Anderson Fifth Wheel Hitch - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Ronjohn99 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Anderson Fifth Wheel Hitch

Cummins12V98 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Dented beds, damaged kingpin plates and hitches folding from hard braking even with a re design. IMHO not a good choice, light is not always better.

Best hitch hands down is B&W, just ask those who have owned them.

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have no experience (other than YouTube) with the Andersen hitch ... but with regard to hitches in general ... this is an area where you actually get what you pay for. I have my favorite brand, others have theirs, but you are unlikely to get a better hitch by paying less. Weight is also an indicator of how robust the hitch is with heavier generally being better (more and thicker steel). This is my $0.02 which may only be worth $0.01😎

-- Edited by RonC on Sunday 24th of December 2017 01:33:01 PM

Second Chance · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'll swim upstream here and say that many people (including myself), have pulled tens of thousands of miles with the Andersen (BTW - it is spelled with an "e") Ultimate hitch system. While there are a few documented instances of failure, the exact causes have not been determined with certainty. Most of the negativity about the hitch comes from folks who have never owned or towed with one. The Andersen - and now the very similar PullRite - design has its advantages and disadvantages. You just have to decide what is right for you.

We were forced to switch from the Andersen to a "conventional" fifth wheel hitch when we traded trucks last January. Everything - from being offered the trade to our scheduled departure from the area - happened in about 36 hours. Our RV dealer could not get the frame adapter for the Ford puck system in time for us to keep to schedule so we purchased and installed a PullRite OE 18K for the Ford puck system. After switching, I'll admit that I find it a little bit easier to hitch up by myself. Unhitching is about the same. The Andersen was much quieter and the PullRite requires periodic maintenance and lubrication which the Andersen did not. On the other hand, there's no way the PullRite is coming out of the truck bed (at least not without the help of a couple of high school football players) to clear the bed for other uses. Removing the Andersen was a one-arm job... even for this old man.

There's an old saying about attorneys (also sometimes applied to a particular ethnic group, but I'll skip that): "If you put four attorneys in a room and ask a question, you'll get five answers." In other words, opinions are like certain parts of our anatomy - everybody has one. Read threads (on other forums, too) by those who have actually used the Andersen before you write it off. Having said all this, with a 16K GVWR fifth wheel and your new F350 (and at 16K, I would recommend dual rear wheels), I would probably opt for an 18 - 20K "conventional" fifth wheel hitch - there are a lot of good ones out there.

Rob

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Personally, I would not go by "what everyone else is buying." Do "all those people" really know what they were doing, or did they do what everyone else did.

Do the research in what weight each hitch system will handle and look at the "dynamics" of how a hitch works. For instance, with a normal fifth wheel hitch, does it have "flex" both fore and aft and side to side? Is there any possibility that you might want to help out someone with a regular pin box by towing their rig? (I've done this one more than once.)

I've looked at the Andersen system and am not impressed. For the record, the wife and I have a Reese 22K standard system fifth wheel hitch. But then, I'm old school.

Terry

Cummins12V98 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm with you Terry, the Circus type crush test is literally a joke in their sales video. I am not an Engineer but as a Carpenter/Construction Superintendent for my career I had to understand how to make things stay upright. The fact is the "crush test" has equal pressure placed downward on all 4 support tubes. Real world the force is all over the place. they have re designed the Ultimate once already and I recently saw a post on one that was folded from hard braking, sounded like it was a slow maneuver and possible the emergency cable was activated.

The base sets on the trucks bed and for a FACT the base causes truck bed deflection when towing heavier.

There is no way that I have seen to lock the hitch to the kingpin to keep A-holes at bay. Yes there are jerks out there that pull locking handles.

Remember Craftsman Shop Vacs "develop" 6 hp. That is a "rating". To claim what they do is a JOKE IMHO. I think it can be used I'm much lighter applications.

Lighter is NOT always better!

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have an Andersen Ultimate 2 in the bed of a 2017 F350 long bed dually. It was in a 2015 F250 short bed before that.

The advantages I found are 1) absolutely no need for a slider (on the short bed F250), 2) it weighs about 35 lbs. and I can lift it out easily myself, 3) zero grease needed, 4) no chucking.

It is rated for 21K. I am hauling a 15K trailer and have had zero issues. Very easy to hook/unhook.

Disadvantage: you have to raise and lower the landing gear more to get it on/off compared to standard fifth wheel hitch.

I'd never go back. Just my 2 cents

Cummins12V98 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I assume you are placing the pin behind the rear axle. NOT a good idea to remove front axle weight.

Second Chance · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I assume you are placing the pin behind the rear axle. NOT a good idea to remove front axle weight.

We had our Andersen with the ball both forward of and behind the rear axle (it's actually only a couple of inches either way). On the scales, it made a grand total of 100 lbs. difference in the front axle weight.

Rob

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

Second Chance wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
I assume you are placing the pin behind the rear axle. NOT a good idea to remove front axle weight.
We had our Andersen with the ball both forward of and behind the rear axle (it's actually only a couple of inches either way). On the scales, it made a grand total of 100 lbs. difference in the front axle weight.
Rob

Same here, it was a matter of a few inches, I can't say I noticed any difference although I understand what you are saying.

Danny and Cheryl · RV-Dreams Family Member

If the Andersen design was so great why isn't the trucking industry using it, I will stay with the tried and true fifth wheel design with the king pin and plate. I have never heard of a king pin shearing off during an accident.

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

I suppose anything can and does fail in an accident. The gooseneck method has been used for years in the farming/horse trailer industry. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Andersen is a new method of using the old gooseneck and could be why you haven't seen it used much in trucking yet. Plus in trucking you deal with 80,000 GCWR, not 30,000. PullRite is adding the same concept to their lineup now too http://www.pullrite.com/products/isr-series-superlite-industry-standard-rails/isr-series-superlite-four-point-4p-rail

I'm not arguing a person should use a particular hitch. Use what works for you or what you feel comfortable with. One thing it does for sure is eliminates the need for a slider on a short bed (at least with my F250 with my Sabre 5er). That gets rid of extra weight/hassel/$$, all of which mattered to my old situation.

This was a regular fifth wheel setup at the I-76 @ Rt 15 interchange in Mechanicsburg, PA last year. I'm sure the attachment method had nothing to do with the crash itself, but it failed.

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sorry, I forgot about the Photobucket thing . . .

Here's a link to it

BiggarView · RV-Dreams Family Member

Zeek... Maybe not failed, trailer could have been "top locked" (which is not a failure of the equipment but the person hooking it up). Picture doesn't really show any potential causes only the outcome. What's unsaid tells volumes.

-- Edited by BiggarView on Wednesday 14th of February 2018 10:34:45 AM

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

It was kind of sickening to see . . . I felt terrible for them. My assumption was speed, but it could have been a blowout as well, who knows. The ramp is one of those that kind of "get tighter as you go" ones. Anyway, let's all be safe (and not them)

RonC · RV-Dreams Family Member

Zeek ... love your avatar ...

Zeek · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks! I have been using that for years on another forum related to antique tractors and for some reason people remember that when I meet them in person, so I stuck with it.