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Old 01-13-2021, 01:36 PM   #41
RRman
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I hope they've improved the design of the Goosebox.
Mine failed/did not protect my RV within a year of installation on a nasty pothole in west TX.
Front RV Frame member was busted, Goosebox was "bent" (the movable part).
Reese declined to replace under warranty.
I did not like that the airbag "vent" would puff out so much air on almost every tow that it would have to be aired back up EVERY time - and VERY slowly too!
Also they suggested the coupler be greased every tow (a grease zerk is provided) but that's a lot more effort than just greasing the ball.
I was glad to be rid of it!
 
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Old 01-13-2021, 02:41 PM   #42
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If happy with AUH, continue. Wanted better than my old Reese and bought one. Quickly decided it was a mistake. The only positive as it is much lighter. Conventional hitch is much easier to hook up for me. I 'feel' better with an American made (B&W) with American steel than aluminum. When a semi is pulling a trailer with aluminum I may rethink the situation. I thought about a couple hundred for the AUH but feel better wit the amount the recycle center provided.
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Old 01-13-2021, 03:07 PM   #43
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I thought I had already sent this, first your tailgate will be close when making turns, and it will close after you hook up. You will need slide hitch you would not need that if you had a long bed! It’s your choice .
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Old 01-13-2021, 04:41 PM   #44
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so who's dumping their AUH ? Just curious... I did email Anderson along with referencing this post, patiently waiting for reply.....

Tony
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Old 01-13-2021, 06:39 PM   #45
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I love my AUH. I have used it for years without any problems. If I asked a question of Keystone, I would ask why they are still producing 5th wheel trailers where the welds crack and the outter fiberglass cracks. This problem is well more than 20 years old, but still occurs with brand new units. Now thats something to be concerned about.
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Old 01-13-2021, 06:50 PM   #46
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Dumping my Anderson hitch? ... no way. Just too many positives to have any anxiety over it. For the above reply that said it was just too hard to hook up ... simply cut the bottom out of a plastic water bottle and stick it on the Anderson ball in your bed. Back up your truck to where the red Anderson adaptor knocks off the plastic bottle ... lower your landing gear, latch the Anderson, done deal.
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Old 01-13-2021, 07:23 PM   #47
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This is what Lippert and Montana has seen for years. After Anderson defaced our National Park I wouldn’t believe anything he said.
Lynwood



I agree completely.
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Old 01-14-2021, 06:31 AM   #48
Anthony T
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At the Montana 2019 rally in Elkhart IN Sam and people form Lippert in a room full of club members said the Anderson did not void there warranty, I would think that Keystone and Lippert have some kind of liability to those who bought the Anderson Hitch on there word that it did not void the warranty.
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Old 01-14-2021, 07:31 AM   #49
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I have seen only two pictures of Anderson failures on the internet. One was of the hitch bending when in an accident, and the other was where the ball snapped off the neck which was surly a materials defect. I have seen at least twenty pictures of trailers dropped on truck beds. Now I’m sure that 99.999% of these dropped trailers were operator errors, but none the less I’d say the chance of doing serious damage to your truck or trailer is no more likely with the Anderson than a conventional fifth wheel hitch.

I’m keeping mine!
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Old 01-14-2021, 07:38 AM   #50
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This thread is getting all wadded up similar to an issue we cussed and discussed years back about double towing. Some of us have always double towed, me personally with 3 different brand new Montana's without issue. Yet ... reply or post upon reply or post warned of frame issues for years. Does anyone recall a single post on the MOC about a frame failure directly attributed to double towing? So to my point ... so far ... has anyone had a frame failure directly attributed to an Anderson hitch or expanding this ... to any fifth wheel hitch? To the full timers, I get that you live in your fivers and tend to look at the what if's more closely. There's a lot of worries in life. Absorb the lesser, keep an eye on the rest.
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Old 01-14-2021, 11:12 AM   #51
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Anderson has a video on his web site showing how much pressure it takes to make his hitch fail. It is impressive. I think it’s over 60,000 pounds. The problem with his video is he applied the pressure down and that isn’t the was a camper stresses a hitch. Pressure is actually applied horizontally. Did you notice he didn’t stand the hitch on its end and test it. I’ll bet he did but didn’t show that because that’s where his hitch is weak. In truth he has a great design from his standpoint. It doesn’t require much material or fabrication or machining. It’s perfect from his standpoint but study it. It’s weak on the top when pressure is applied horizontally. If you knew you was going to be in a accident the next time you took your camper out which hitch would you rather have an Anderson or a B&W in the bed if you truck. For me I’m going to struggle with the weight of the B&W.
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Old 01-14-2021, 11:24 AM   #52
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You need to simulate real-world lateral and vertical forces simultaneously.

This video is from my alma mater. Even though this test is a two-story building, this type of testing is what's need to test the frames and sidewall interaction, platform over bed deflection, different pin boxes, etc. They'd probably learn a lot if they did it.



