Andersen Hitch Refurbishment

[7th Heaven]

Thanks Parker,

Your post is timely for me as I have similar wear showing on our hitch and was planning to follow up with Anderson this week.

[7th Heaven]

Some info from the Anderson website

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POXl...ature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFGX...ature=youtu.be

[Jim Bennett]

Though I won't need my Anderson WDH anymore, I do plan on selling it or giving it away. Mine has a black friction cone and no snap ring like they show. Maybe it was an earlier version?

[Parker]

More than likely an earlier one like ours, which I think I prefer after seeing some of the snap ring challenges.

[J Mac]

Personally, if I owned an Andersen hitch and had the many problems owners seem to have with it, or was considering buying an Andersen hitch and read this thread, I'd change my mind and buy a ProSeries hitch instead.
It's just not worth the trouble and possible misfortune to stick with this (or any) product just because you bought it.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Parker

More than likely an earlier one like ours, which I think I prefer after seeing some of the snap ring challenges.

I imagine that the collar we have is what the snap ring replaced.

For what it's worth, I never had any issue with my Anderson hitch at all, and it still works great, or did when last used.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by J Mac

Personally, if I owned an Andersen hitch and had the many problems owners seem to have with it, or was considering buying an Andersen hitch and read this thread, I'd change my mind and buy a ProSeries hitch instead.
It's just not worth the trouble and possible misfortune to stick with this (or any) product just because you bought it.

That is exactly what I've done. The advantages of the Andersen in terms of being light-weight and easier to store pale with the need for ongoing maintenance. There is too much to maintain on any RV as it is without adding more. I also believe it is more work hitching up the Andersen vs. the Pro Series having owned both(had Pro Series with 17B). Once you know how many links in the chain for the Pro Series you just insert the bars and link up the chains with the lever. With the Andersen you have to go through some gymnastics with the triangle plate and jacking up the tongue to remove pressure so you can tighten the nuts.

Thought I would go with the trunnion vs. round but after research went with round bars as they are not as stiff and give a smoother ride. ETI is probably offering trunnion as they do offer better ground clearance and there are many folks that probably need that with lower profile tow vehicles. Got the 600TW bars for net $232 delivered after price match from etrailer.

[cpaharley2008]

Ross,
Which Etrailer item did you get?

[DonF]

Originally Posted by bolerfan

This thread is about Andersen Hitches not Pro Hitches which seem to be flawless. But for those of us who have the Andersen we need to be aware of what is happening with our hitches as we rack up the mileage in towing. The cone seems to have been addressed by Andersen in changing the material to a more dense urethane. Having said that they need to clear up the problem of seating the cone ( I posted about the need to polish the inside of the hitch to a super high gloss). The chain wear is also a concern. I also mailed the pics to Andersen who said they would replace the chains on warranty once it was felt that failure due to wear would be imminent. For me personally this is not yet the case and I am not aware of anyone writing to say the chain has actually worn through. Another post mentions the wear on the ball. It says the Atwood that Escape uses is not on the Andersen caution list. Yet the post discusses excessive wear and something about drilling out a pin. Not sure what that is really involved here ....but this is in essence what this this thread is about.... giving Andersen users the experiences of other Andersen users. I want to learn what problems have been experienced and what solutions undertaken. And that ball wear issue is something that would definitely have the potential to be a safety issue. This hitch is different, and there are some design issues no doubt....with the sharing of information by Andersen users we can make our decisions for fixes from an informed position.

My experience with using the Anderson hitched for 21,000 miles.
I started towing without using any lubrication on the ball or coupler. Within 500 miles after picking up our Escape, I was hearing increasing amounts of “groans and squeaks” from the hitch. I contacted Anderson several times about the hitch noise and ball wear I was seeing to get their input. Anderson’s final response was “Some ball wear is expected from the coupler and clasp and some white lithium grease on the inside of your coupler especially the moving parts is recommended.”

From that point on, I’ve applied a light coat of white lithium grease to the back and top of the ball most every time I hitched up and occasionally to the moving parts of the coupler. I still had occasional noise but it was significantly less than what I had heard prior to applying the lubricant.

After 11,800 miles, the red liner had extruded quite a bit. I sent Anderson a photo and promptly received a new black liner. When I removed the old liner, I noticed quite a bit of delamination of the liner surface and pieces of it were adhered to the pin socket.


I did not reinstall the snap ring after installing the new liner as I don’t tow anything other than our trailer and the pin is secured by the swivel plate when the hitch is in use. As a point of reference though, after hookup, the trailer has routinely been jacked up without the snap ring in place to make it easier to install the hitch plate to the bottom of the pin. Even though there is nothing securing the pin other than the friction fit, the pin has never come loose from the ball housing while doing so.

After the liner change, I continued to have occasional, minor hitch noise similar to what I’ve always had. However, last fall it fairly suddenly got to the point where the “groaning” was so loud when making tight turns (like backing into a site) I actually thought the hitch receiver was failing! At a campground in Tulelake, CA, I knocked out the pin and found small pieces of the friction liner adhered to the tapered pin.

I cleaned both surfaces, sprayed the parts with a light coat of dry silicone lubricant, and reassembled. When I put the pin back into the ball housing, I rotated it 180 degrees to create a new contact surface between the ball and coupler. When I made this change, there were 6,300 miles on the new liner and it had not extruded at all from its original position.

