Andersen WDH

[rickinfrate]

does anyone have experience with the Andersen Hitch? It appears to be a weight saver but does it do the job?

[djsamuel]

I haven't received my Andersen yet, but it is on order. I've done a lot of research on it though. It seems like the best application of the Andersen hitch is the situation where there is not much weight distribution required but sway and bounce control is desired. In my case, my Camplite 21BHS only has a tongue weight of about 400 pounds (loaded for camping). When I hook it to my Ram 1500, the truck and trailer sit nice and level with no WDH. When I tow, there is no sway, but some bouncing when going over small bridges, etc. Before we take our first long trip from Florida to the Grand Canyon next year, I wanted to add sway control as a precaution, and if I could attentuate any bouncing, so much the better. For this situation, the Andersen hitch seems ideal. However, people who needed significant weight redistribution seemed to have some issues with the hitch. The compression of the urethane bushings that resulted from significantly tightening the chains to distribute the weight, resulted in a stiff ride, and bouncing. People with lower tongue weights love the hitch.

[hbillsmith]

I have the Anderson and it performs well for me. TT is 2013 Kodiak 242RESL (5,500# loaded with my junk). With storage bin loaded for trip, the tongue weight according to sureline is 700#. Tow vehicle is MB-GL450 rated for 7,500#, 600#tongue. CAT says I'm weight distributing 300# (160# to the front, 140# back to the TT). All of this was confirmed using 3 separate CAT weightings (car alone, TT+Car no WDH, TT+Car with WDH).

My usual tow speed is 60 to 65mph on the interstates, 55 on the back roads.

You need to pick up a Torque wrench at Harbor Freight ($20) to make tightening the tension nuts easier.

Best thing about the Anderson, the pieces store easier and weigh less. Worst thing is effort it takes to tighten the tension nuts. Suitability to task: Does a good job distributing and controlling sway.

Bottom line. With what I know now, I'd still buy it again.

[Cumminsfan]

IMO and this is from reading countless reports on RV.net, Airforums and several others is that it's better suited for lighter weight trailers. TT's with tongue weights in the 900+lb range make it harder to transfer weight to the front of the tow vehicle.
Those with TW's in the 600lb range seem to have better luck.