Anderson hitch failure (lifted thread from Facebook group)

[Jerryr]

I'm not saying it's true or not but there's so many false claims and bad influencers on FB. It's the reason why I stepped away from it.

Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk

Me too. I gave up posting corrections to false postings on Facebook.

[Spartacus]

Wow, he had a bad day I almost bought one before I bought my PullRite Superlite #2600 hitch.

[Jerryr]

Wow, he had a bad day I almost bought one before I bought my PullRite Superlite #2600 hitch.

No hitch is perfect. Here’s a video of a Pulltite super glide failure causing extensive truck damage.
https://youtu.be/CtUaWtalQZw

[Mrhavasu]

Be careful with what you read on Fakebook.

[bjlakatos]

This is not my post, but I thought might be interesting to discuss here....

OP, thanks for posting this in the best interests of the forum.

I have an AUH. I have seen prior posts in the web about failures but they lacked credibility or a complete story. When I saw THIS post on THIS forum it instantly got my attention. I think for a lot of folks this forum adds credibility to any issue raised.

That said, my first thought was to respond and ask for a link back to the original source to help "complete" the story as has been mentioned already. So many of the unfavorable posts across the web have been just posted and unsubstantiated. They are difficult to believe (ie, no accident, prior damage, or other extenuating circumstances). If you could provide a link back to the original source that might be helpful for the AUH owners on this forum.

Like others, I am happy with the AUH and have had several very good experiences with Andersen support team (both bumper pull and AUH). I have a bit over 30k mi on my hitch. As with any equipment, I recognize nothing is perfect and sometimes there are better design choices. I am always on the lookout to improve/prevent any issues from happening.

BTW, regarding the 1/4" bits for the coupler: I found these short bits at Harbor Freight that fit my torque wrench perfectly and are deep enough. I have used them on several installs.

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...-pc-67893.html

PS, I do use chains (mainly for liability reasons) but this substantiates the need for them.
PSS, good point above on chain length vs emergency brake pull cable. I need to validate that to ensure brakes pull before chains are fully extended.

[Dick Noble]

I have the Andersen and chains. I also hookup the emergency break pull. It is necessary to be sure the hookup is not too short too, as well as too long. I did not take that into account once and pulled the break, makes it real hard to pull the rig.

[TOP GUN]

We Use a Gen-Y executive hitch, very strong and the
Ride of the RV is very smooth, it just floats behind you
as you drive and when you unhitch it leaves your truck
bed empty, check there web page out maybe something
You may like

[Sanibel Beemer Fun]

Issues like the OP are the reason Commercial Truck Divers are REQUIRED to perform a Pre-Trip inspection before they start driving each and every day. The looking things over as they walk back to their trucks from a restroom break, and just being aware of leaks, flats, and things going awry before they do. I've got the Anderson, and after seeing this, I will pay more attention to the possibility of the hitch failing. Ill also check my brake cable length vs chain lengths...that would suck too.

[Vop8111]

I used the AUH in my setup. We were traveling east, dusk, about 30 miles from Billings Montana when a deer decided to commit suicide. After safely stopping the rig I checked the truck (minimal damage) and continued on to Billings. Didn’t think to check the hitch. Pulled into KOA and when I went to unhitch the trailer I noticed some of the welds on hitch had failed. I called Anderson in the morning and they overnighted a new hitch base to me. That happened at about 9k miles of towing. We towed the trailer four times about (26k miles) across the county that year with no other issues.

We dropped the RV off for service and when I removed the receiver block from the king pin I noticed some minor damage and Andersen replaced it without question.

Yes it could have been worse but my experience with them from a customer relations standpoint was top notch. I sold my RV but wouldn’t have any problem using Andersen again. I think I would rather have a gooseneck style pin box that hooks to a gooseneck ball in the bed just to free up bed space.

[BubbaChris]

I know the photo in the OP came from elsewhere. I have over 11K miles on my AUH and it looks way better than the one in the photo. That may be why Andersen is being coy about that one.

For clarity, the Andersen claim about not damaging the RV is specific to the maker’s denying warranty coverage for the frame of the RV in normal use, I don’t believe they make claims about accident related damage.

Also I have seen lots of post replies that will mention how RV makers say you can’t use an Andersen with their fivers. I have dug deeper and the specific Andersen mentioned by the makers is the Ranch Hitch, which is an old school gooseneck conversion. I have yet to see them mention the AUH as not supported.

I too, have had good experience with Andersen customer service. They replaced a jack block for the cost of shipping.

Best regards,
Chris