Anderson hitch memo from Keystone - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

JDDilly · 03-23-2021, 09:59 AM

It is not keystone, it is LCI. The frame warranty is a passthrough to LCI and they are the ones that are denying the warranty. Keystone is only passing this information to their dealers and then onto the customers.

hemiallen · 03-23-2021, 10:48 AM

This is a conundrum for me.
I have been towing my 2006 Rockwood ultralight since 2016 with the Aluminum Ultimate in my 2016 Ram 2500 long bed, the frame's ball towards the tailgate ( which is how they say it is to be installed ) and the adaptor ball socket in front of the pin. This makes the pin pivot point behind the center of the trucks axle, and that was how clearance of the pinbox to the tailgate was best.

A few months ago I had to bring dad's Montana 31' (29XX) to my home, I removed my adaptor and installed it with the ball socket in front like my Rockwood, and found the pinbox was too close to hitting my tailgate for my liking. So I stepped back and assessed the situation, and realized the ball in front and putting the pivot behind the axle seems like more stress than rotating the Anderson adaptor 180 to make the socket closer to the trailer vs sticking in front of the pivot pin. This shows the adaptor's installation from Anderson. Go to 1:20 to see how to determine the adaptor's position:
https://youtu.be/SkjTuq_kc9M

I purchased a second adaptor block in anticipation of our ordered 3120rl, not sure if the Anderson will be for sale and I'll order the Reese pinbox adaptor or which direction I'll go. I do like the airbag on the Reese, but I might go back to a regular hitch. I like the fact that my trailer will have a unique hitch that none of my family or friends can move it with their rigs, or if it's time to go with the flow so others can move my trailer.

I'm emailing Anderson now about the adaptor for the rotaflex adaptor
https://andersenhitches.com/products...e90d7a79&_ss=r

and I just replied with the memo to see what they say.

The Anderson mounted on our road armor box requires the above adaptor , which my understanding is that adaptor eliminates the benefit of the road armor's bounce absorbing benefit of the pinbox. ?

Allen

Dave W · 03-23-2021, 10:50 AM

[QUOTE=Bad Moon;1216298]I’m shocked, shocked I tell you. Keystone coming up with another reason to deny warranty claims? Tell me it ain’t so.[/QUOTE]

Read the attachment above. It is NOT Keystone but Lippert(LCI). Keystone is duly warning their customers as I'm sure any other RV manufacturer that uses an LCI frame will have to do that an Anderson hitch is no longer acceptable and something that many engineering background people have been saying for several years.

Montana Man · 03-23-2021, 11:06 AM

I'm not affected by this issue but it seems logical that if one has an unauthorized setup, it needs to be replaced. Regardless of the dates in which they will honor a warranty. I would rather prevent a breakage than rely on a grandfathered date to have a frame fixed.

hemiallen · 03-23-2021, 12:20 PM

That's a great point......

But, may I ask:

Has anyone here actually had frame damage on their Montana for any reason, not just from an Anderson adaptor?

And if yes, what hitch were you using?

I google & duckduck searched for Keystone Montana frame damage, and haven't found much besides 2007 frame damage and 2011 frame damage and neither were related to Anderson hitches.

Anyone actually had, or have feedback, on frame damage caused by an Anderson?

Thank you

Allen

jeffba · 03-23-2021, 12:28 PM

Well this is another reason to go to the National Rally this year. The Lippert presentation will prove to be very lively.

hemiallen · 03-23-2021, 02:56 PM

Here is one thread I found, I can not believe they state the trailer didn't hit the truck. I would think the bedsides would have been contacted. I do see the Anderson lockout plates are installed in the pinbox.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ch-falure.html

dfb · 03-30-2021, 08:51 AM

Buying a new hitch.. we will dump AUH... They dont have good customer support anyways..Have had bad experiences with them. once on trailer hitting truck. Another time needing a new lock cable.. Most companies would send their cutomers a new one at no charge..They charged 70.00...

432bartman · 03-30-2021, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemiallen

Here is one thread I found, I can not believe they state the trailer didn't hit the truck. I would think the bedsides would have been contacted. I do see the Anderson lockout plates are installed in the pinbox.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ch-falure.html

Looks like the failure was a result of the owner using a AUH with a roto-flex pinbox.

432bartman · 03-30-2021, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfb

Buying a new hitch.. we will dump AUH... They dont have good customer support anyways..Have had bad experiences with them. once on trailer hitting truck. Another time needing a new lock cable.. Most companies would send their cutomers a new one at no charge..They charged 70.00...

How did your trailer hit your truck and it was Andersen's fault?

hemiallen · 03-30-2021, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 432bartman

Looks like the failure was a result of the owner using a AUH with a roto-flex pinbox.

Yes, see the Anderson fix is the lockout bars seen in that image. Maybe it doesn't eliminate the issue.

I agree, having to modify the rotaflex isn't an option I feel actually fixes the incompatibility of the 2. I am thinking if I have to basically lock out the new pinbox's "soft ride" feature, it is no bueno to continue using an Anderson hitch. Time to upgrade / change equipment, especially with a much heavier RV than I used the Anderson for.

