Anderson Ultimate Hitch Help

[mwatts0088]

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Looking for help from any Anderson Hitch Owners.

I’ve got a 2017 6.7 Ram 3500 SRW - long bed (factory ball & puck system) with Anderson Ultimate Hitch. Pulling 43’ Heartland Fuel (15,500lbs) when loaded with toys. I have the factory solid Lippert Kingpin that came with the RV.

Hitch ball is in lowest setting which makes my trailer sit almost dead level (maybe 2-3 inches nose high) with plenty of clearance so I don’t think I can raise it any or my trailer would be pitched up in the front.

I cant get rid of the bucking/jerking. Talked to Anderson & they had me turn the receiver around backwards on the kingpin to bring the trailer axles 6 inches closer to my rear truck axle which made the bucking worse so I turned it back to normal. Then Anderson decided the fact that all four corners of my Hitch were sitting on the plastic pucks & that was causing the issue. They had me install a 1/4 inch bed mat under the hitch to insure it was off the pucks & sitting dead level. Still no improvement. Top bolt is torqued to 70lbs & two set bolts are torqued to 40lbs (I’ve also tried it at 50-60lbs). No improvement. Allen screws on the receiver are torqued to 40lbs. I set the trailer on the hitch, loosened the three bolts & then re-torqued them but still no improvement. Tire pressures are all good as well.
Anyone have any other suggestions? I’m leaving soon on a 5000 mile trip with the family & don’t want to get jerked down the highway the whole time.​

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[Bones]

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0 Comments

Looking for help from any Anderson Hitch Owners.

I’ve got a 2017 6.7 Ram 3500 SRW - long bed (factory ball & puck system) with Anderson Ultimate Hitch. Pulling 43’ Heartland Fuel (15,500lbs) when loaded with toys. I have the factory solid Lippert Kingpin that came with the RV.

Hitch ball is in lowest setting which makes my trailer sit almost dead level (maybe 2-3 inches nose high) with plenty of clearance so I don’t think I can raise it any or my trailer would be pitched up in the front.

I cant get rid of the bucking/jerking. Talked to Anderson & they had me turn the receiver around backwards on the kingpin to bring the trailer axles 6 inches closer to my rear truck axle which made the bucking worse so I turned it back to normal. Then Anderson decided the fact that all four corners of my Hitch were sitting on the plastic pucks & that was causing the issue. They had me install a 1/4 inch bed mat under the hitch to insure it was off the pucks & sitting dead level. Still no improvement. Top bolt is torqued to 70lbs & two set bolts are torqued to 40lbs (I’ve also tried it at 50-60lbs). No improvement. Allen screws on the receiver are torqued to 40lbs. I set the trailer on the hitch, loosened the three bolts & then re-torqued them but still no improvement. Tire pressures are all good as well.
Anyone have any other suggestions? I’m leaving soon on a 5000 mile trip with the family & don’t want to get jerked down the highway the whole time.​

Tags: None

Some of the issue could just be translation of the trailer to the truck or your pin weight is too light. Have you weight your trailer with the load in the rear, weight the truck and calculate your pin weight. Does the trailer do this when unloaded?

 

[mwatts0088]

Thanks. Yes, the same issue occurs with trailer empty/unloaded.

 

[Oldelevatorman]

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0 Comments

Looking for help from any Anderson Hitch Owners.

I’ve got a 2017 6.7 Ram 3500 SRW - long bed (factory ball & puck system) with Anderson Ultimate Hitch. Pulling 43’ Heartland Fuel (15,500lbs) when loaded with toys. I have the factory solid Lippert Kingpin that came with the RV.

Hitch ball is in lowest setting which makes my trailer sit almost dead level (maybe 2-3 inches nose high) with plenty of clearance so I don’t think I can raise it any or my trailer would be pitched up in the front.

I cant get rid of the bucking/jerking. Talked to Anderson & they had me turn the receiver around backwards on the kingpin to bring the trailer axles 6 inches closer to my rear truck axle which made the bucking worse so I turned it back to normal. Then Anderson decided the fact that all four corners of my Hitch were sitting on the plastic pucks & that was causing the issue. They had me install a 1/4 inch bed mat under the hitch to insure it was off the pucks & sitting dead level. Still no improvement. Top bolt is torqued to 70lbs & two set bolts are torqued to 40lbs (I’ve also tried it at 50-60lbs). No improvement. Allen screws on the receiver are torqued to 40lbs. I set the trailer on the hitch, loosened the three bolts & then re-torqued them but still no improvement. Tire pressures are all good as well.
Anyone have any other suggestions? I’m leaving soon on a 5000 mile trip with the family & don’t want to get jerked down the highway the whole time.​

Tags: None

What model of Lippert pin box is it. I’d say go to a Lippert flex-air if it’s not already. You’ve probably done as much as you can with the Anderson and check your pin weight as others have mentioned!


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[orion7144]

You are one of the few that complain about this so I am curious. Have you towed before with a regular 5th wheel hitch? reason I ask is I have not. I get the occasional jerking but only over bridge transitions or big ruts. Before I got the F450, I had a F250 (same body style) and I had the bucking till I followed their recommendations (now in the install manual but was not before). Leave side bolts loose, torque top to 60ftlbs, hook up, tighten top bolt to 60 again (I did 70), then do the side bolts. Once I did that the results were much better. I do have a bed mat that is ~1/2" thick. When original troubleshooting my issue they sent me a longer adapter that went over the ball in my bed. If your ball sits high then torquing the top bolt will not tighten enough. I also noticed (as someone already mentioned) that when I first got my last 5th wheel it was worse till I loaded it up. you really need to be at that 25% pin weight

One other thing I would like to mention is if I let the air out of my air bags I could induce jerking. Once I would air back up it was minimized. Since I have upgraded to the F450 I do not have the airbags so I cant compare.

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0 Comments

Looking for help from any Anderson Hitch Owners.

I’ve got a 2017 6.7 Ram 3500 SRW - long bed (factory ball & puck system) with Anderson Ultimate Hitch. Pulling 43’ Heartland Fuel (15,500lbs) when loaded with toys. I have the factory solid Lippert Kingpin that came with the RV.

Hitch ball is in lowest setting which makes my trailer sit almost dead level (maybe 2-3 inches nose high) with plenty of clearance so I don’t think I can raise it any or my trailer would be pitched up in the front.

I cant get rid of the bucking/jerking. Talked to Anderson & they had me turn the receiver around backwards on the kingpin to bring the trailer axles 6 inches closer to my rear truck axle which made the bucking worse so I turned it back to normal. Then Anderson decided the fact that all four corners of my Hitch were sitting on the plastic pucks & that was causing the issue. They had me install a 1/4 inch bed mat under the hitch to insure it was off the pucks & sitting dead level. Still no improvement. Top bolt is torqued to 70lbs & two set bolts are torqued to 40lbs (I’ve also tried it at 50-60lbs). No improvement. Allen screws on the receiver are torqued to 40lbs. I set the trailer on the hitch, loosened the three bolts & then re-torqued them but still no improvement. Tire pressures are all good as well.
Anyone have any other suggestions? I’m leaving soon on a 5000 mile trip with the family & don’t want to get jerked down the highway the whole time.​

Tags: None

 

[mwatts0088]

You are one of the few that complain about this so I am curious. Have you towed before with a regular 5th wheel hitch? reason I ask is I have not. I get the occasional jerking but only over bridge transitions or big ruts. Before I got the F450, I had a F250 (same body style) and I had the bucking till I followed their recommendations (now in the install manual but was not before). Leave side bolts loose, torque top to 60ftlbs, hook up, tighten top bolt to 60 again (I did 70), then do the side bolts. Once I did that the results were much better. I do have a bed mat that is ~1/2" thick. When original troubleshooting my issue they sent me a longer adapter that went over the ball in my bed. If your ball sits high then torquing the top bolt will not tighten enough. I also noticed (as someone already mentioned) that when I first got my last 5th wheel it was worse till I loaded it up. you really need to be at that 25% pin weight

One other thing I would like to mention is if I let the air out of my air bags I could induce jerking. Once I would air back up it was minimized. Since I have upgraded to the F450 I do not have the airbags so I cant compare.

Thank you. I have pulled fifth wheels before. You have some interesting advice. Anderson has me torq all three bolts down, hook the trailer up then loosen all three off and then tighten back down. Your process is slightly different so I’ll try it your way. I’ve wondered about the hitch sitting too high on my factory ball so interesting you mentioned that. I think I’ll have that discussion with Anderson & see if we need to change something out.

Someone else asked what model Pin Box I have & I’m not sure off the top of my head. I’ll have to run that down as it’s the factory box & I don’t really know what my pin weight is. I’ve not been able to slow down long enough to figure that out. This is a toy hauler so it’s got the generator mounted up front along with the basement which is always loaded so I can’t imagine I’m too light in the front. All good tips and I appreciate the help.

 

[avvidclif]

Is the air pressure in the rear TV tires set to max??? Too soft can cause problems.

