Anderson hitch and warranty

[Salineriverman]

I purchased a new Montana HC 305rl last August, asked the dealership about the AUH hitch. They said no problem we sell lots of them, they didn’t mention the lock out needed either so I purchased the AUH for gooseneck ball. No problems it pulls ok and love ease of installation. Now I see Frame manufacturers no longer will honor frame warranty!!
Reading earlier threads I may be grandfathered since purchased prior to March 2021. Hope I read this right. Anyone else using AUH with the lock outs ? If so how did it affect the ride? As to Anderson honoring their warranty I think it would be drug out in litigation between the two and the RV owner will be the one to pay the cost!

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by Salineriverman

I purchased a new Montana HC 305rl last August, asked the dealership about the AUH hitch. They said no problem we sell lots of them, they didn’t mention the lock out needed either so I purchased the AUH for gooseneck ball. No problems it pulls ok and love ease of installation. Now I see Frame manufacturers no longer will honor frame warranty!!
Reading earlier threads I may be grandfathered since purchased prior to March 2021. Hope I read this right. Anyone else using AUH with the lock outs ? If so how did it affect the ride? As to Anderson honoring their warranty I think it would be drug out in litigation between the two and the RV owner will be the one to pay the cost!

What year is your 305RL? Did you buy it new or just new to you? My understanding of the AUH is that if you had been using that hitch on that trailer prior to 3/15/21, and can document that, then they would accept warranty claims from you. Of course, then they will still investigate and try their best to dodge responsibility. We bought our 2018 new in March of 2019 and have been using the AUH since new and our dealer has it documented. Our pin box doesn't require any lockouts. Using the hitch has been flawless, smooth, and easy. However, I wouldn't want to get into responsibility concerning a frame issue under any circumstances.

[Salineriverman]

Purchased it new in August 2020 . Had to have a hitch and dealership sold me a Andersen Ultimate Hitch for my 2017 ram 2500 with B&W turnover ball . So it is on record.
From past experiences I don’t trust warranties a lot and realize dealerships and manufacturers will do their best to protect their interests. I upgraded my Tow vehicle in Feb. 2021 to a 2020 Ram 3500 CC SRW HO Diesel Short bed with 5th wheel puck package and kept my Hitch. Love my truck thus far. Just got back from Pigeon Forge with no towing issues��

[dieselguy]

What a marathon thread ... I get the issue of warranty with new fiver owners, but to those bashing this hitch over a handful of supposed failures ... all I can respond is when out and about RVing, we see a boatload of them on about any brand on the road. Just this past holiday at a campground at Stockton Lake in Missouri, I'd guess about 30+% of the fivers had an Andersen on the pin box. I chatted with a few owners and none were biting their nails over concerns of reliability. I still think it's all about Lippert not being able to buy out Andersen like they did other hitch manufacturers, so they are putting on the squeeze out of retaliation.

[rvman]

Agreed.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

To each their own.... and as long as long as their rigs don't come loose and get tangled up with me I honestly don't care what hitch people use.

That being said it's hard to argue with actual photos of failed hitches....

https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...ews-filter-bar

[mlh]

Originally Posted by R.S.O'Donnell

To each their own.... and as long as long as their rigs don't come loose and get tangled up with me I honestly don't care what hitch people use.

That being said it's hard to argue with actual photos of failed hitches....

https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...ews-filter-bar

If you read this Andersen says exactly what I said. It can fail under hard stops.
Anyone can look at way it’s designed and see this hitch can take a lot of weight vertical and is weak horizontal.
But don’t take my word take Andersen’s word.
Lynwood

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by mlh

If you read this Andersen says exactly what I said. I can fail under hard stops.
Anyone can look at way it’s designed and see this hitch can take a lot of weight vertical and is weak horizontal.
But don’t take my word take Andersen’s word.
Lynwood

I saw that. On both versions of the warranty.

Just last month we were on Utah state route 14 and had a family of deer leap out in front of us. I had to clamp the brakes so hard one of my water jugs slid forward and split open on the base of our Reese 27.5K hitch. Discovered it after we stopped down the road and had water dribbling out of the bed of the truck.

Can't help but wonder had it been an Anderson if a busted water jug could have been the least of my worries.

[firestation12]

Originally Posted by R.S.O'Donnell

To each their own.... and as long as long as their rigs don't come loose and get tangled up with me I honestly don't care what hitch people use.

