WDH, air bags or nothing

[dave1]

Thanks for the info prairieboy,
I have 3 springs that are long enough to curve then 1 shorter and almost straight. Is that what you refer to as a 4pack? It is interesting what a few inches taller and wider trailer does to towing.
Are you considering sway control or just moving stuff around to add a some tongue weight?

Dave

[prairieboy]

You have what I've called the 4 pack. I'm going to the Escape rally in 3 weeks and check out what everyone else has - so far I'm leaning towards purchasing the Andersen Hitch for the sway control. You're right, that few inches wider and higher does make a difference with the wind. What I also found interesting was the fuel economy, even thou the 19 is heavier, wider and higher, I used the same fuel, 15l per 100 km (something like 15-16 mpg). Go figure....

[dave1]

Good to know my springs should be ok. Nice to hear your fuel mileage didnt change. Thats pretty good mileage. Hope you get some good info at the rally. If you have time please share your findings.

[cpaharley2008]

I going to use my andersen this week as a sway control, as I do not need w/d with my Ram. Will report back the benefits, if any.

[dave1]

If you don't really need WDH and choose to use it, if installed correctly will it have any adverse effects on towing or damage to the suspension?
Jim, have you noticed sway while towing with your Ram?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by dave1

If you don't really need WDH and choose to use it, if installed correctly will it have any adverse effects on towing or damage to the suspension?

Not if minimally applied. Jim will only need enough tension on the chains to keep them from going slack at any time, so they will turn the plate trigger the friction sway damping action.

[dave1]

Good point. After reading and watching install videos on the Andersen hitch, He can simply remove the chains and use the ball with the supplied collar and have swap control.

[bryan]

I have a 2005 Toyota Tacoma and a 17b.

My truck received the TSB update about 8-10 months after buying it, while there was an improvement, it was less than perfect. I ended up getting the Firestone airbags after doing a trip with 2 motos and some camping gear in the box of the truck.

fast forward to this year. We purchased a used 17b through Escape and had it stored till just recently. I was unsure if I would go the WDH route or not, but a local auto parts store had the Curt WDHs on sale for $175 and it seemed like a no brainer to purchase. I only towed the 17b for about 20 miles before installing the WDH and I notice a pretty good improvement on towing the trailer, even though the trailer was in a "light" state.

We just got back from a ~500k trip and things went really well. We had 2 motocross bikes, 10g of fuel, 5g of water and a small gen in the back of the truck and the trailer was loaded with everything needed for 5 days of camping and 2 duffle bags filled with moto gear.

My Tacoma has a small lift in the front(1.75") to level the truck and a small jump in size for the tires. We camped in a field that was fairly rough and had to go through some small holes and do some tight turning and the WDH was not an issue at all. While I'm sure it would be easy to get away with not using the WDH, I found zero down side(for me) and felt it did improve the ride.

[dave macrae]

We have a yukon xl with rear coil springs and a 19ft. I have the firestone air bags in the coils with a compressor kit. We don't really need a wdh but the issue I was having is the rear hatch of the truck wouldn't clear the tounge jack. I found a great deal on a used reese pro trunion style wdh. Th extra length of the reciever head provided the clearance for the hatch and it does tow better. Seems to not bounce around as much. Using the air bags to keep the back of the truck at the proper ride and the wdh to tie every thing together seems to provide a great secure feel while towing.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by dave1

After reading and watching install videos on the Andersen hitch, He can simply remove the chains and use the ball with the supplied collar and have [sway] control.

I don't think so. With no chains, there would be nothing to turn the rotating part of the hitch (ball, vertical shaft, hardware attached to it) so there would be no sway-damping friction between the rotating parts and the stationary parts. Without the chains, I believe that the Anderson hitch is just a plain adjustable-height ball mount.

To get sway control from an Anderson hitch with minimal weight-distribution action, the chains would need to be just tight enough to avoid slack.

[dave1]

Yes you're right, I would just be a ball hitch without the bottom plate and chains.

[cpaharley2008]

I just towed 1350 miles with the Andersen and my Dodge ram with air bags. I reduced the air pressure to 5 psi to allow the ram to have a softer ride. With the Andersen, my cutting board which I leave on my stove and the sink cover remained in it's place. The Escape towed true and straight thru 35 mph winds last night and today. My gas took a hit to 11 mpg.

