Anderson Ranch Hitch Adapter for 5.0TA

[SkipperClyde]

Good morning,

Does anyone on the form use the Anderson Ranch Hitch Adapter on their 5.0TA. https://andersenhitches.com/Products...h-adapter.aspx

I recently bough a 2016 Toyota Tundra with a 5 1/2' bed. I am installing a turn over gooseneck ball. I know I can use an Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection 2 –Gooseneck version. The difference in the measurements is the Ranch Adapter is 1 3/8" Closer to the cab.

I currently use the rail system with the Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel in my old truck. Just wanting to get rid of the rails and having to install the hitch whenever I need to tow.

Thanks
Phil

[Centex]

Originally Posted by SkipperClyde

The difference in the measurements is the Ranch Adapter is 1 3/8" Closer to the cab.

Other differences:

• The Ranch Adaptor acts as a lever-arm on the trailer's pinbox, altering (increasing) certain stresses imposed on it compared to either the Ultimate Connection or the 'traditional' 5th wheel.
• It lowers the vertical pivot point; that has the effect of altering (compared to the higher pivot point of the Ultimate connection / 5th wheel) the clearances between the bedside/rails and the pinbox/trailer in situations where the TV-trailer are traversing un-level ground. IOW, the components of the trailer are following a different arc-of-travel in the vertical plane compared to that with the Ultimate connection or a 'traditional' 5th wheel hitch (for the worse in certain situations - the arc causing components to be pushed 'out' relative to a vertical-line through the pivot-point when the trailer wheels are lower than the vehicle wheels on an 'inside turn').

Only you can decide if those differences are meaningful, beneficial, or detrimental for your rig and situation.

[SkipperClyde]

Excellent points Centex.

Still hoping someone can give first hand experience from using the Ranch Adaptor.

Thanks
Phil

[SWCO]

Originally Posted by SkipperClyde

Good morning,

Does anyone on the form use the Anderson Ranch Hitch Adapter on their 5.0TA. https://andersenhitches.com/Products...h-adapter.aspx

I recently bough a 2016 Toyota Tundra with a 5 1/2' bed. I am installing a turn over gooseneck ball. I know I can use an Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection 2 –Gooseneck version. The difference in the measurements is the Ranch Adapter is 1 3/8" Closer to the cab.

I currently use the rail system with the Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel in my old truck. Just wanting to get rid of the rails and having to install the hitch whenever I need to tow.

Thanks
Phil

If you do a search for "ranch hitch" (or similar) you will find multiple threads with lots of information.

One example (start around post #6) https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...0ta-11097.html

A number of folks have been interested in the Ranch Adaptor (myself included), but Escape recommends against it (additional leverage/stress on hitch frame). I am not sure if any current users went against the Escape guidance and are using it. I am using the Ultimate with my B&W Turnover Ball hitch, though I would have preferred the Ranch Adaptor if it was deemed safe by Escape.

[Brian B-P]

Since the discussion linked above, there has been a change in ETI management, much discussion of hitch systems and structural issues, private correspondence with ETI, a design study within ETI, removal of the statement about adapters in the owners manual, and a newly published and very helpful document of Escape 5.0 Towing Compatibility Guidelines (linked on the Escape 5.0 page)... which ends with this:

Non-Standard Hitches and Warranty
Towing with a trailer connection other than the supplied pinbox is discouraged and will result in the customer voiding their trailer warranty. Escape trailer will not install alternative pinboxes, hitch adapters, or other non-standard equipment. Some arrangements cause the trailer frame to see increased stress during operation, resulting in risk of damage or injury.

Escape Trailer has validated and is happy to install the Andersen Ultimate line of connections, including the Ultimate Gooseneck Connection.

So... don't use the Ranch Hitch Adapter, and if you do your frame will not be covered by warranty.

[SWCO]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Since the discussion linked above, there has been a change in ETI management, much discussion of hitch systems and structural issues, private correspondence with ETI, a design study within ETI, removal of the statement about adapters in the owners manual, and a newly published and very helpful document of Escape 5.0 Towing Compatibility Guidelines (linked on the Escape 5.0 page)..

Though the written guidance regarding adaptors has apparently been modified, it does not appear to me to represent a substantive change from earlier Escape Trailer Industries policy and practices. Despite the prior owners manual language regarding the use of fifth wheel hitch adaptors, prior Escape management did not discourage use of the Anderson Ultimate hitch adaptor and, in fact, routinely installed that adaptor (provided by the purchaser) on Escape 5.0 TA trailers (usually during orientation) at the Escape factory, prior of delivery of the trailers. Prior discussions in earlier threads remain relevant regarding the use of the Ultimate and Ranch Adaptor hitches.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by SWCO

Though the written guidance regarding adaptors has apparently been modified, it does not appear to me to represent a substantive change from earlier Escape Trailer Industries policy and practices. Despite the prior owners manual language regarding the use of fifth wheel hitch adaptors, prior Escape management did not discourage use of the Anderson Ultimate hitch adaptor and, in fact, routinely installed that adaptor (provided by the purchaser) on Escape 5.0 TA trailers (usually during orientation) at the Escape factory, prior of delivery of the trailers. Prior discussions in earlier threads remain relevant regarding the use of the Ultimate and Ranch Adaptor hitches.

I agree. The direction from ETI is now in a different location, directions are more clear, and work has been done to validate that direction... but the situation is basically the same, and the previous discussion provides good background.

The Ranch Hitch Adapter was never acceptable; the Ultimate system always was because it doesn't extend the tongue vertically.

Anyone looking for direction in the owner's manual might appreciate knowing about the new location, and anyone wondering if the old direction is still valid (there were questions about whether it applied to the current 5.0TA) might want to know that it is.