Did my Andersen No-Sway WDH do this???

[09KZMXT266]

Or did the trailer service center?

I'm not sure, what caused it, but after hooking up last night I noticed chunks of aluminum on the ground under my setup. I had just got my trailer back from service where they move trailers around with fork lifts, so maybe they somehow banged into it? Did the Andersen hitch plate somehow do it? Totally confused, and looking for your thoughts....



Note: Moderator edit to redo picture urls for enlargement.

[BenK]

Housted wrote:
Look again guys there is no way that plate did that. The geometry is all wrong. Something such as a fork hit the seam just right to peel the metal like that. Look at the peeled piece it has a kink in it. How could the plate at a position below the tongue get up to that place to make the kink? Clearly the service place hit it with a fork.

Housted

You are all looking at it statically

Dynamically will have the plate arc backwards and forwards during
Whoop-de-doos

YouTube video to show what I mean by a whoop-de-doo, but not as
severe as this video shows
Whoop-de-doo YouTube

And if the latch has worn from the way an Anderson works...it will
allow the ball to move within the coupler

Why asked what the latch condition is in

When the ball raises during a whoop-de-doo...the spring tension also
reduces. Even might go to zero if the ball raises high enough. Then
if the latch is worn to allow the ball to move around the coupler
hemisphere...it can allow the plate to strike this tongue. Folks
with a smaller tongue would most likely have the plate miss it

The numbers of marks says over time, but it still can be the fork
lift, as don't know what the contact area of the forks looks like
It 'might' have a ball mounted on one of the fork ends and the fork
end hit the trailer tongue

BUT...those marks are on both sides of the tongue boxed section...still
could be that they drove it around that way to make so many marks



From the other weld beads....am sure it is a MIG setup they used. A
TIG with a wire feed would be similar, but betcha MIG with alu wire

[09KZMXT266]

jerem0621 wrote:
OP. Is the coupler an Atwood 88xxx series?

Nope. Some other kind. Not there to look but i know it is not atwood.

[BurbMan]

Housted wrote:
Look again guys there is no way that plate did that. The geometry is all wrong. Something such as a fork hit the seam just right to peel the metal like that. Look at the peeled piece it has a kink in it. How could the plate at a position below the tongue get up to that place to make the kink? Clearly the service place hit it with a fork.

Housted

Exactly! Even if the plate was/is rubbing, there is nothing on the plate to catch that weld seam on the TT and peel it back like that! If there was a notch in the plate that created a corner that could have caught on the weld, maybe. But the way it's configured, no way!

If Ben is correct about lack of weld penetration in that area, it's possible that a bump with the fork could have caused it to peel back like that.

[jerem0621]

OP. Is the coupler an Atwood 88xxx series?

[Housted]

Look again guys there is no way that plate did that. The geometry is all wrong. Something such as a fork hit the seam just right to peel the metal like that. Look at the peeled piece it has a kink in it. How could the plate at a position below the tongue get up to that place to make the kink? Clearly the service place hit it with a fork.

Housted

[09KZMXT266]

Need-A-Vacation wrote:
From the pics I think it was the plate!

At any point during this trip (or previous trips) did you have the right trailer tires up on boards to level, or the drivers side of the truck higher than the left trailer tires? To me it looks like the plate was at an angle and "peeled" the weld as the trailer pivoted on the ball side to side, not front to back. That is why it worse at the bottom of the frame, matches the truck being on an angle compared to the trailer being level.

Good luck!

No, but last night I put the trailer's left side on 1 block to level. That would have to be one hell of an angle for the plate to "peel" like you say. Meep in mind that the plate edge sits under the frame, so the bottom of the frame would keep the plate from pushing up to "peel."

[Need-A-Vacation]

From the pics I think it was the plate!

At any point during this trip (or previous trips) did you have the right trailer tires up on boards to level, or the drivers side of the truck higher than the left trailer tires? To me it looks like the plate was at an angle and "peeled" the weld as the trailer pivoted on the ball side to side, not front to back. That is why it worse at the bottom of the frame, matches the truck being on an angle compared to the trailer being level.

Good luck!

[09KZMXT266]

tbred wrote:

09KZMXT266 wrote:
Sorry, but i am camping with. Rappy internet making it hard to reply. ??

Great ideas everyone, but the more i think about it the more I think no way the plate could do that even though it can rub a little if the plate or frame move up or down a bit die to angles.
The frame actually extends toward the truck and covers the edge of the plate ever so slightly. There is no way for the plate to move up beyond the bottom of the frame. It rubs the frame, but doesnt move vertically beyond the bottom of the frame.
I dont think i have more pics on my phone, but can take some later.
BTW, idid not tow it home from the servicer with the plate connected. I cant see how the plate could do that just from me installing it. Plus, inhave towed over 2000 miles with no problems.
I honestly think someone ran into it from right to left peeling the skin back so to speak.