That being said it's hard to argue with actual photos of failed hitches....

https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...ews-filter-bar

I haven't heard that said since I was a kid some 65 years ago. Granted it was a little differently phrased something like, "Go ahead and jump, see if I care". Obviously you cared enough to post a comment, just sayin. As for the comment it's hard to argue with actual photos of failed hitches, clicking on the link provided, I found the stories associated with the photos usually didn't coincide with the photos. Some were repeat photos with different explanations. I've come to adopt a universal conclusion in my lifetime of:

" believe half of what your hear and very little of what you see". I've seen too many magic shows to trust my eyes. Having had a Super Glide's 1" thick locking jaws ripped apart while maneuvering at a snail's pace in a truck stop in Coachella CA, I've taken a keen interest in hitch failures. Pictures are but one piece of the accident puzzle but are not enough to come to a final conclusion. It was months after the hitch failure, before I actually was able to figure out reason (my fault) the sliding mechanism failed. Not tying to insult or pick a fight here, just trying to be fair and objective to the subject at hand.

[R.S.O'Donnell]

Originally Posted by firestation12

I haven't heard that said since I was a kid some 65 years ago. Granted it was a little differently phrased something like, "Go ahead and jump, see if I care". Obviously you cared enough to post a comment, just sayin. As for the comment it's hard to argue with actual photos of failed hitches, clicking on the link provided, I found the stories associated with the photos usually didn't coincide with the photos. Some were repeat photos with different explanations. I've come to adopt a universal conclusion in my lifetime of:

" believe half of what your hear and very little of what you see". I've seen too many magic shows to trust my eyes. Having had a Super Glide's 1" thick locking jaws ripped apart while maneuvering at a snail's pace in a truck stop in Coachella CA, I've taken a keen interest in hitch failures. Pictures are but one piece of the accident puzzle but are not enough to come to a final conclusion. It was months after the hitch failure, before I actually was able to figure out reason (my fault) the sliding mechanism failed. Not tying to insult or pick a fight here, just trying to be fair and objective to the subject at hand.

Neither am I and the same.

I'm not going to get into the validity of the reviews or whether the photos of the failed hitches are as you put it "magic shows". That's for people that already own or are considering the hitches to do.

And I stand behind:

To each their own.... and as long as long as their rigs don't come loose and get tangled up with me I honestly don't care what hitch people use.

Because unless it involves me it's absolutely none of my business. In the interest of fairness I must also say that in the almost four years we've been full timing I've seen too many to count that were working fine.

[firestation12]

Small correction to be made here, I don't think I meant to imply that picture(s) are magic shows as quoted (I'm not going to get into the validity of the reviews or whether the photos of the failed hitches are as you put it "magic shows".) but only to illustrate that a photo of the truck bed does not come close to being prima facie evidence of the causal factor(s) of a hitch failure. This would also apply to any accident investigation be it auto, aviation, train, industrial etc.

[kowbra]

Originally Posted by R.S.O'Donnell

To each their own.... and as long as long as their rigs don't come loose and get tangled up with me I honestly don't care what hitch people use.

That being said it's hard to argue with actual photos of failed hitches....

https://www.amazon.com/product-revie...ews-filter-bar

There is lots to comment on with the above, that's for sure. But actually it is kind of is easy to argue with those photos...

First, it is not a product flaw that the hitch escaped the gooseneck ball in the truck. Seems like a failure to follow the instructions and properly torque the hitch down. There is a pin to capture the gooseneck and none of the photos show any damage there... because there isn't. User error and trying to blame the manufacturer. No wonder Anderson didn't help out; that would be like B&W fixing your truck because you forgot to lock the jaws.


Next, this seems like a manufacturing defect of the ball, not a failure of the hitch. This picture has floated around the internet for awhile and shows the Anderson ball as having sheared in half. Anderson has replaced many of these once they realized they had an issue. The hitch is made in the USA, the balls were made in China. Any other manufacturers have issues with parts that were made in China?


Hitches (and other critical parts) from all manufacturers have had issues. But somehow no one seems to start threads on those. And, no one seems bent on "spreading the word" of how dangerous all of these other brands are. Why???

For those who would like some visuals on other hitch failures...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfEFAVF1CGQ&t=156s

or here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4BJk_hV1Zs

It still escapes me why people seem to want to jump all over the AUH and call it a bad product yet they won't call out others the same way.


Brad

[Theunz]

Nothing is fail proof, it’s the percentage of failures that needs to be considered. I don’t know wether Anderson’s rate is any different from the others, but because it is so different it certainly gets a lot of press when it does fail.

[DQDick]

Even Anderson knows their hitch isn't as strong as it could be. When one of our members asked about the grade on his driveway Anderson told him their's couldn't take it, so he went with the stonger Pullrite. Similar hitch, but stronger.

[kowbra]

Originally Posted by Theunz

Nothing is fail proof, it’s the percentage of failures that needs to be considered. I don’t know wether Anderson’s rate is any different from the others, but because it is so different it certainly gets a lot of press when it does fail.