Imagine a hitch and Montana frame sitting on those shake tables simulating road vibrations, pot holes, etc.
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Old 01-14-2021, 12:30 PM   #53
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I think a lot of people are missing the point. This is not an engineering problem, it’s a business problem caused by an engineering problem. Pretend you bought a new hitch (Reese, B&W, Pullrite, Hensley, etc). You talked to the frame and trailer manufacturer before you bought it. They said “no problem”. The following year, it’s a problem. This has nothing to do with carving initials in a National Monument. The owners of Pullrite do ASTM testing on their hitches and their competitors. They do not, however, study the impacts on weld integrity of the RV (can you imagine the cost to do that - you would need to test every model and brand of trailer to failure). So, regardless of how one feels about a certain manufacturer of aluminum hitches, it is not really material to the discussion. If the president of B&W went out and carved their initials somewhere I doubt you would spend $1-$2k in protest. So, for those of us with the sunk cost going forward, how do you handle this situation? We have a new Montana coming in April. Do I continue to use my Pullrite as is, reverse the capture plate, buy a new hitch, buy a new truck? Both Pullrite and Andersen have said they will stand behind any damage “if it is proved their hitch caused it”. How would someone even start to prove that it was hitch vs frame defect? I still haven’t decided about the new Montana and how I will handle it. I hate to replace the truck I purchased at the same time as the hitch. And I’m not as strong as some to remove the conventional hitch by myself when I get to a CG in the mountains.
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Old 01-14-2021, 05:04 PM   #54
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Quote:
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Anderson has a video on his web site showing how much pressure it takes to make his hitch fail. It is impressive. I think it’s over 60,000 pounds. The problem with his video is he applied the pressure down and that isn’t the was a camper stresses a hitch. Pressure is actually applied horizontally. Did you notice he didn’t stand the hitch on its end and test it. I’ll bet he did but didn’t show that because that’s where his hitch is weak. In truth he has a great design from his standpoint. It doesn’t require much material or fabrication or machining. It’s perfect from his standpoint but study it. It’s weak on the top when pressure is applied horizontally. If you knew you was going to be in a accident the next time you took your camper out which hitch would you rather have an Anderson or a B&W in the bed if you truck. For me I’m going to struggle with the weight of the B&W.
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Old 01-14-2021, 05:26 PM   #55
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I don’t think anyone has ever brought this up because so I don’t think it’s beating a dead horse.
Why don’t you add something to the discussion instead of??
Lynwood
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Old 01-14-2021, 06:20 PM   #56
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Quote:
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If I had an Anderson hitch I would be more then a little worried about Anderson’s warranty. He defaced our National park. Integrity means something. If he would deface our National park would he stand by his warranty?
Lynwood

Damn, when did he deface a National Park? If I had known that, and it was prior to me getting my hitch in April of 2020, I would never had bought it. In fact with all this warranty talk, I'm thinking of ditching it and going with a Lippert approved Reese Goosebox.
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Old 01-14-2021, 06:35 PM   #57
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Damn, when did he deface a National Park? If I had known that, and it was prior to me getting my hitch in April of 2020, I would never had bought it. In fact with all this warranty talk, I'm thinking of ditching it and going with a Lippert approved Reese Goosebox.

Do a Google search. It’s easy to find.
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Old 01-15-2021, 07:29 AM   #58
DebNJim B
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I have a B&W Companion slider in a short bed F350. It works fine and I like it although do to it's weight of 275# it stays in the bed. If I was buying a hitch now I would consider the Anderson or the Pullrite.
But anyway I don't have a dog in this hunt, just some questions.
I have seen this discussion several times and was just wondering, is there any documented cases of frame failure caused by the hitch? I have not seen any in all the discussions.
Also I'm confused by the concern that the hitch changes the weight on the frame. I can see where the set up may change the focal point of the weight to the pin box, but the pin box is still mounted to the frame the same way so it would seem the transfer of weight from pin box to frame doesn't change what ever hitch you use.
Anyway I found this to be an interesting discussion and appreciate all the input. As I look out the window at the snow and dream of when I can return to my 5er in the south these discussions give me something useful to do.
Thanks all
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Old 01-15-2021, 10:23 AM   #59
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I will never buy anything but B&W. Mine has been outstanding since day one. I never have to worry if I am hooked up. I never have to do a pull test. I never have to look if I don't have it in the hitch. I have pulled my trailer up some serious steep grades in a couple city streets and actually spun the tires on my truck to get the trailer to move. My B&W never let me down.

What kind of person defaces anything in a national park? I never even considered anything like that when I was young. I did stupid stuff and still do but never crossed my mind to do something like that.
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Old 01-15-2021, 02:37 PM   #60
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mlh View Post
I don’t think anyone has ever brought this up because so I don’t think it’s beating a dead horse.
Why don’t you add something to the discussion instead of??
Lynwood


I have on many occasions on several threads about this hitch on this forum board and other forums. If you want just look up your posts and you`ll find them, doing the same thing saying the same thing about the AUH. The bashing and misinformation by people that have never owned one or used one is just getting to repetitive and by the same people that just don`t have a clue what their talking about. Some people just want to stir the pot because of age or boredom I guess.
Love my Andersen. If you don`t that`s fine but you have to have owned one to intelligently comment on why you don`t like it as some have done, just not their cup of tea. Yeh, I know scratched a rock, has nothing to do with the hitch.
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