Anderson Hitch and voiding your warranty......straight from the horses mouth

[jvenard]

This is a great read regarding all of the issues I have been reading about regarding voiding the warranty of our coach because I use an Anderson goose neck hitch. Please Read

https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/...-warranty.aspx

[TheLexx]

Every aftermarket manufacturer likes to tout the Magnusen-Moss Warranty Act. It's total B.S. IMO. Let's say you have an issue with your frame as a result of using the Anderson hitch. GD refuses to fix it under warranty. You bring up the Magnusen Act. They will laugh in your face and tell you to go pound sand.

Then you can threaten to sue them. In the meantime your trailer will sit and you will not have the use of the trailer. You will need to retain an attorney at $450 hr while GD probably has attorneys on retainer.

It will come down to how many thousands of $ you are willing to spend to take the chance that you MAY prevail in court.

If you spend time on car forums you will eventually find an owner who modified his car. One owner of a BMW M5 comes to mind. The engine needed very expensive repairs as a result of his mods. BMW refused. This guy was a man of means. So he hired an attorney. It dragged on and on. Eventually he gave up because his breaking point financially was FAR below BMW's breaking point.

If BMW had relented, it would have set a precedent for them to pay for repairs for a lot of other folks who had modded their cars. No manufacturer is willing to do that.

So yeah, there's this Magnusen-Moss Warranty Act. The question is, can you afford to enforce it?

[alanhenson]

Fixing one Grand design is worth preserving all the good will they have built up with all of us though. I own my own company and my policy is if someone wants their money back there is no hesitation. I don't need any bad will or bad reviews. I don't care if I'm right and they're wrong.

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[jeffdawgfan]

I did a lot of research before buying a Anderson Ultimate Hitch. I have yet to see a documented case of the hitch harming a RV frame...not saying there isn't one out there but I have not see it. The AUH is not like a normal gooseneck adapter that will put a lot of lateral (right word?) stress on the pinbox and frame like other gooseneck adapters. All the stress is still on the same point...moved by a few inches.

[chunker]

. All the stress is still on the same point...moved by a few inches.

If the stress is moved a few inches it's not the same point. I don't have the product and will stick with what I have. I don't have any doubt that AUH is a good product and likely will have no negative effect. But your statement contradicts itself. A conventional gooseneck just moves the hitching point "just a few inches" also. Term "few" is relative. Torsional stress is what we are discussing and a conventional goose neck which has a greater torsional stress vs typical 5th wheel. If the AUH moves that pivot or stress point a few inches down, the torsional force is magnified. Apparently in the case of the AUH, that distance is no where near what a goose neck is, so that force is much less. I suppose we could also say that the various air hitches also increase the torsional forces because the king pin is moved downward from a stock/solid hitch.

For that matter, raising the 5th wheel hitch head to the higher settings, such as B&W adjustments, increases the torsional forces on the hitch itself , but that should be factored within the products allowance. Anyway I am glad you like your product and I like what I have. Many happy towing miles ahead for all of us.

[jeffdawgfan]

Agreed.. Even the two inches offset of the adapter applies some additional stress, but compared to some of the 12-18 inch adapters out there that is nothing. Of note....I actually called Grand Design before purchasing and they told me that the Anderson Hitch would be okay and not void their warranty. Somewhere in my notes I have the name of the person I talked too...when we unpack in the new house I should be able to find those notes......

[BigGuy82]

Agreed.. Even the two inches offset of the adapter applies some additional stress, but compared to some of the 12-18 inch adapters out there that is nothing. Of note....I actually called Grand Design before purchasing and they told me that the Anderson Hitch would be okay and not void their warranty. Somewhere in my notes I have the name of the person I talked too...when we unpack in the new house I should be able to find those notes......

My humble opinion is that this is the ONLY thing that matters. What Andersen (yes - spelled with an "E") says doesn't amount to a hill of beans. Their "$5 million warranty"? I didn't read the fine print so who knows (sounds like a sales gimmick to me), but as long as you have the go ahead from Grand Design, you are covered. However, verbal agreements are problematic, even if you have a name. If it's legal to record phone conversations in your state, do that. Better yet, just get an email.

Personally, there's nothing about that hitch that makes me want to even bother making the effort. I'm perfectly happy with the convenience and the ride of my Reese Elite that sits in the Ford Puck System. No safety chains and I have absolutely no problem taking it out of the bed in two pieces. Actually, I always say "whatever floats your boat" - your preference, your money.