Bingo! "because it's so different". It seems like if something is "new" or "different" it attracts a lot of skepticism. Which is normal... but I will take people to task on why they assume that if something is different it is inherently bad. Sometimes the skeptics are right, but often they're just stuck in the past or unwilling to consider a view not their own. I think the AUH has sold enough with relatively few failures for it to be moved past any notion of it being experimental.

Here's an example of that skepticism at work; one of the arguments about the AUH is that it's made of aluminum, and people say things like, "I would never trust such an important connection to aluminum", as if everything made of aluminum is weak and prone to failure. When I was a teenager, I worked for my uncle who was a noted mechanic in the area and ran a shop. I put aluminum rims on my first car and he warned me about moving away from steel rims... ya I'm that old

How many of those skeptics who say the AUH should never be made from aluminum are running with steel rims because they think aluminum rims aren't strong enough??


Brad

[kowbra]

Originally Posted by DQDick

Even Anderson knows their hitch isn't as strong as it could be. When one of our members asked about the grade on his driveway Anderson told him their's couldn't take it, so he went with the stonger Pullrite. Similar hitch, but stronger.

Hmm, my recollection is that Anderson said nothing about the strength of their hitch but that it was the angle from lane to driveway; perhaps you can share the link so we know for sure. Otherwise, I think it's quite a leap to say they were admitting that their hitch isn't strong enough.

And, considering this thread is also about frame warranty, the Pullrite ball hitch would also void the warranty.

So, I guess I'm kind of missing the point of your post.


Brad

[Theunz]

Originally Posted by DQDick

Even Anderson knows their hitch isn't as strong as it could be. When one of our members asked about the grade on his driveway Anderson told him their's couldn't take it, so he went with the stonger Pullrite. Similar hitch, but stronger.

I took that response as the steep angle would cause binding. Do you have information to support that the hitch wasn’t strong enough?

[81SHOVELHEAD]

IN GOD WE TRUST .Everything else requires data. Where's the data on frame failures due to the Anderson ultimate hitch vs the conventional 5th wheel hitch? Since Lippert bought out Reese of coarse they are going to say the Reese Goosebox is the only gooseneck connection that won't void warranty. Love my Pullrite 2600. Only reason i didn't do Anderson is dealer was sold out & didn't want to wait 2 weeks tp pick up our 5th wheel.

[Montana Man]

Here's an example of that skepticism at work; one of the arguments about the AUH is that it's made of aluminum, and people say things like, "I would never trust such an important connection to aluminum", as if everything made of aluminum is weak and prone to failure. When I was a teenager, I worked for my uncle who was a noted mechanic in the area and ran a shop. I put aluminum rims on my first car and he warned me about moving away from steel rims... ya I'm that old

How many of those skeptics who say the AUH should never be made from aluminum are running with steel rims because they think aluminum rims aren't strong enough??


Brad[/QUOTE]

Actually, there was a time when it was widely known to use steel wheels instead of aluminum. Remember the aluminum Cragar and the steel Appliance wheels? Same basic look but Cragars were known to fracture. I personally watched two Cragars do just that.

As a previous aircraft mechanic, I've seen plenty of aluminum used in critical components. However, never welded in high stress locations. I like the concept of the Anderson but going from my personal "feel" of it's design, I think it is under fabricated. They are fine for the most part but if I had to get into a crash and could choose the hitch to crash with, it wouldn't be an Anderson.

[kowbra]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

Actually, there was a time when it was widely known to use steel wheels instead of aluminum. Remember the aluminum Cragar and the steel Appliance wheels? Same basic look but Cragars were known to fracture. I personally watched two Cragars do just that.

As a previous aircraft mechanic, I've seen plenty of aluminum used in critical components. However, never welded in high stress locations. I like the concept of the Anderson but going from my personal "feel" of it's design, I think it is under fabricated. They are fine for the most part but if I had to get into a crash and could choose the hitch to crash with, it wouldn't be an Anderson.

"Actually, there was a time when it was widely known to use steel wheels instead of aluminum" - yes that supports my point exactly. At one point it was felt that aluminum rims were not up to the task and some models did have failures. But after enough time, now everyone runs aluminum rims without concern.

I appreciate you sharing your experience in aviation. And, certainly welding aluminum weakens the material. But, that does not mean it automatically dismisses the solution. For example, many enthusiasts with track cars have successfully used welded aluminum drive shafts; obviously a high stress and critical area with potential for much damage and injury if it failed.

To be clear; I'm not pretending to be expert at the design or construction of the AUH and you may be right in your assessment. However, I am suggesting that all such "theories" as to whether the AUH is inherently good or bad are just that, theories.

When looking at the data though, this is a solution that has worked well on a sample size of a few 10s of thousands with very few failures. I find it hard to dismiss that data.


Brad