I will have to build a lift in my shop to remove the Curt when I get home and want a full pickup bed. My back isn't good for lifting #100 anymore, or worth a pulled muscle or agitating my compressed discs. Gettin old ain't easy, lol

Allen

Allen

432bartman · 03-30-2021, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hemiallen

Yes, see the Anderson fix is the lockout bars seen in that image. Maybe it doesn't eliminate the issue.

I agree, having to modify the rotaflex isn't an option I feel actually fixes the incompatibility of the 2. I am thinking if I have to basically lock out the new pinbox's "soft ride" feature, it is no bueno to continue using an Anderson hitch. Time to upgrade / change equipment, especially with a much heavier RV than I used the Anderson for.

I will have to build a lift in my shop to remove the Curt when I get home and want a full pickup bed. My back isn't good for lifting #100 anymore, or worth a pulled muscle or agitating my compressed discs. Gettin old ain't easy, lol

Allen

Allen

I think if I go with anything other than the Anderson I am using, it will be the Reese Goosebox.

hemiallen · 03-30-2021, 04:31 PM

I agree, I had the reese pinbox in my cart at Etrailer, but I am liking the idea of not being the odd rig in our group that Rv's together. Having just the gooseball in the bed is even better than the Anderson and finding a spot to stow it when in the hills during early fall to use the truck bed. I do like the airbag / shocks in the reese, but the Curt A series also seems to add shock absorbing without an airbag to leak / fail.

Allen

sourdough · 03-30-2021, 07:40 PM

I have contacted Andersen multiple times about their "warranty" posing specific questions - never a response to voicemails left or emails sent (multiple). I still own one and it works so much better than a conventional 5th wheel hitch....

The Keystone letter is their response to Lippert's refusal to accept the Andersen hitch. After multiple contacts with Lippert their response to "clear" the confusion regarding "adapters" and "extensions" referenced in the letter was this; anything that "adapts" or "extends" the king pin will not be covered, or as they said, Lippert may not be able to assist the owner. They implied that their relationship with Reese did not affect their recommendation of the Goose Box. Instead it was because it had cushions that significantly reduced the stress on the frame. They said they had not tested the Gen Y.

The clarification that they gave about anything attached to the pin itself vs any other adapter or extension then should remove the worry for some of the other types of hitches that attach and extend from the goose ball.

For me, with the success of the Andersen and me watching it work over thousands of miles AND realizing that the stress of a "gooseneck" extension is not what the Andersen does; I'm comfortable with it plus mine was installed prior to the cutoff date. As I told Lippert, the Goose Neck is simply a vertical gooseneck that's been adapted to 45 degrees or so. The stress is there except for the "cushions". Folks can do/choose what they want but just wanted to share.

kowbra · 03-30-2021, 09:11 PM

At the virtual rally in January, the question came up about the AUH and Montana's policy. It was clearly stated then by Sam Lengeritch that the LCI warranty policy was changing and that Keystone / Montana had to change as well.
I actually think that it is very fair for them to have taken several weeks to get everything lined up before they sent out the official communication to their dealers. Even more impressive is that they are "grandfathering" anyone in with an AUH that was installed before March 15, 2021. They could easily have back dated that to January when they made their first public statement to Montana owners. Or, they could have not grandfathered anyone in.

BTW, we were long time users of the AUH and had over 30,000 miles. Anderson treated us good when we had an issue. However, our new rig is a lot heavier than our last one, and with that along with the warranty changes, we decided to change to a Reese Goosebox. I still think the AUH is a great product.

Brad

StageCoachDriver · 03-31-2021, 02:12 PM

Let the law suits begin.

dfb · 03-31-2021, 02:39 PM

I was assured by anderson that it would not happen.... so yes..

dfb · 03-31-2021, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 432bartman

How did your trailer hit your truck and it was Andersen's fault?

Brand new trailer and truck. They guaranteed it would not happen where truck and trailer hit.. is it their fault? Yep..

JimIrish7 · 03-31-2021, 02:47 PM

Not sure what this does for us since we put it on the truck 3-19-21?
New MHC 281CK
Jim

Twinstax · 03-31-2021, 04:39 PM

Sounds to me like Lippert is trying to weasel their way out of fixing what they essentially caused themselves...not making a frame strong enough to begin with.
As for the AUH, we bought ours when we bought our first SOB 5th, and had no problems with it. Bought our 3820FK in 2017, brand new, and installed the AUH on the kingpin. Currently have just shy of 11,000 miles (as per hubodometer I installed) with absolutely NO problems at all. And we’ve gone over some rotten roads...haven’t we all?
I’m no engineer, but common sense says extra stress is virtually non-existent. If you look at the "funnel", when the ball is seated in the funnel it is on same level as the kingpin if it were locked into a regular fifth wheel hitch.
I may be wrong, but felt I needed to add my .02 worth.

You may also like: