve that because they don't need/want to. That doesn't mean they couldn't. It also doesn't mean that they could. It's inconclusive. Unfortunately, there's no independent test agency for hitches, which is really a shame.