Anderson Hitch

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Anderson Hitch

Are We Lost · Guru

Maybe you did not get recent hits because you used the wrong spelling. Here is a recent one:

Andersen Hitch

Rusty W · Veteran Member

Hi Bear, I have one and used it on my Jeep with air suspension. I can't compare it to other hitches as boat trailers are not made for this (no A frame).
The hitch took away the porposing which was fairly bad on average roads. I believe they are better as they don't put a twisting effort on the A frame.

Have seen plenty of photos of broken A frames possibly helped by WDHs.

The bad, unless you back up to exactly the same spot as you unhooked, that is dead straight the pin does not line up and you have to loosen the chains
to hook up. I always undo the chains hooking and unhooking.

I grease the chain links into the square tube as they squeak over bumps.
I also lube the towball as there is a lot of pressure on the back of the ball and have seen flatspots on a friends ball ungreased.

Hope this helps with your decision, feel free to ask if u need more info.
regards Russell

Cupie · Guru

I'll be interested to hear any comments on Rusty's practice of greasing the ball.

The only experience that I have had with 'Friction' based systems (BB mentioned that the Andersen hitch uses the friction system) was towing a 21/22 foot English rental van about 50km from a repair centre to another location to have gas work done.

BTW, it towed & stopped beautifully without a WDH and using over ride breaks.

I had to fit a special ball with its squared base plate to prevent it from unscrewing due to the friction action.

The repairer was perhaps anal in ensuring that the ball was squeaky clean & free from grease before connecting up, mumbling something about all the effort that he had gone to in replacing the pads or whatever in the van's hitch to ensure that the friction system worked.

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Thanks Rusty thats great feedback especially as I also have a Jeep GC even though its a Limited without the air suspension.

Are We Lost thanks for the link to the previous post I didnt see that one because as you said I had the wrong spelling in my search. The link took me to a post that started off with some useful info but ended up in nothing more than a 3 page pi...ng competition. This is the main reason that I stopped contributing to the GN site it doesnt matter what the subject is it ends up getting closed down because people seem more intent on pushing a point of view rather than providing any useful info..

Off Topic - Cupie good to see the rebirth of your Qld football sides should make for a great SOO competition this year - shame about our continually under acheiving Knights. We actually took a road trip up your way 2 weeks ago Lake MacQuarie, Caboolture, Agnes Water, Bannana, Roma, Lightning Ridge, Dunedoo and home again via the Golden Hwy. lucky we only had our Mitsubishi Eclipse because it rained the whole way and I wouldnt have liked to have been towing anything on those roads.

BB

BaldEd · Veteran Member

I have used the Andersen WDH now for 6 years. Coupling my Jayco 16-51-3 caravan to a Holden Colorado7. The only sway I have experienced is the normal brief waggle one receives when a large truck commences to overtake.

I got the normally provided 4" hitch shank. This, with its multiple holes, provided me with adequate adjustment. I set up the shank in the "down" position. With the caravan level I needed to have the bolts through the top and 3rd holes i.e. have 2 unused holes below. Remember the shank can be mounted with the "L" pointing up if your caravan has a very high chassis. The shank is quite long and so to reduce the rear axle to towball distance to the shortest possible distance (to lessen the sway leverage moment) I had an engineering shop bore a new hole for the hitch pin and cut off the end of the shank so that it didn't protrude beyond the inner edge of the receiver. (The Collie7 has it's spare wheel mounted adjacent to the end of the towbar's short hitch receiver.) The shank was shortened approx. 150mm.

Some advantages of the Andersen is the built in anti-sway provided by the tapered friction pad surrounding the tapered tow ball, that it is quiet and one can reverse with the caravan hitched.

With regard to Rusty's statement about the difficulty of aligning the pin hole up when hitching up I use a different technique. I leave the triangular plate pinned to the towball at all times. It doesn't bother me if the tug and caravan are not aligned fore and aft when unhitching. I just reduce the tension on the chains, disconnect the shackles from the triangular plate and drive off. When re-hitching, just be sure to reverse up to the caravan at the same angle you left at. To facilitate reversing at the same angle, I have painted the long edge of the triangular plate white, and I temporary bungy a short white guide stick across the nose of the A-frame. Then when I reverse up to the caravan using the rear camera (the white edge of the triangular plate is visible in the camera) I just back up to the towball keeping the edge of the triangular plate parallel to the caravan's white stick. Thus the tug and caravan are at the same angle as when unhitched. Easy peasy. Remove the white stick, refit the shackles, tension up, re-connect the electrics and you are ready to drive away.

One thing to be wary of is "spoon" drains. Example driving down off a road and across a gutter to higher ground. Where the tug is going uphill whilst the caravan is still going downhill toward the gutter. This increases the tension on the chains markedly and such could damage the A-frame. It is best to slacken the chain tension before traversing deep gutters.

