Andersen Ultimate Hitch Failure?

[davalt75]

I've pulled a 35 ft. TT for years but I'm getting ready to trade the TT on a 42 ft. Forest River Sandpiper 5th wheel that I estimate will be around 14k loaded. My truck is a short/standard bed Chevy 3500 SRW with a low profile toolbox. I have to buy a hitch and I've been researching different ones. You can't do a Google search of 5th wheel hitches without seeing the Andersen. They have mostly good reviews and I really like the idea of being able to easily take it in and out of the truck and the quick setup. But I've read several reports of them failing when having to slam on brakes or stop hard, or when being involved in even a slow.speed front end collision. Has anyone that uses or used the Andersen had any experience with failure of the hitch?

 

[Neal]

Try forum search, it has a great search engine.

Search results for query: Andersen Hitch

rvforums.com

 

[billnourse]

I have an Andersen Ultimate that I use with a 2022 Chev. 3500HD SB. I pull a 16,000 toy hauler. I have had no issues with the hitch. I have seen a couple of pics. of failures, but any hitch will fail under the right circumstances. There have not been enough incidents that this has become a safety issue that would be noticed by any govt. agency, and if it were an issue, you can bet that the govt. would want to get involved.

 

[davalt75]

I have an Andersen Ultimate that I use with a 2022 Chev. 3500HD SB. I pull a 16,000 toy hauler. I have had no issues with the hitch. I have seen a couple of pics. of failures, but any hitch will fail under the right circumstances. There have not been enough incidents that this has become a safety issue that would be noticed by any govt. agency, and if it were an issue, you can bet that the govt. would want to get involved.

That's what I keep going back and forth about. The positive reviews far outweigh the negatives and I like you have also thought that if it was a serious safety issue then they wouldn't still be selling them or at least a recall would have been issued. But after seeing the pics of the hitch buckling and/or ball shearing off, I'm having a hard time having a good feeling about trusting it with my family, as well as truck and camper with it. But real world feedback like yours is exactly what I'm looking for to help me make up my mind.

 

[billnourse]

If it will put you mind more at ease, look up failures on other brands of hitches. I am sure you will find a few no matter the brand or style.

 

[davalt75]

If it will put you mind more at ease, look up failures on other brands of hitches. I am sure you will find a few no matter the brand or style.

I hadn't thought of that. I'm sure any hitch can fail given the right circumstances. I guess the Andersen is just the only one I kept seeing pop up with failures. Particularly when having to stop suddenly (which could easily happen). I'll do a little more research on failures with other hitches.

 

[Rich W.]

I use a BW hitch for both 5th wheel and goose neck trailers and it leaves my bed completely unencumbered when not in use. I’m really satisfied with it but they might have some failure report too - never checked.

B&W Trailer Hitches | B&W Trailer Hitches

www.bwtrailerhitches.com

 

[billnourse]

If you look closely at the pics of the Andersen failure, it appears that it is the same failure taken from different angles.

 

[redbaron]

Looking at the design, I would avoid the Andersen and go with the B&W companion.

The issue appears to be when doing hard braking, and the weight of the 5th wheel pushing against the aluminum structure.

The B&W companion is OEM for Dodge RAM, so you know it was put thru a much more rigid test. Just my $0.02

 

[davalt75]

Looking at the design, I would avoid the Andersen and go with the B&W companion.

The issue appears to be when doing hard braking, and the weight of the 5th wheel pushing against the aluminum structure.

The B&W companion is OEM for Dodge RAM, so you know it was put thru a much more rigid test. Just my $0.02

I think I have decided to do exactly that. I have just seen and heard too much now to trust the Andersen. I asked this same question over on Duramaxforum.com and a member provided a personal example, with pictures, of an Andersen hitch failure due to a sudden stop with no impact. I am going to go with the B&W Companion slider. Just trying to decide between the one that mounts in the turnover ball slot in the center of the bed or the one that uses the puck system.

 

[Rich W.]

Mine mounts in the turnover ball cut out and I find it ideal since Im just as likely to haul a goose neck horse trailer as a 5th wheel. Seems like a very stout system to me and very convenient. Not familiar with the puck system.

 

[redbaron]

Mine mounts in the turnover ball cut out and I find it ideal since Im just as likely to haul a goose neck horse trailer as a 5th wheel. Seems like a very stout system to me and very convenient. Not familiar with the puck system.

Same for me. 3 of my trailers are goose neck, and 1 is 5th wheel. I love the b&w setup and simplicity.

 

[Rich W.]

Mine mounts in the turnover ball cut out and I find it ideal since Im just as likely to haul a goose neck horse trailer as a 5th wheel. Seems like a very stout system to me and very convenient. Not familiar with the puck system.

FYI you don’t have to take the bed off to install this but it does make it easier and my bed was off anyway. Had the truck for six whole days and someone dragged a trailer into it at home depot. So a brand new truck was off to the body shop and I fgured it was a good time to do this. They installed it for me because I wasnt allowed to work there, did an expert job cutting the hole in the bed (it’s perfect!) and didnt charge me anything for it. Can’t ask for better service than that. But the point is, the system is designed to install with the bed still on the truck.

 

[davalt75]

I got a response this morning to the email I sent Andersen asking about the hitch failures. I thought I would attach a screenshot of it here for everyone to see. I'm sure what he is saying is true and mathematically it is a very small percentage of hitches that fail. But that
isn't enough to change my mind. I've decided to go with the B&W Companion that fits the factory puck system on my truck.

 

["EZ"]

I've never used an Anderson Hitch and I don't have a dog in this fight but I agree with the guy from Anderson..............the failures are probably due to somebody not installing it properly or a trailer that was severely over loaded.

I've argued till I'm blue in the face with idiots on RV forums that are telling everyone that you don't need a 3500 truck to haul a 45' 5th wheel camper that weighs (as far as they know) almost 20,000 lbs. because they've been using their 1500 or 2500 and "never had a problem". I've given up. People will not listen to reason and will not pay attention to the numbers. They assume if the truck will pull it at all it's just fine. They never factor in the panic stop or anything out of the ordinary and THAT is when the hitch breaks or the truck crashes. So if a hitch company has ANY failures I would throw out the first 5% as idiots that caused their own failures. So if Anderson only has .0001% failures then I think that's a miracle. BTW...........we use B&W hitches on the commercial trucks that we sell. They work great.