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Old 02-24-2016, 07:53 AM   #1
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Towing a 5.0 TA....

These questions are for those who tow the 5th wheel Escape trailer. Where do you attach your safety chains and what about your emergency cable. Also do you use the factory 7 pin on the truck rear or another one in the truck bed. I have read those towing with the Andersen Ultimate need chains since it is a ball mount adaptation.
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Old 02-24-2016, 08:02 AM   #2
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You don't need the safety chains with the conventional 5th wheel hitch, only with the Anderson ball type. I connect the break-away cable to the hitch release lever and then put the release lever lock pin in to secure it. I installed a 7 pin connector in the driver's side bed wall.
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Old 02-24-2016, 08:15 AM   #3
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Jim exactly what Charlie & Lucy said.

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Old 02-24-2016, 09:59 AM   #4
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I have the same as the PG, and L&C.
It is important to have the 'emergency' break away cable not get pinched in the hitch (had it happen). I was driving on a logging road, at very slow speed.
Placing the cable so it's not hanging too low, is the way to go.
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Old 02-24-2016, 10:06 AM   #5
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Exactly what Charlie & Lucy said, but I installed an extra 7 pin near the back of the bed, drivers side so I could reach it with the tail gate down. There is a 7 pin kit available.
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Old 02-24-2016, 10:44 AM   #6
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We do the same as Charlie and Lucy, Doug and Eileen, Sleepy and Chris. 7 pin rear driver’s side of bed. Scott

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Old 02-24-2016, 11:53 AM   #7
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Ditto the rest, including the bed side 7 pin. Replaced the emergency cable with one of the spiral phone cord style..
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Old 02-24-2016, 12:05 PM   #8
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Ditto the rest, including the bed side 7 pin. Replaced the emergency cable with one of the spiral phone cord style..
Me too. Got the spiral cable at Tractor Supply. If you like the Andersen Ultimate Hitch, you might want to look at the Pullrite Superlight hitch on Amazon or at Pullrites website. Looks like "precision" alignment is not as critical as with the Andersen.
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Old 02-24-2016, 01:07 PM   #9
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I have read those towing with the Andersen Ultimate need chains since it is a ball mount adaptation.
True, in most places (hitch rules vary by jurisdiction).

Andersen sells a kit (3230 - Ultimate Safety Chains) with alternative for the coupler (the bolts which clamp the coupler onto the trailer's kingpin) having loops for the safety chain. While convenient, I would not be comfortable with this arrangement.

I have one concern with this setup. The most frequent use of safety chains is to retain the trailer when the operator fails to properly latch the coupler (although many people report a properly latched coupler coming off the ball, I think it's more likely that it was never latched...), and this would work for that purpose. But the other function of safety chains is to keep everything together when a component fails. To work for that purpose, the chains need to bypass the components which could fail.

For instance, if the ball breaks off of the mount the chains are still there, since they're not attached to the ball. If the mount comes out of the receiver, the chains are still there because they are attached to the receiver, not the mount. On the trailer side, the chains normally attach to the frame, not to the coupler which might (although it is unlikely) come off, so that the chains work as backup.

In the Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection, the chains should bypass anything which could fail or fail to be latched by the operator. On the truck side, that means they need to attach to the truck's structure (or, more likely the brackets bolted to the frame), not to the removable pyramid frame... and that's how they are done. On the trailer side, Andersen's kit would attach the chains to the same bolts that hold the coupler onto the pin... so if the failure is that these bolts are loose or break, the chains don't do any good. Why not attach them to the pinbox instead?

Eyebolts could be installed in the pinbox (by drilling holes in the pinbox). Two of the bolts holding the box sections together could be used to mount loops as chain anchor point. The eTrailer page for the safety chain kit for the Reese Goosebox (another ball-and-socket system which replaces the lower pin box) shows the chains attaching to the trailer through lugs which are built into the Goosebox; the Andersen equivalent would be to attach to the Escape's lower pinbox.
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Old 02-24-2016, 01:15 PM   #10
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I thought the idea of a fifth wheel hitch is that it is easy to hook up and unhook. Why bother with a ball?
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Old 02-24-2016, 01:24 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by C&G in FL View Post
If you like the Andersen Ultimate Hitch, you might want to look at the Pullrite Superlight hitch on Amazon or at Pullrites website. Looks like "precision" alignment is not as critical as with the Andersen.
I was looking at that system recently. I have started another thread dedicated to it:
SuperLite - Another 5.0TA hitch alternative
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Old 02-24-2016, 01:27 PM   #12
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I thought the idea of a fifth wheel hitch is that it is easy to hook up and unhook. Why bother with a ball?
The ball-and-socket systems (such as this Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection that Jim is planning to use and Jim Bennett has installed) are arguably no more difficult to hook up and unhook... except for the safety chains. This particular setup (the Andersen) is typically chosen for lighter weight of the hardware in the truck bed, which is helpful while towing and can be important while putting the hardware into the truck in preparation to tow, and when taking it back out.
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Old 02-24-2016, 01:38 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I thought the idea of a fifth wheel hitch is that it is easy to hook up and unhook. Why bother with a ball?
To me the main reason for a fifth wheel is the trailer layout, then the improved feel when towing. Somewhere after that comes the easier hookups. But we're all different.
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Old 02-25-2016, 03:25 PM   #14
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Just got off the phone with Jason at Andersen re: Ultimate 5th wheel set up. The 4 hitch pins in the bed are 5/8" and Andersen sells locking pins (same as the locking pins in your conventional receiver set up) which can be used to secure your hitch in your truck bed. In addition they are working on a locking "Release pin" for the Ultimate to prevent accidental release of the pin. Maybe 2-3 months before that is released.
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