Rusty W · Veteran Member

High Cupie, the ball of the tow ball is like any other tow ball, the tow ball shaft is where the friction pad is. The trailer does not turn on the tow ball
as the tow ball and trailer turn together.

But like any coupling it does swivel up and down over bumps and dips and the chains are pulling the trailer hard onto the tow ball and that is why I lube my tow ball. Hope I have explained it clearly enough.
regards Russell

watsea · Guru

Rusty,

If you lube the tow ball, does the lube make the ball move easier in the cup on the A frame? Wouldn't that mean the trailer would have a chance to move on the ball, hence reducing the effectiveness of the anti-sway system with the friction pads on the shaft?

Are We Lost · Guru

watsea wrote:
Rusty,

If you lube the tow ball, does the lube make the ball move easier in the cup on the A frame? Wouldn't that mean the trailer would have a chance to move on the ball, hence reducing the effectiveness of the anti-sway system with the friction pads on the shaft?

I will answer the questions for Rusty.

The towball is pinned to the plate, and the chains at the end of the plate are attached to the drawbar. So those items don't move in relation to the drawbar. The ball can only swivel in it's housing which is part of the tow hitch assembly. So, as you turn, the A frame, coupling, plate and ball all rotate in relation to the hitch assembly. This is the opposite of the normal situation where the towball is fixed to the hitch.

The shaft of the ball is cone shaped and sits in a cup that fits snugly into the stainless steel housing. The more the towball load, the tighter it fits, and it is here that the anti sway friction acts. As I mentioned before, there is no way of swivelling the plate even with a heavy hammer. But remove the pin (van disconnected) and give it a whack from underneath and it easily comes apart.

As for the process of what to do if the van was disconnected in other than straight ahead, I might try BaldEd's suggestion of lining things up with the aid of a stick. But sometimes that is not feasible and you have no choice but to connect at a different angle.

I approach it differently. If the difference is small, it doesn't matter. Just leave the plate at an angle. The chain tension will still equalise. Just make sure the drawbar can't foul on the plate. If the angle is larger, one chain will be too short to fit the bush and nut on the end. Jist attach the other chain and complete the rest of the hookup. Drive off and turn a corner and that should straighten the plate sufficiently to insert the chain and tighten it.

I have never lubricated the ball or chains on mine, but it may be a good idea. The supplier did send me a small bottle of lubricant for the cone ... I think it may have been silicone. I was told to put one or two drops there if it squeaked. I did that then when I assembled it but have not touched in the last 15 - 20,000 kilometres. The friction cone is degrading a bit now, so this has been a reminder to order another one. The ball is showing signs of wear but still serviceable.

Spoon drains? I have not removed or detensioned mine for any normal roadways, driveway entrances, etc. I suppose if I needed to cross a deep one, I would just approach it at an angle. But with any WDH you do need to be aware to avoid the situations that would come close to the tow vehicle rear wheels being lifted off the ground.

-- Edited by Are We Lost on Friday 3rd of June 2022 12:08:47 AM

watsea · Guru

Thanks AWL, your explanation made things clear for me. I didn't realise the plate at the bottom rotated as well.
I have a Hayman Reese WDH and the bars usually come off before backing into a site and are refitted to go, once on a straighter path.

oldbloke · Guru

watsea wrote:
Thanks AWL, your explanation made things clear for me. I didn't realise the plate at the bottom rotated as well.
I have a Hayman Reese WDH and the bars usually come off before backing into a site and are refitted to go, once on a straighter path.

I never do that. Even very sharp turns, including U turns. The system just "swivels".

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Thanks guys for the great info. especially the explanation from Are We Lost on the mechanics. I think I will go ahead and order one with the 4" drop it seems it has plenty of adjustment and it should suit my rig. I really want to get rid of that heavy HR unit not only because of the manual handling but it looks like The Andersen set up will bring the towball closer to the rear axle. Just a shame that I couldnt have used the D035 coupling that would have come with the van. At least I have learnt how to spell Andersen ... smile

BB

watsea · Guru

The Belmont Bear wrote:
..... Just a shame that I couldnt have used the D035 coupling that would have come with the van. At least I have learnt how to spell Andersen ...
BB

BB,

As you would know, the D035 offers enhanced strength and articulation over a 50mm ball. However, if one uses a a tension bar type WDH, like a HR or others, the stiffness of the system and its bars do not allow the articulation benefit of the D035 coupling to be fully utilised. Some recommend to remove the WDHs on rough roads.

The Belmont Bear · Guru

Thanks watsea for pointing that out because I would have been using a HR WDH with the D035 but the main reason I went with a the ball coupling was because an Andersen Hitch comes with the 50mm ball.

BB