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Old 03-09-2016, 01:44 AM   #1
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Anderson Ultimate Changes

Ran into this on another forum, from Anderson's facebook page.
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Old 03-09-2016, 04:58 AM   #2
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I'm sold....let's see if they also add the locking capability.
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Old 03-09-2016, 02:49 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by padlin View Post
Ran into this on another forum, from Anderson's facebook page.
Thanks
I continue to be astounded by the stupidity of companies that publish information as a series of random blog entries in a social media forum in which most potential buyers don't even have an active account, yet don't bother dropping it into their real corporate web site. I'm not likely to search through - let alone "follow" - random chatter about the Super Bowl to find technical information about a hitch.

As of today, Andersen's Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection web page still shows the original design - both the frame and the coupler opening.
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Old 03-09-2016, 09:11 PM   #4
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I was on the fence but I think I'll bite on the Andersen.
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Old 03-09-2016, 09:51 PM   #5
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Food for thought. I have pulled 5th and goosenecks, for a travel trailer I prefer the smoother coupling and pulling of the 5th wheel 'classic'. On the farm the gooseneck was preferred, quick and simple.
------------------------
Get a B&W 5th+Companion and you can haul either.

A goose has a lower pivot point, so that means less motion
transmitted to the trailer as the truck articulates. Nice, but
no free lunch. The motion is less, but the force is more.
Basic geometry is the law.

Goose trailers have to be stronger because they reach further
to the pivot point. In most states goose mounts are not
considered "secured", and thus must be run with safety chains.
5th wheel trailers do not require safety chains.

There are more types of suspension couplers for 5th wheels.
Yes, there are airbag goose hitches, but not as wide a variety
as on the 5th side.

It is hard to imagine a better setup than the B&W + Companion
+ 5th Airborne. You have 4-axis pivot, plus airspring and shock.
All of it is quick detach.
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Old 03-10-2016, 04:28 AM   #6
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Having had a Scamp 19 which uses a coupler and ball setup (which I hated), and knowing how precise coupler to ball alignment must be to hook up versus the true 5th wheel hitch, in addition to the need for safety chains, I personally don't get the rampant fascination with the Ultimate Hitch. I see parallels with the almost universal belief that every Escape trailer must have Umbra hooks installed or it is not complete. I find the conventional 5th wheel hitch far easier to align and to hook up, and unless Anderson puts some kind of locking mechanism on the king pin adapter, not only far more secure from "prank" uncoupling, but also from easier trailer theft as the adapter can be quietly removed from the king pin with a couple of wrenches. Just my opinion.....
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Old 03-10-2016, 05:03 AM   #7
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Back and forth, Andersen one day, conventional the next. I forget, what day is today? Yea or nay? I'm confused.
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Old 03-10-2016, 06:58 AM   #8
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Seems to me the real benny to an Anderson, is it's significant weight difference. If you need to remove the hitch frequently that could be enough to tip the scales.

32 lbs for the base of the current gooseneck Anderson, according to their website. No weight on the rail mount version.

Last I knew the regular hitch ETI was selling was the Reese Pro Series 15k, the only weight I can find is 144.5 lbs on the Pro Series website. Don't know if that includes the rails or just the hitch itself.

The Patriot weighs in at 95 for the base and 52 lbs for the coupler when wiggled apart, according to B&W. Pulling it apart takes a bit of work.

