Setting up an Andersen WD hitch

Traildad

Advanced Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2022
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45
Location
Vacaville
I have an Escape 19 with an Andersen hitch. It was installed and used by my dad before he passed. I changed the height of the ball when I used it without the chains on my truck to move the trailer. Now I have his truck and I want to make sure it is set correctly. I have the manual which says to adjust the height so the front of the trailer is no more than 1 1/2 inches lower than the rear. That is a pretty tight tolerance and I wonder how that works if I load more gear in the truck or trailer that wasn’t there when I adjusted it. I don’t know if more or less water in the tanks, gear in the front of the trailer or gear in the bed of the truck should be in place before setting up the hitch height. What is common practice for setting up a hitch like this? Thanks, Ken
 
When Escape was selling & installing Andersen hitches they were doing so with a new & empty trailer.

With a tandem axle you are much better off slightly nose up when picking a height for the ball on the adjustable Andersen hitch. For a 19 especially be sure when you load the trailer you have enough tongue weight- about 12% of your total trailer weight. If you have a full water tank and bikes on the back it can be easy to get under that and risk sway.
 
Will be ordering the E23 soon and need to have the WDH in hand when we pick it up. Can anyone tell me the height of the E23’s hitch so I will be able to order the correct model for my truck,

Thanks, Chris
 
Will be ordering the E23 soon and need to have the WDH in hand when we pick it up. Can anyone tell me the height of the E23’s hitch so I will be able to order the correct model for my truck,

Thanks, Chris
Hi Again! Pretty sure to the top of the ball, or top of the inside of the hitch is supposed to be 23”. I just went through this. Originally, I was supposed to have the hitch installed at a vendor just down the road from Escape. After assuring Me that They had all the right parts in December, They did not have what I needed a few days before I went to get the trailer. Also, Nobody had one in stock, except Andersen. So I ordered on right from the factory. Freight was pretty reasonable, and I got exactly what I wanted. In the meantime, I have just used a fixed hitch that I had, that was pretty close to the right height.
 
the standard/shorter version of the Andersen should be just fine on any standard full sized truck/suv. worked on my F250 4x4 diesel, works on my 2019 Expedition 4x4, both towing an E21 with the standard height suspension, I'm pretty sure teh E23 should be the same... In fact, my 2008 2nd generation Tacoma 4x4 TRD Off Road was also exactly the same height when stock. When you setup the Andersen, there's quite a range of adjustment when you assemble the ball to the tow bar. Mine is set so the top of the ball is just about dead level with the top of the square 2" tube that goes into the truck reciever.

Now, if your tow vehicle is significantly lifted or whatever, then you will need to adjust for that, ditto if your trailer is higher than normal.

when you are ready to hitch up, measure the height of your bumper off the ground, drop the trailer on the hitch without lowering it, attach the chain plate on the andersen but without tightening the chains at all, then fully raise the trailer jack so all the tongue weight is on the ball, then tighten the chain nuts til the bumper height is close to what it was before you hitched, and that should be spot on. Mine right now is just about right when 4-5 full threads are visible beyond the chain nuts. When I unhitch, I loosen the nuts til the end of the chain bolts is about flush with the back of the nuts, use the tongue jack to take all the trailer weight off the tongue, then I can drop the chain plate from the bottom of the hitch and finish unhitching. I leave the nuts and chains hanging on the trailer and just put that chain plate near the nose jack.
 
i might add, when I first bought the Escape, I had my Tacoma, and the tow bar i'd been towing my Casita 16 with... that tow bar was exactly the right height for the Escape. That same tow bar worked with the F250 I then got.

IMG_20180101_115528-X4.jpg


IMG_20190529_080102-X4.jpg
 
I should add, in that first picture the trailer and Tacoma were nearly empty, I was bringing the trailer home from Texas to the Left Coast, and while it towed it OK, for various reasons I decided the Tacoma was inadequate, and got the F250 (which was ridiculous overkill). In the 2nd picture, the F250 and Escape were fully loaded for a month long road trip to southern Utah, that picture is on the Extraterrestrial Highway in central Nevada... Neither picture has a WDH. The Tacoma did have airbags because its offroad oriented rear suspension was very soft.
 
Totally understand “overkill” as my TV is a 2007-2500HD with the 6.6 duramax & hauled a 35ft 5th wheel with no problems. I ask a lot of questions because I don’t want the weak link to be the hitch, or the idiot (me) who hooked it up wrong. “Better to swallow my pride than wind up in a ditch."
 
if you are towing a 19 with a 2500HD, you shouldn't need any WDH at all. use it if you find the ride in the front of the truck to be too bouncy, like 'porpoising' after going over a dip/bump.
 

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