Hooked tv up tonight, there is approx. 2 inches clearance between plate and frame.

My frame is 8". There may be 1/8" of clearance is all.

[tbred]

09KZMXT266 wrote:
Sorry, but i am camping with. Rappy internet making it hard to reply. ??

Great ideas everyone, but the more i think about it the more I think no way the plate could do that even though it can rub a little if the plate or frame move up or down a bit die to angles.
The frame actually extends toward the truck and covers the edge of the plate ever so slightly. There is no way for the plate to move up beyond the bottom of the frame. It rubs the frame, but doesnt move vertically beyond the bottom of the frame.
I dont think i have more pics on my phone, but can take some later.
BTW, idid not tow it home from the servicer with the plate connected. I cant see how the plate could do that just from me installing it. Plus, inhave towed over 2000 miles with no problems.
I honestly think someone ran into it from right to left peeling the skin back so to speak.

Hooked tv up tonight, there is approx. 2 inches clearance between plate and frame.

[09KZMXT266]

Sorry, but i am camping with. Rappy internet making it hard to reply. ??

Great ideas everyone, but the more i think about it the more I think no way the plate could do that even though it can rub a little if the plate or frame move up or down a bit die to angles.
The frame actually extends toward the truck and covers the edge of the plate ever so slightly. There is no way for the plate to move up beyond the bottom of the frame. It rubs the frame, but doesnt move vertically beyond the bottom of the frame.
I dont think i have more pics on my phone, but can take some later.
BTW, idid not tow it home from the servicer with the plate connected. I cant see how the plate could do that just from me installing it. Plus, inhave towed over 2000 miles with no problems.
I honestly think someone ran into it from right to left peeling the skin back so to speak.

[BenK]

Second look says to me, that the TV was angled 'left' and why 'this time' it tore the left sided of
the tongue

Jeremiah, it looks like the aluminum was NOT fully penetrated by the weld bead on that side
or there was an undercut of the fillet

Not often with a TIG welder, but more common with a MIG welder moving too fast and/or the fill
wire not fed fast enough...ETC

Instead of a taller ball...I say a longer lower, taper section to drop the plate. Ground
clearance would then be an issue

[BenK]

Think it would be tough to change to an under tongue coupler, as this is an aluminum
tongue from the pic's.

More pics would be helpful for Internet forensics

Can see SEVERAL Anderson plate marks and assume from whooped-doos. The severity
of those whoooped-doos indicative by the height of the marks and the last one the highest
of them all

Then assume that, that last one dug deepest to catch enough metal to move or gouge
or rip that hole

Don't think the fork lift did that, as if I was purposely trying to gouge, can't think of how
unless it caught something else in the yard

Going to a taller ball might upset the geometry of the hitch system

I'd consider cutting a relief in that plate...but how much to avoid this again for the
worst case whooped-doo

The part that doesn't make sense to me, now, is why is it nibbling ever higher on the
trailer tongue...

Unless the coupling is worn or not latched in tight...therefore allowing the coupler
to lift off of the ball. Tale tail to me that the latch is allowing the coupler to move up
and down

For if the coupler was holding the ball tight...then the touch spot should be at the same
spot each time...right?

OP, please check the condition of your coupler latch and please post back on what you
find.

[jerem0621]

Is the coupler on the trailer an 88xxx series Atwood? If so, that coupler is not compatible with the Andersen and may be the issue.

Atwood 88xxx coupler not compatible

There seems to be a LOT of negative tilt in the hitch head back towards the vehicle which may be pointing the plate at the bottom of the frame. This should be missing the frame…

here is a pic to illustrate this



There is a clearance issue with your frame.. that is for sure..

Its also interesting that the weld itself pealed out of the frame.. I would think the weld would be stronger than the surrounding aluminum.

It looks like your coupler actually angles up away from the frame some instead of down towards the bottom of the frame.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[carringb]

Campinfan wrote:
IT looks to me that the ball is pushed backward toward the trailer (2nd picture). Maybe something pushed the ball back. Would like to see some photos from a little further back to get some perspective....dead on from the front and 90 degrees to each side.

That's how the Anderson works. Instead of spring bars, it uses tension chains to distribute weight. Those tension forces are reacted backwards on the ball (and hence coupler latch).

--------------------------------------------

On that point.... Is there any play in the coupler latch? If it is worn or out of adjustment (or broken) it will allow the ball to sit even further rearward than normal.

[Campinfan]

IT looks to me that the ball is pushed backward toward the trailer (2nd picture). Maybe something pushed the ball back. Would like to see some photos from a little further back to get some perspective....dead on from the front and 90 degrees to each side.