Andersen No Sway Hitch

[Illmazing]

Would like any info you may have on the Andersen no sway WDS. Bought our first camper, Imagine 2800BH and decided to go with Andersen No Sway.

[sande005]

Had one with my 2670MK - same length as yours, GVWR is about 1,000 lbs heavier. Had several episodes of sway, a couple bad enough to set off the trucks sway control/warning system. I think the root problem was being too light in tongue weight - was at 11.5% with full water tanks (they are ahead of the wheels). Was able to restore all of the weight to the front of the truck (F150, 6.5 box), but did have to tighten them as far as they would go. Liked the light weight, and the ease of hitching/unhitching. But, the sway was just unacceptable. Did not test with a lot of weight on the front of the trailer, to see if that helped. Just gave up, and rather than try other brands, went directly to the very big $$ ProPride. Now tongue weight is about 12.5% (dry) due ProPride being very heavy. Whether the weight, the design of the hitch, or both, it completely cured the sway issue. I still really like the idea of the Andersen, but think it is probably better suited to trailers shorter and lighter than mine. But...if your tongue weight is better than mine was, it may work out well for you. Some test drives, and trips to a truck scale, would be in order before attempting a long trip.

[Illmazing]

Thanks for the info. We are new to the Rv world. We did take a weekend trip an hour away and had no issues with sway. But I think I may have had a little sag on the rear of the vehicle and the tongue. We had a light load also. Currently have 04 suburban with aftermarket break controller. No issues with breaking, sway, wind, etc. went with Andersen due to ease of set up. Time will tell if I stick with it or not. On the way back I did tighten the chains a little more and seemed to reduce the sag. We also had a full tank of fresh water on return trip. In Jan we head out on 5 hour drive through 3 states. Will keep an eye out for sway issues.

[sande005]

With any WDH, the most important thing is how much weight it returns to the front wheels. That is most easily done by measuring how far the front fender rises from unloaded after the full weight of the trailer is put on the hitch, and then setting the distribution system (tighten chains on the Andersen) to bring the fender back to it's original height. Different vehicles have different specs - check for yours. Some require all the weight be restored, Ford generally says only half the weight has to be restored. After that is set, then you worry about rear end sag, adding airbags or other spring helpers to bring it up.

[TucsonJim]

Sande005. I've been considering air bags myself. But I'm not sure of the process for matching bags to a WDH. From your post, it looks like you set up the WDH first, then air up the bags?

Jim

[sande005]

Actually, I had the airbags added for helping with my old fifth. On that combination, it wasn't a huge difference. Now with the 2670MK and the HD Payload package on the F-150, I don't even use them. But, if I was having sag problems, yes - I would set the WD hitch first. Then air up the bags. And then I would go back and check trailer tongue height (level or slightly nose down), and recheck the fender rise. Adjust hitch height and WD as needed (it likely would not need anything). But after that setup step is confirmed by driving with it, you would know what the WD should be and what pressure in the bags - so can be done in any order when hooking up.

[Mark Ulmer]

Sande005. I've been considering air bags myself. But I'm not sure of the process for matching bags to a WDH. From your post, it looks like you set up the WDH first, then air up the bags?

Jim

I am just in the process of installing rear air bags on my f150 to mitigate some porpoising issues. I contacted Equal-i-zer for advice on how the hitch and air bags work together. According the them, you need to air up the bags first, then adjust the hitch. Every time you change the pressure it changes the height of the TV, so you need to readjust the hitch. Here is the exact response I got from them:

Yes the Equalizer hitch can work with Air-bags, but the two inherently fight each other so if you are going to use air-bags you must follow the instructions bellow. Know that whenever you change pressure in the airbags it changes the way the tow vehicles sits and so when you make those changes it was like you just changed tow vehicles. For that reason whenever you change pressure in the bags you will need to go through steps 1-9 of the manual (attached) and completely re-adjust the hitch. For this reason I recommend finding a pressure you like the airbags set to and leaving it at that.

[lawdes]

We pulled a Reflection 313 and before that a Keystone Passport. Passport was awful for sway...took all the fun out of it. Got a ProPride hitch (expensive) and that virtually and completely eliminated sway. Didn’t mask or dampen it, just eliminated it. Trailer physically cannot sway with that hitch. Have a fiver now, but the 313 pulled to Alaska and back just like a fifth wheel. I highly recommend it...would never pull a tt again without it.

[sande005]

I am just in the process of installing rear air bags on my f150 to mitigate some porpoising issues. I contacted Equal-i-zer for advice on how the hitch and air bags work together. According the them, you need to air up the bags first, then adjust the hitch. Every time you change the pressure it changes the height of the TV, so you need to readjust the hitch. Here is the exact response I got from them:

Yes the Equalizer hitch can work with Air-bags, but the two inherently fight each other so if you are going to use air-bags you must follow the instructions bellow. Know that whenever you change pressure in the airbags it changes the way the tow vehicles sits and so when you make those changes it was like you just changed tow vehicles. For that reason whenever you change pressure in the bags you will need to go through steps 1-9 of the manual (attached) and completely re-adjust the hitch. For this reason I recommend finding a pressure you like the airbags set to and leaving it at that.

Different order to the setup, but same in the end. Either may be kind of a tedious process as you set everything up, then test - and if you don't like the results add more/less air and reset everything again. But once you have it figured out, you won't have to mess with it again. Just air up and then hitch up.

[Mark Ulmer]

You're right, sande005--it will definitely be a lot of trial and error to figure the correct settings for everything initially...