report on my Andersen WD Hitch......

[gerry]

came back this past Sunday from a week long trip to Sarasota for the Thunder on the Bay weekend.........also saw family....mother and brother live there.   I have a 2014 Ram 1500 with a 3 liter Diesel engine and an Axxess 8.5 x 22 toy hauler.  two of us went......the weight of the toy hauler with two big bikes was around 7,000 lbs or more.  I set my Andersen hitch at four threads........and let me tell you....I had to keep looking to be sure the trailer was still there......it rode like a dream!!  no sway, no bounce......just followed wherever I went!  love it!!!!  it's easy to attach and easy to remove and store.......I would buy it again in a second.  on the ride home, I tried three threads and there was a lot of sway....once I tightened it one thread.......none!! 

[daplumbr]

Thanks for the report. I'm eagerly awaiting installing my Anderson WDH, but right now the trailer tongue is in snow! Probably at least a couple of months yet.......

[vrvinmo]

It is a great hitch and a great company. I'm surprised at only 4 threads though. It's been a while, but pretty sure I show at least 8 threads on my setup. Curious, have you measured tongue weight or the payload you're putting on the Ram?

[djsamuel]

[quote timestamp="1422215051" author="@vrvinmo" source="/post/6230/thread"]It is a great hitch and a great company. I'm surprised at only 4 threads though. It's been a while, but pretty sure I show at least 8 threads on my setup. Curious, have you measured tongue weight or the payload you're putting on the Ram?[/quote]The number of threads will vary depending where the brackets are placed on the frame. You could have the same tension, yet different number of threads.

[vrvinmo]

[quote source="/post/6232/thread" timestamp="1422227673" author="@djsamuel"][quote source="/post/6230/thread" timestamp="1422215051" author="@vrvinmo"]It is a great hitch and a great company. I'm surprised at only 4 threads though. It's been a while, but pretty sure I show at least 8 threads on my setup. Curious, have you measured tongue weight or the payload you're putting on the Ram?[/quote]The number of threads will vary depending where the brackets are placed on the frame. You could have the same tension, yet different number of threads.
[/quote]Hmm, I'll have to think about that one, but wouldn't the instructions be the same for all frames? I don't have them with me, but I think the bracket installation instructions should be installed with the same chain tension regardless of frame and / or trailer.

[mitch]

Has anyone gone from towing without a Anderson and feeling like it was okay to towing with an Anderson hitch and noticing a huge difference?  I'm well within the specs of my truck to tow without a wdh and it feels okay but if it would make a big positive difference to have one I would spend the money. That being said I don't want to spend $450 for no good reason.  Thoughts?

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/6330/thread" timestamp="1422726066" author="@mitch"]Has anyone gone from towing without a Anderson and feeling like it was okay to towing with an Anderson hitch and noticing a huge difference?  I'm well within the specs of my truck to tow without a wdh and it feels okay but if it would make a big positive difference to have one I would spend the money. That being said I don't want to spend $450 for no good reason.  Thoughts? [/quote][font size="3"]My guess is the improvement would still be quite noticeable in reducing porpoising and bouncing going over dips and bumps. The 13QBB is so light and small that it isn't straining the Tacoma at all, but a small amount of weight distribution might be desirable. I definitely got a benefit from the E2 hitch on my RPOD 172/Honda Pilot combination. The RPOD is a single axle unit very similar in size and weight to the 13QBB, but the Pilot was shorter and less capable than your Tacoma. I would say, if it doesn't break the bank, the WDH would be a benefit. However, according to member djsamuels, weight distribution is not the Anderson's strong point.

DOUG: Jump in here.
[/font]

[david]

I appreciate that Andersen has become the WDH of choice on this forum. I am not sure why. But there are several light duty trunnion bar hitches that will provide some real weight distribution in addition to reducing sway. Look at this Reese hitch. It is rated for 400 lbs tongue weight and I am sure that it will transfer 200 lbs to the front wheels. The mounting clamps on to the frame, so you don't have to drill holes. The trunnion bars are light enough that they shouldn't stress the aluminum frame of the CL. The trunnion bar slides on a friction pad to reduce sway.

http://etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Reese/66557.html

This is what I would use if my tongue weight ever gets near 400 lbs. Fortunately I am near 300 lbs now with all gear aboard. This light weight hitch should also be ok for 500+ lb tongue weight. You just can't transfer as much weight with the lightweight trunnion bars which isn't all bad considering the stress limitations of the aluminum frame. But certainly it can transfer more than any Andersen hitch.

David

[gnies]

[quote source="/post/6330/thread" timestamp="1422726066" author="@mitch"]Has anyone gone from towing without a Anderson and feeling like it was okay to towing with an Anderson hitch and noticing a huge difference?  I'm well within the specs of my truck to tow without a wdh and it feels okay but if it would make a big positive difference to have one I would spend the money. That being said I don't want to spend $450 for no good reason.  Thoughts? [/quote]I have a 13QBB and don't really feel I need one, I can  feel a bit of bounce when I drive in my neighborhood because the road is not that great but on the highway where the road are good I don't feel any bounce. I don't plan getting one.

