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Weight Distribution, Sway, and Tongue Weight

Started by kenofchattanooga, April 29, 2014, 08:52:15 AM

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geo92128

I purchased my Andersen Hitch about three months ago and my cone is black.

jtelles3993


ammobob

Mine delivered today so when I get back from Vegas ( business trip) I'll check and post the color of the cone in the package.

ammobob

OK opened the box and the cone is black.

daplumbr


mitch

Mitch
2013 13QBB
2015 Ford F-150
Anderson 3324 WDH

ammobob

So now the big question is there a difference? Have they upgraded the material? Different supplier maybe? Or was it just as simple as a color change.

djsamuel

There is a company called Energy Suspension that makes polyurethane bushings for cars and trucks (they are excellent by the way).  Some of the bushings are offered in red or black.  The difference is the black bushings have graphite in them.  Don't know if it is the same situation here or not.
Camplite 21BHS / Ram 1500

Central Florida


popup2012

I have a question on the Andersen hitch. This is for those who have a Tacoma and the 16 TBS. On the hitch part the fits in the truck, what settings do you have it in.  There are 5 holes, do you have it set in the bottom and middle holes or in the number 2 and 4 holes? Mine was set in the number 2 and 4 holes but I have never been able to get the Truck and camper level.

purdytj

[quote timestamp="1431398150" source="/post/10666/thread" author="@fasteddieb"]In the interest of K.I.S.S...

My Husky sway control was about $50 and is stone-axe simple.

Recommended to me by Andy at CanAm RV in London, Ontario.

Not saying anything bad about any particular setup - just that our EAZLift Elite with that sway control seems to be getting the job done at a modest overall price.



[img src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7356/13747178785_b19767e864_z.jpg"][/quote]
We also have a sway and weight distribution setup similar to this, installed by the selling dealer. I'm beginning to think after reading the 13 pages of this thread that it is not wise for use on our aluminum frame... I also notice that where the sway bar ball attaches to the frame was drilled and bolted in, likely with self-tapping screws. I'm concerned about the structural integrity...

Should I disconnect the weight-distribution?
Should I remove the sway plate? I'll double check after work, but I'm sure I don't have aluminum self-tapping screws.
Did the dealer cause me more problems with recommending and installing this system?

david

purdytj:

Your signature line indicates that you have a 28BHS. Unless you are pulling with a full one ton pickup, I believe that you need the WDH. LL's specs show a tongue weight of 530 lbs as delivered but I will bet it gets above 600 lbs when loaded with gear.

One plus is that the 28 has a deeper frame section. The minus is that it is aluminum. I would think seriously about having a local welder weld an aluminum angle from the front to the back of each A section to strengthen the frame so it can withstand the downward force of the WDH. Also use a light setting on your trunion arms to minimize the force on the frame.

Also I see that the coupler shown has no lower bolts. Search this forum for a discussion of that fix.

David
David M

16TBS towed with a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

purdytj

[quote timestamp="1452793027" author="@david" source="/post/17748/thread"]purdytj:

Your signature line indicates that you have a 28BHS. Unless you are pulling with a full one ton pickup, I believe that you need the WDH. LL's specs show a tongue weight of 530 lbs as delivered but I will bet it gets above 600 lbs when loaded with gear.

One plus is that the 28 has a deeper frame section. The minus is that it is aluminum. I would think seriously about having a local welder weld an aluminum angle from the front to the back of each A section to strengthen the frame so it can withstand the downward force of the WDH. Also use a light setting on your trunion arms to minimize the force on the frame.

Also I see that the coupler shown has no lower bolts. Search this forum for a discussion of that fix.

David[/quote]Thanks for this feedback. I saw that earlier you indicated that LL does not endorse having a WDH and I wish they would state so in their owner's manual. I have found it to be vague as it applies to all of their trailers and not specific to each model. It took some searching and questions on this forum to realize that the water heater has an AC element switch :-)

I have a 3/4 ton Silverado with Duramax diesel. It also happens to have an airbag support system on the rear axle that I can remotely control from the cab. We're going to take a long weekend trip for 2 nights and 240 miles round trip this weekend. I'll bring along the weight distribution bars in the bed of the truck but see how we get along without them at first. In the past I feel that my trunnion setting has been pretty light because I don't like the jarring ride of overly-tight bars.

The lower bolts on the coupler appear to be an easy fix and I saw the related thread on that upgrade.

I'm thankful for this community!

david

[p]purdytj:

You probably have enough truck to pull the 28 without a WDH. A 3/4 ton has a 1,500 lb nominal bed capacity, but that assumes that the load is distributed evenly fore and aft. But even with 600+ lbs of tongue weight located a few inches aft of the tailgate, it probably is no worse than 1,500 lbs evenly distributed.

Measure the hitch height unloaded and then hook up and measure again. If it drops only 1-1/2" or less you are OK.[/p][p]
[/p][p]LL will never admit publicly to not approving a WDH. That would be a certain admission of a problem with their aluminum frame. They prefer to keep their head in the sand and tell you it is not needed.

David[/p]
David M

16TBS towed with a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder

purdytj

So we did the trip without the WDH and the ride was actually more comfortable. I was able to control the airbags on the rear axle from in the cab and we found we like 25-30 psi.

I do have a concern about the coupler (and posted so on the [a href="http://livinlite-owners.com/thread/606/bent-coupler-on-21rbs?page=5"]bent coupler thread page 5[/a]). Does it look bent to anyone else? Or is this a standard amount of rise in the location of the ball... my gut tells me no, but maybe it's an optical illusion.

Thoughts?






daplumbr

Purdytj, I am in the process of replacing the front-most bolts on my hitch because they were not installed with enough clearance to the power jack mount plate. So, I've just looked at my hitch carefully today. From what I see on yours, it looks like the hitch area around the front-most bolts/washers is not perfectly flat like it is on mine. It's dark right now, or I would post a photo. Others should weigh in, but IMHO, it does look like your hitch may be bent up a bit.