Looking at Anderson's website, the photo above looks like the Gooseneck mount, the rail mount version looks a lot different. Guess we'll have to wait to see if they've changed both.
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Old 03-10-2016, 07:05 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by C&G in FL View Post
Having had a Scamp 19 which uses a coupler and ball setup (which I hated), and knowing how precise coupler to ball alignment must be to hook up versus the true 5th wheel hitch, in addition to the need for safety chains, I personally don't get the rampant fascination with the Ultimate Hitch. I see parallels with the almost universal belief that every Escape trailer must have Umbra hooks installed or it is not complete. I find the conventional 5th wheel hitch far easier to align and to hook up, and unless Anderson puts some kind of locking mechanism on the king pin adapter, not only far more secure from "prank" uncoupling, but also from easier trailer theft as the adapter can be quietly removed from the king pin with a couple of wrenches. Just my opinion.....
I was going to stay out to this, but decided to comment as I've had a totally different experience. The 15K Reese slider that I originally had with my 5.0 TA had a tremendous amount of forward/aft and vertical play. Whenever you hit a bump or pot hole, it would make a very loud noise which would startle my wife and I as well as our dog and sometimes jerk the truck around.. And, I can assure you that its possible to not be properly connected even when its locked in place. We experienced that once, luckily I caught it before a disaster occurred. With the Andersen there is no noise, never does it jerk the truck around, and there is no play which keeps the trailer rock steady. I have never had the lock loosen, and can observe it out of my driver side mirror the entire time when underway. However, I agree, a more secure locking device would be beneficial. Another benefit is the weight of the hitch. My Reese weighed 150 lbs, the Andersen come in a 40 lbs, a huge difference. I'm not here to dispute or disagree with anyone, just sharing my experience...
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Old 03-10-2016, 07:25 AM   #10
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I can certainly see the benefit of a lighter hitch setup. My plan is to use Ten Forward so often, it would be a PITA to put in/take out any hitch! After watching many Scamp 5er owners hookup, that ball thing in the bed is not for me.


ETI helped to get the hitch setup in my truck and as far as I'm concerned, it's now permanently mounted. If I need to haul something and need the entire bed, I'll just go rent a utility trailer. That probably won't happen more than once or twice a year and seems far easier than any other solution for me. YMMV
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Old 03-10-2016, 10:12 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Back and forth, Andersen one day, conventional the next. I forget, what day is today? Yea or nay? I'm confused.

Jim I can see your plight.
We have now towed our Escape all over BC and Alberta up and down through the mountains with no problems at all. We opted not to use the hitch Escape was supplying at the time (15K drawbar style) but instead opted for the Reece 16K model. This model uses the clamping jaws to attach to the kingpin. With the addition of the poly lube plate this seemed at the time to be the best set up for us.

What I can tell you is it is solid, reliable and easy to hitch. Just back up until it clicks in, hook up the safety brake cable and plug in the electrical connection and that's it.

Cheers

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Old 03-10-2016, 10:34 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by C&G in FL View Post
........... and knowing how precise coupler to ball alignment must be to hook up versus the true 5th wheel hitch, in addition to the need for safety chains, I personally don't get the rampant fascination with the Ultimate Hitch
Ditto .......

I have a Curt Q16 with the dual locking jaws and it weighs 109 lbs according to my bathroom scales. The Anderson apparently weighs in at 40 lbs but then you have the extra weight of the safety chains and the adapter to convert it to the king pin so by then you are only probably saving 20 or 30 lbs for the headache of the ball hookup. A gym membership could take care of that ....

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Old 03-10-2016, 11:42 AM   #13
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Reese, Curt, Andersen B&W, the list goes on and on......I need something to help me decide....
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Old 03-10-2016, 12:30 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Klem View Post
I have pulled 5th and goosenecks, for a travel trailer I prefer the smoother coupling and pulling of the 5th wheel 'classic'.
I assume that these goosenecks all used a floor-level ball.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Klem View Post
A goose has a lower pivot point, so that means less motion transmitted to the trailer as the truck articulates. Nice, but no free lunch. The motion is less, but the force is more.
Basic geometry is the law.

Goose trailers have to be stronger because they reach further to the pivot point.
All of this is only due to the location (height) of the coupling, and applies to a ball at the truck bed floor level. The Andersen Ultimate and Pullrite SuperLite do not use a ball at the floor level - they couple at the same height as a fifth-wheel, so there would be no motion difference.

The consequences of a longer reach - which again don't apply to the ball hitches being used or considered by Escape owners - are valid and were experienced by Seef when he converted his 5.0 to a floor-level ball hitch.
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Old 03-10-2016, 12:57 PM   #15
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There are more types of suspension couplers for 5th wheels. Yes, there are airbag goose hitches, but not as wide a variety as on the 5th side.
True, but I have yet to hear of an Escape owner seriously interested in an air-cushioned hitch system. There is one slick air-cushion pin box replacement for a floor-level ball: the Reese Goosebox. For air (or rubber) cushioning with ball conversion systems such as the Andersen Ultimate, one would just use a cushioned pin box (such as the 5th Airborne) instead of a cushioned hitch - unlike an air hitch it would only work for one trailer (which is the number of fifth-wheel trailers owned by most 5.0/5.0TA owners), but it would work and make no difference to the fitting of the Andersen Ultimate system.

