Weight Distribution, Sway, and Tongue Weight

[peislander]

From the selection of parts on the Anderson website it looks like the entire assembly with the ball will need replacement at $200 USD. 

Here's a link: [a href="http://www.andersenhitches.com/Products/3355--wd-antisway-assembly-only-with-2516-ball-includes-ball-housing-ball--brake-material.aspx"]http://www.andersenhitches.com/Products/3355--wd-antisway-assembly-only-with-2516-ball-includes-ball-housing-ball--brake-material.aspx[/a]

[ammobob]

$200 every 5-7k miles is a heafty price. I cancelled my Anderson order and will look at other alternatives or wait Anderson out to see if they come up with a resolution. Fasteddieb might be on the right track!

[fasteddieb]

[quote source="/post/10682/thread" timestamp="1431431767" author="@ammobob"]$200 every 5-7k miles is a heafty price. I cancelled my Anderson order and will look at other alternatives or wait Anderson out to see if they come up with a resolution. Fasteddieb might be on the right track![/quote]Maybe give Andy at CanAm RV a call. 1-866-CAN-AM-RV (1-866-226-2678)

He's well respected on the Airstream forum, and was willing to spend time with me on the phone on a topic I knew virtually nothing about going in. They specialize in setting up tow vehicles on the "small" side to tow larger trailers.

Andy writes a column for a Canadian magazine called "RV Lifestyle Magazine". Links to some comprehensive articles here:

http://www.canamrv.ca/hitch-hints/

I was grateful enough that we drove all the way there from N GA to have our Flex's hitch reinforced by people who appear to know what they're doing!

[peislander]

fasteddyb - That's cool you recommend Andy at CanAm RV. I had read about him years ago. He is the 'horse whisperer' of trailer hitches! If he helped you with your setup you can be assured it is optimized for your trailer and tow vehicle. It is a great resource to have his name & number! Thanks!

[kycamper]

I asked Andersen about wear and tear on the cone and the chain elastomers before buying my hitch. They assured me that the brake lining cone lasts and both are covered with a lifetime warranty. If you go to You Tube under Andersen Manufacturing, there is a video on how to replace the cone. Be advised that the snap ring you have to remove is very large and is a pain to deal with. Once that is removed, the rest of the procedure looks reasonable. You will need to find a large size snap ring tool to remove an 1 3/4" ring. I don't own one. I bought Andersen because of all the positive " buzz " on this site. Now, it seems to have taken a turn. I still have not been able to test my hitch ......long story. Should be good to go next week.

[mitch]

[quote source="/post/10697/thread" timestamp="1431448515" author="@gleamb"]I asked Andersen about wear and tear on the cone and the chain elastomers before buying my hitch. They assured me that the brake lining cone lasts and both are covered with a lifetime warranty. If you go to You Tube under Andersen Manufacturing, there is a video on how to replace the cone. Be advised that the snap ring you have to remove is very large and is a pain to deal with. Once that is removed, the rest of the procedure looks reasonable. You will need to find a large size snap ring tool to remove an 1 3/4" ring. I don't own one. I bought Andersen because of all the positive " buzz " on this site. Now, it seems to have taken a turn. I still have not been able to test my hitch ......long story. Should be good to go next week.[/quote]Those videos answer all of the questions raised in the last few days very well.  Essentially the cone is a wear item that's replaced for free as needed and the entire replacement process takes about 10 minutes.  Barring the fact that you need some big ass snap ring pliers, I think the performance of the hitch, as expressed by about everyone who's used it,  outweighs the downside of cone wearing out. 

[vrvinmo]

Anderson is a great company with top notch customer service.  The hitch is guaranteed forever. Great hitch, even if it has some issues. Anderson made me a custom plate for my hitch and didn't even charge me. Great folks!!!

[daplumbr]

That's really good to know about the verbal reassurance on the warranty. The written warranty clearly excludes wear and tear, but if Andersen will replace the cone and cushions for life as they wear out, kudos to them. I also have a separate slip of paper in my hitch shipping box that says not to worry if the red cone comes up out of the carrier after use. That's apparently normal. After our next road trip, I'll report back on how well it works with our setup. 

[jtelles3993]

Pulled the cone out today. It's not red like in the videos, it's black? New one should be here tomorrow. Piece of cake to swap.

[jerrybeaird]

Hi Surfsup.....how bad did the cone look?  

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/10795/thread" timestamp="1431579129" author="@nd1979"]Hi Surfsup.....how bad did the cone look?  [/quote]And, Surfsup, was it covered under warranty?

[kycamper]

What did you use to remove the snapring?

[djsamuel]

I have about 6,000 miles on mine and other than a little bit of dirt and wear; it still works great.  The picture below was the hitch after a 5,000 mile trip from Florida to Arizona and Utah through some pretty heavy rains and wind.  The hitch did creak a bit around turns for a few camping trips after the trip out west, but is now quiet again and still works great.  My assumption is the rain resulted in some moisture and/or dirt getting down into the cone.  Not even close to needing a replacement.

[jtelles3993]

Hi Surfsup.....how bad did the cone look?  

It had some scars, but it was far from being destroyed. I'll post a few pictures shortly.

[jtelles3993]

[quote source="/post/10795/thread" timestamp="1431579129" author="@nd1979"]Hi Surfsup.....how bad did the cone look?  

And, Surfsup, was it covered under warranty?
[/quote]
Yes. They shipped the new one UPS, no charge.