Absolute silence for the next 1,500 miles and I didn’t notice any degradation of the sway control function of the Anderson hitch. When the same groaning noise while making tight turns started to return after 1,500 miles, I repeated the process. The hitch has been silent for the 1,800 miles towed since.

Significant wear occurred on the hitch ball during the 500 miles I was towing without any lubrication being used. I’ve seen a smaller wear spot during the 3,300 miles towed since I rotated the pin. I believe the lack of lubrication was a big contributor to the initial ball wear.


I contacted Anderson to let them know what I had found with the liner degradation and to find out if using dry lubricant on the “friction” surfaces would be detrimental to the hitch performance. The response from Dave was, “Thank you for the detailed email and the pictures of what is going on with your hitch. We are finding this issue to be happening from time to time with our new cone and working on a long term solution. What you are doing right now is a great way of keeping it quiet and if you ever feel we owe you a new liner or even a complete ball housing with new liner and ball keep us posted as we have those items covered under the lifetime warranty.”

I’ve not had any problems with the urethane bushings and only see minor wear on the chain links where they contact the edge of the square tube. Recently I used a Demel tool to smooth out the minor sharp edges on the inside of the tube walls that had been caused by the chains rubbing against them. I didn’t consider the wear excessive for the 21,000 miles the hitch has been used.

By the way, I’ve heard quite a bit of groaning and popping from more conventional brands of WDH setups used by other campers as they’ve creaked by us in campgrounds; the occasional noise from the Anderson hitch isn’t unique to their product.
Don

[Bobbito]

My Reese hitch created a lot of groaning and squealing sounds, and transferred them to the TV so we felt them as well. Currently our Andersen is dead quiet. I guess I may have to replace the liner as it wears. ETI told me at one point 80% of their trailers left with an Andersen hitch. I wonder if people without issues don't bother to post on the forum?

Bob K


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[J Mac]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

My Reese hitch created a lot of groaning and squealing sounds, and transferred them to the TV so we felt them as well. Currently our Andersen is dead quiet. I guess I may have to replace the liner as it wears. ETI told me at one point 80% of their trailers left with an Andersen hitch. I wonder if people without issues don't bother to post on the forum?

Bob K


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You're probably right. I've yet to read of a ProSeries issue.

[sturski]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

I wonder if people without issues don't bother to post on the forum?

Mine groans occasionally; but so does my wife. I'll keep both, they seem to be working out.

[Rossue]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Ross,
Which Etrailer item did you get?

Item 49568.

[kstock11]

I've towed 10,300 miles so far with our Anderson hitch with no problems yet. I've used a dryer sheet for lubrication with no squeaks or squeals yet. Recently saw a post advising using T-9 lubrication and will try that soon. I think that many Escape buyers went for the Anderson as it is unique. We tend to march to a different drummer. How many other trailer manufacturers can claim buyers from all over the continent driving to Chilliwack to pick up a travel trailer?

[Parker]

At the risk of repeating things I've probably said in the past about our Andersen, it was the second one installed by Dennis at ETI. We've towed just about 20K miles with it now. At about 10K, maybe less, I raised concerns about the conical sleeve migrating upwards and possible permanent compression of the elastomer springs. They sent me all three pieces free (the sleeve was still a red one then), I installed them, and things have been fine since. The new elastomer springs, were, in fact, about 1/8" longer than the old ones. There are a few creaks and groans, but nothing to compare to our old friction damper on our Casita. My biggest concern is the way the ball showed signs of wear just behind the flat spot on top, meaning that this edge on top of the ball was likely causing extra, concentrated wear inside the coupler. That's when I started lubing it with a stick lubricant. I have also filed that upper rear intersection of the flat spot and the rear surface of the ball to blend the two together. This may not be a problem for others; I think it just depends on how the hitch and ball meet, which is probably a function of loading, tongue angle if not perfectly level, etc. I do think it would be better if they manufactured the ball without the flat on top. The ball and coupler are pulled very tightly together, and I would prefer to avoid any areas of possible wear or stress concentration.

[paulw]

Originally Posted by Bobbito

..... I wonder if people without issues don't bother to post on the forum?

Bob K
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

3 season on ours with no issues - I think it's really the way to go if you are close to your tug's tongue weight/axle limit or just don't want 75# of steel hanging off your rig.

[J Mac]

Originally Posted by paulw

3 season on ours with no issues - I think it's really the way to go if you are close to your tug's tongue weight/axle limit or just don't want 75# of steel hanging off your rig.

You may have to explain the 75# of steel hanging off the rig.

[paulw]

Originally Posted by J Mac

You may have to explain the 75# of steel hanging off the rig.

Steel hitch head & bars.... altho' I guess the weight one member quoted was 68# putting him 43# over his max tongue weight (350#)....don't know if that was just the head or head & bars.
Anderson weights 24#....

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I imagine that the collar we have is what the snap ring replaced.

Exactly. Having the snap ring means that when the triangular plate is removed, a collar is not needed to replace it. The snap ring also fits more closely, which keeps the ball and cone from unseating a bit if pushed upward hard enough.

The snap ring design replaced the collar design. I don't know exactly when, but it was sometime prior to August 2013.

[J Mac]

Originally Posted by paulw

Steel hitch head & bars.... altho' I guess the weight one member quoted was 68# putting him 43# over his max tongue weight (350#)....don't know if that was just the head or head & bars.
Anderson weights 24#....

I've never weighed my ProSeries hitch. That seems high. I guess it never bothered me.