[mitch]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

[djsamuel]

Has anyone gone from towing without a Anderson and feeling like it was okay to towing with an Anderson hitch and noticing a huge difference?  I'm well within the specs of my truck to tow without a wdh and it feels okay but if it would make a big positive difference to have one I would spend the money. That being said I don't want to spend $450 for no good reason.  Thoughts?

[font size="3"]My guess is the improvement would still be quite noticeable in reducing porpoising and bouncing going over dips and bumps. The 13QBB is so light and small that it isn't straining the Tacoma at all, but a small amount of weight distribution might be desirable. I definitely got a benefit from the E2 hitch on my RPOD 172/Honda Pilot combination. The RPOD is a single axle unit very similar in size and weight to the 13QBB, but the Pilot was shorter and less capable than your Tacoma. I would say, if it doesn't break the bank, the WDH would be a benefit. However, according to member djsamuels, weight distribution is not the Anderson's strong point.

DOUG: Jump in here.
[/font]

I can tow my 21BHS with without a WDH hitch with no problem.  It does not even come close to a white knuckle journey.  The only times I could really even feel the trailer back there was when I would drive over "humps" such as small bridges.  The road near our home is a 60MPH road with several; bridges like that.  There would be some porpoising in those situations, and I just didn't care for it.  In addition, while I did not have a sway problem, I was uneasy driving long distances without sway control.  Since we were planning on driving from Florida to the Grand Canyon, I wanted something in case weather and road conditions would increase the chance of sway during the trip.  You can have the most stable setup possible, but it is also possible to lose it quickly if the wrong condition(s) occur.

I was looking for something that would be simple to setup and use, effective, and easy to store.  Since my truck towed our trailer fine ( level) without a WDH, I knew a hitch that had it's strength in weight distribution was not necessary.  That opened up my area of consideration to include the Andersen hitch.  I did ALOT of research and considered various options.  I did not want to drill holes in the frame, and wanted to ability to adjust the hitch to a light amount of weight distribution.  More importantly, I wanted sway control and bounce control.  That is where the Andersen shines.  It's ability to control both of these areas seemed to exceed other hitches whose superior abilities in weight distribution were not critical to my case.  In addition, the Andersen hitch is very light and very easy to set up.

After installing, the difference was apparent on the first tow.  The trailer/truck combo felt more solid than I was expecting.  Driving over the bridges I mentioned above resulted in little bounce, which was quickly attenuated.  In fact, during the first tow, the whole setup felt a little too stif to my liking, so I loosened up on the chains one turn for my trip home.  I've no towed over 5,000 miles at that setting and it is still great.  I have towed without the Andersen hitch when I towed the trailer to the dealer for some minor warranty work (cosmetic).  While it towed fine, I could definitely tell the Andersen hitch was not in place.

During the trip to and from Arizona, we hit some very rough roads along the interstates in Louisiana.  The hitch handled them fine, providing much greater comfort than we would have encountered over those bumps without that hitch.  More importantly, we encountered some poor weather conditions in Texas and New Mexico.  We hit some fairly heavy rain combined with 35MPH crosswinds.  In heavy gusts, the trailer would move out slightly and immediately settle back in behind us.  Never did we feel like the situation was anything but secure.  We saw a Heartland trailer, about the same size as our trailer, swaying all over the lane on Interstate 40.  The driver must have been grabbing that wheel as tight as he could.  Yet there we were right next to him with no sway.   He had a WDH in place, but I could not tell the brand.  Finally on the Interstates, passing 18 wheelers caused no problem at all for us.

So, for us, the Andersen hitch is perfect.  It delivers exactly as advertised; provides a very secure and comfortable feel while towing, and has proven to be very easy to set up and durable.  However, if you need a significant amount of weight distribution, it may not be for you; and there are probably better options.  But if you are towing a 21BHS or smaller, and especially if your tow vehicle is a half ton pickup or large SUV; you'd probably do fine with the Andersen.  That is assuming that if you hook up your trailer to your tow vehicle without a WDH, you don't experience significant squatting of your tow vehicle.

Hope this helps.

Doug

[djsamuel]

[quote source="/post/6334/thread" timestamp="1422733530" author="@david"]I appreciate that Andersen has become the WDH of choice on this forum. I am not sure why. But there are several light duty trunnion bar hitches that will provide some real weight distribution in addition to reducing sway. Look at this Reese hitch. It is rated for 400 lbs tongue weight and I am sure that it will transfer 200 lbs to the front wheels. The mounting clamps on to the frame, so you don't have to drill holes. The trunnion bars are light enough that they shouldn't stress the aluminum frame of the CL. The trunnion bar slides on a friction pad to reduce sway.

http://etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Reese/66557.html

This is what I would use if my tongue weight ever gets near 400 lbs. Fortunately I am near 300 lbs now with all gear aboard. This light weight hitch should also be ok for 500+ lb tongue weight. You just can't transfer as much weight with the lightweight trunnion bars which isn't all bad considering the stress limitations of the aluminum frame. But certainly it can transfer more than any Andersen hitch.

David[/quote]David,

The hitch you cite was actually my second choice.  I just thought the Andersen met my particular needs better.  The Reese seemed like a good choice as well.  In fact, given your tow vehicle/trailer combination, I would probably go that route as well if my tongue weight started to climb to 400 pounds.  Glad to hear you remain at 300.

Doug