Brian, the Andersen anti sway can work without the chains, but will work better with chains.
The ball and trailer are locked together and when the trailer is turned the ball turns with it, unlike a conventional hitch set up. There is no ball/hitch lubrication used in the Andersen because of this. Since the ball is encased in a cylinder surrounded with brake material, it does not turn easily between the tongue weight and the brake material. I had no sway at all on the trip even with wind gusts.

[dave1]

Jim,
Great info thanks. Sounds like the unit was easy to switch between your vehicles and tows both with good results. Always nice when things work as advertised/expected.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

The ball and trailer are locked together and when the trailer is turned the ball turns with it, unlike a conventional hitch set up. There is no ball/hitch lubrication used in the Andersen because of this.

Used as intended, the chains force the ball to rotate with the trailer, so the coupler does not need to rotate on a vertical axis on the ball. The coupler still moves on the ball as it rolls and pitches, so it is rotating in two of the three axes, but I suppose it wouldn't be a problem to skip the lubrication.

In the first video on Andersen's No-Sway product page, one person is clearly shown rotating the plate to turn the ball/cone, because that is how it is turned in the hitch operation... not by the trailer coupler.

The same coupler is used with the Andersen as with any other hitch system, and the coupler freely rotates on the ball. Without the chains what would lock the ball and coupler together?

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Since the ball is encased in a cylinder surrounded with brake material, it does not turn easily between the tongue weight and the brake material

The shaft of the ball is this cylinder (which is actually a cone, tapered 1/4" over the 4" height) which rotates in the hitch head; the rotation is resisted by friction. Without the chains, there will be this substantial friction to keep the ball from rotating in the hitch head, and minimal friction to make the ball rotate with the coupler, so the ball will be solid in the head (turns with the tug, not the trailer) just like any plain adjustable-height ball mount.

[cpaharley2008]

Brian,
My ball does not turn by hand with the bottom plate, you need to bang on the plate to line up the hole, it is very tight. So are you saying to use the hitch without the chains and the friction would be greater?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

My ball does not turn by hand with the bottom plate, you need to bang on the plate to line up the hole, it is very tight.

It should be tight, because the weight of the trailer on the ball forces it down into the friction material and "wedges" it there - even after lifting the trailer off, it is probably stuck to some extent just as a drawer pushed in unevenly can get jammed in a cabinet (if drawer slides are not used).

The plate is keyed to the ball's shaft, so the ball/shaft and plate turn together.

Under normal tongue weight, the No-Sway is deliberately designed to have a very substantial amount of friction to resist trailer sway motion. The torque required to turn it with an Escape attached should be very roughly as much as needed to fully tighten a wheel nut.

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

So are you saying to use the hitch without the chains and the friction would be greater?

No, the amount of friction depends only on the tongue weight. Without chains, the friction would be no greater than with the chains... but there would be nothing to turn the plate (and ball/shaft), so all those parts would stay locked in place in the hitch head. With the WD chains in use, the chains pull very hard and move the plate (and thus the ball/shaft) to match the trailer.


I asked Andersen this question (via their support web page), after providing some context from our discussion:

If used without the chains, does a No-Sway system provide any sway control, or is it simply an adjustable-height ball mount with ball, like a normal EZ Hitch?

This is the relevant part of the response, which they promptly provided (in less than one business day):

... Without the triangle plate attached this would just be a heavy duty ball mount –which is fine if you don't need sway control. As you figured out, the plate needs to move the ball against the friction material to gain sway control – and it can't do that without the chains in place so it can turn. You may want to forward that information to the forum or person who posted the original comment.

Please feel free to contact us again.

--Andrew
Customer Service
Andersen Hitches …Made in America!
Off: 208.523.6460 | Fax: 208.523.6562
customerservice@andersenhitches.com
Andersen Manufacturing Inc.

I'm sorry if I've dragged this subject out. I'm not trying to make an issue out of nothing, I just want to be sure that no one spends $300 more than necessary (the difference between No-Sway and plain EZ Hitch) because they mistakenly believe they are getting more functionality during non-WD use. Even worse, I wouldn't want anyone towing with the No-Sway hardware and not using the WD chains thinking that they have sway control when they do not.