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Old 02-27-2015, 10:35 AM   #1
okierver
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B&w companion hitch or new ultimate hitch

I have a 2008 F3 50 with the B&W companion turn ball system in the truck looking at the B and W companion fifth wheel hitch or the new ultimate hitchby Andersen my question is the B and W both in bed of the truck and has a fifth wheel kingpin connection The Anderson ultimate hitch hitch uses the term ball in the truck with a base and a pyramid base with a Nother ball on top and you have a Cupler that you put on your kingpin and then attached to theto the top of the hitch which is basically a gooseneck connection wondering if anybody uses either or and which one you would prefer I think would be best
 
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Old 02-27-2015, 01:03 PM   #2
poloace
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I have the b & w companion. I used to pull a 4 horse gooseneck trailer. It worked well.
Not too hard to take on and off.
When i got a new truck, i had the hitch taken off my old truck, and put on the new on.
Dont know anything about the other.
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Old 02-27-2015, 01:28 PM   #3
jlb27537
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I have a B&W Compsnion. I have had 3 Reese. No comparison. The Companion bolts to the square post and is removable in less than 5 minutes and the bed is completely clear.



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Old 02-27-2015, 03:32 PM   #4
BB_TX
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There are a lot of people (on another forum) that seem to really like the Anderson. Main plus seems to be the light weight so that it is easy to put in and take out. But I would assume that being a ball hitch you would have to have safety chains to be legal. And you would have to be a little more accurate backing under it to align the ball and socket both front to back and side to side, whereas with a 5th wheel hitch you just need to be close side to side and back into it without worrying about front to back alignment.

Although it does use a ball, it is not really a gooseneck hitch in the traditional sense since there is no gooseneck arm that hangs down from the trailer. That does remove any concern about stresses due to a traditional gooseneck adapter.
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Old 02-27-2015, 04:59 PM   #5
okierver
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THANKS BB and i think that was the main concern was the stress but like you say it doent have the drop down gooseneck adapter and feel. with the anderson you are still high enoough and in line with the king pin. i dont think it would be a bad set up.. priced at 499 at my dealer compared to $879+ on the companion hitch. the video by anderson looked pretty good.
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Old 02-28-2015, 09:13 AM   #6
jlb27537
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I had never heard of a Anderson Hitch, after reading the instructions, and looking at a pdf of it, I am sticking with my B&W.

The hassle of getting it perfectly over the ball, needing to use safety chains which your 5th does not have now, and for the price difference, just not worth it. B&W Companion, no safety chains, no getting it perfect, just back up, it latches and done.

http://www.andersenhitches.com/uploa...ation%20sm.pdf

Yes, the B&W base is heavier, a lot heavier, the head is heavy. If you ever need to take your rig in for repair, will the RV Dealership be able to move your rig around with their truck or fork lift?

Also, If you have the long pin box, I would want to make sure the mounting bracket for the pin box will not be able to touch the inside of the bed on a sharp turn. The adapter you have to mount to your existing pin, effectively makes the pin assembly longer. Measure from rear of the pin box mount on the frame to the center of the ball socket on the Anderson adapter. Then how wide is your bed.

Note the warning on page 4.
http://www.andersenhitches.com/Produ...k-version.aspx

I have seen the pin box mount bracket hit the inside of a bed on a late model Ram. Your bed may be wider.

My next concern is the B&W ball socket is usually a couple inches in front of the rear axle, so it can load the front axle a bit. With the Anderson, the ball is to the rear and it has no provision for moving it forward or rearward for proper front axle loading.

Just some thoughts.
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Old 03-04-2015, 08:26 AM   #7
mikedesj
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I have the newly updated (Sept 2013) B&W companion in my 2013 RAM. This hitch is rock solid and easy to hook up to, install, and remove. This new version has many changes over the original version. This hitch was recommended to me by someone on this forum and am I glad I took their advice.
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Old 03-05-2015, 02:30 AM   #8
FordMan1966
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B&W Companion works great in my 2014 F350 DRW.
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Old 03-05-2015, 05:29 AM   #9
commish
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We have the B&W companion and it has done a great job.
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Old 03-05-2015, 06:40 AM   #10
maximo
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I have a new 2015 F250 short bed with the B&W Companion hitch and love it. I had the same hitch in my old 2002 F250 with the ball in the bed and used it for 5 years in that truck. When I got the new truck just had the B&W Turn over ball hitch put in and moved the Companion hitch to it. Easy to put in and take out and the bed is smooth.
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Old 07-22-2018, 05:50 PM   #11
LPower561
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The adapter that you put on the RV has a cone shape so you just have to be close because it is guided into the RV.
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Old 07-22-2018, 07:21 PM   #12
Pops8
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I have a 2016 F350 SRW short bed OEM puck. After researching I chose the Andersen hitch for low cost, light weight & low maintenance. Love it. I have the coupler cone mounted in front of the kingpin & I can make nearly 90 degree turns safely. There is no issue with side rail clearance.
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