It is possible to have a air-cushioned hitch with a ball, although it takes some custom fabrication. The Scamp 19 is sized and configured like an Escape 5.0, but comes with a coupler for a 2" ball (like an Escape 5.0/5.0TA with the Andersen Ultimate coupler already bolted on). One owner built a custom hitch for his, and has used an air-spring ball mount with it. This was done before the Andersen Ultimate was available, so the only way to get a high-mounted ball was custom work (or the very basic and questionable hitch which Scamp offered).
Jim (cpaharley2008) - you might want to just ignore this extra alternative!
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:00 PM   #16
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It is hard to imagine a better setup than the B&W + Companion + 5th Airborne. You have 4-axis pivot, plus airspring and shock.
There are only three axes (pitch, roll, yaw) - what's the fourth? Maybe you mean three axes of pivot, plus vertical displacement (due to the spring).

The brilliance of a ball-and-socket hitching system is that it accomodates all three axes of rotation very simply, in contrast to the multiple parts needed in a pin-and-plate fifth-wheel. Commercial truck fifth-wheels don't pivot in roll (side-to-side) so they are simpler, and they take vastly higher loads so a ball wouldn't be practical. I don't see much reason to use the pin-and-plate design for a little RV... other than avoiding those pesky safety chains.
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:01 PM   #17
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Thanks, I'll go back to my beer.
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:19 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by C&G in FL View Post
Having had a Scamp 19 which uses a coupler and ball setup (which I hated), and knowing how precise coupler to ball alignment must be to hook up versus the true 5th wheel hitch, in addition to the need for safety chains, I personally don't get the rampant fascination with the Ultimate Hitch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna D. View Post
After watching many Scamp 5er owners hookup, that ball thing in the bed is not for me.
Alignment could be an issue. Both fifth-wheel and ball hitches need to be aligned in two directions, then engaged in the final direction (by backing the truck with a fifth-wheel, and by lowering the trailer with a typical ball hitch). A significant factor is how much misalignment is tolerated, and fifth-wheels typically have a pretty big funnel-shaped opening to back into so at least the side-to-side alignment can be a couple of inches off, while the current production Andersen Ultimate coupler has a simple cylindrical opening which leaves little room for error. The Scamp 19 has an ordinary coupler on it (same $20 unit as used on conventional trailers) - and it's only a 2" ball to make it a bit worse - so you need to be very close. The painfully obvious solution is a funnel-shaped (or bell-mouthed) opening on the coupler, which is routine on "gooseneck" couplers and is one of the rumoured enhancements coming some day to the Andersen Ultimate.

I find it somewhat amusing that some Scamp 19 owners have converted their ball-hitch trailers to a fifth-wheel... the opposite direction (and requiring much more work) than Escape 50/5.0TA owners converting their trailers to a ball hitch.
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:27 PM   #19
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Looking at Anderson's website, the photo above looks like the Gooseneck mount, the rail mount version looks a lot different. Guess we'll have to wait to see if they've changed both.
Those two in the photo look different because one is aluminum and the other is steel, as well as due the anchoring method. The "gooseneck" anchor requires that chunk of hardware in the middle to pull up on the ball in the bed floor, and is available in both aluminum and steel, which look similar, although the bracing is still different between materials; the rail-mounted version doesn't need that stuff.

The promised structural change applies to the triangular bracing panel, which is only in the aluminum version, which is only offered in the "gooseneck" type.
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Old 03-10-2016, 01:34 PM   #20
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Last I knew the regular hitch ETI was selling was the Reese Pro Series 15k, the only weight I can find is 144.5 lbs on the Pro Series website. Don't know if that includes the rails or just the hitch itself.
A weight rarely includes the rails, because the rails are not specific to the hitch and are usually sold separately... but the Pro Series™ 15K (item 30056) is a kit complete with rails, so that weight should include the rails (but not the brackets under the box floor which attach the rails to the truck's frame).
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