 

[mwatts0088]

Is the air pressure in the rear TV tires set to max??? Too soft can cause problems.

thank you. Yes. All tires are max 110 psi

 

[WillyBill]

My Triple axle Cyclone pulls better with the water tanks full.

Flex Air pin box is great. Can't say enough about it. Found on EBay for almost $400 under list.

WB

 

[cemill]

I also use the Anderson Ultimate hitch in my 2018 3500 long bed Chevy.

Pulling a 2015 39.5 ft Bighorn. Love it, no problems.

 

[mwatts0088]

Update for Anderson issue. First let me say the folks at Anderson are great to work with. We took some measurements & determined the sleeve that covers the gooseneck ball is sliding up and down. This after they had me torc it to 60lbs and then 70lbs. When we pulled it out we found the set bolts had worn verticle groves in the sleeve about 1.5” to 2” long and left scuff marks lower down from all the bucking. Anderson commented they’ve never seen a hitch have this issue. They determined one possibility was a run of aluminum that was too soft & didn’t meet specs around the same time I purchased the hitch. They are shipping a new replacement & requested I return the old one so they can try a figure out the issue. Great customer service and rush delivery. I’ll try to attach a photo of the issue we found.

I’m still concerned my factory ram ball sets too high due to the thick shoulder. The only aftermarket I could find locally is a Curt which is slightly shorter. I did pick one up but I’m concerned about the latch on top of the ball as it is just held down by gravity and a short twist. A normal gooseneck trailer would sit on top of it keeping the latch secure. I’m under the impression nothing touches the top of the ball with the Anderson set up. Anyone using a Curt ball with the Anderson Ultimate?

 

[orion7144]

The height of the ball should not be an issue. They do make 2 different sizes for the part that connects to the ball in the bed (the one you show in the picture). When I originally had issues with mine they thought I could not tighten it down enough so they sent me a longer one. That did not work for me though. It turned out that I did not re-torque after hitching up. Looking at your picture it looks like there are 3 different points that you torqued the bolts. On mine you can see where I did before and after I re-torqued the top bolt. The gap from the marks on mine are a good .5" apart. I think a rubber bed mat will help you.

Update for Anderson issue. First let me say the folks at Anderson are great to work with. We took some measurements & determined the sleeve that covers the gooseneck ball is sliding up and down. This after they had me torc it to 60lbs and then 70lbs. When we pulled it out we found the set bolts had worn verticle groves in the sleeve about 1.5” to 2” long and left scuff marks lower down from all the bucking. Anderson commented they’ve never seen a hitch have this issue. They determined one possibility was a run of aluminum that was too soft & didn’t meet specs around the same time I purchased the hitch. They are shipping a new replacement & requested I return the old one so they can try a figure out the issue. Great customer service and rush delivery. I’ll try to attach a photo of the issue we found.

I’m still concerned my factory ram ball sets too high due to the thick shoulder. The only aftermarket I could find locally is a Curt which is slightly shorter. I did pick one up but I’m concerned about the latch on top of the ball as it is just held down by gravity and a short twist. A normal gooseneck trailer would sit on top of it keeping the latch secure. I’m under the impression nothing touches the top of the ball with the Anderson set up. Anyone using a Curt ball with the Anderson Ultimate?

 

[JWalker]

I have been using the Curt ball kit for about 2 years and thousands of miles.

 

[Mark-Roberta 051995]

I have the same set up on my 2018 (previously a '15) Ram longbed dually. I have the Moryde pin box and do get some chucking but not a lot. I have had this same set up on two different vehicles and 2 different fifth wheels. This has been over 4 years and about 8,000 miles
On a side note: Andersen is extremely helpful and their customer service is by far the best I have seen in a while.

I have been using the Curt ball kit for about 2 years and thousands of miles.

 

[mwatts0088]

The height of the ball should not be an issue. They do make 2 different sizes for the part that connects to the ball in the bed (the one you show in the picture). When I originally had issues with mine they thought I could not tighten it down enough so they sent me a longer one. That did not work for me though. It turned out that I did not re-torque after hitching up. Looking at your picture it looks like there are 3 different points that you torqued the bolts. On mine you can see where I did before and after I re-torqued the top bolt. The gap from the marks on mine are a good .5" apart. I think a rubber bed mat will help you.

I do have a rubber mat which we added after the issue started. I am headed on a 3000 mile trip in two days so we’ll see how things go with the new hitch replacement.

 

[CoveredWagon]

I've had an Andersen Ultimate for 3 years now and thousand of miles. If I remember correctly Andersen States not to use a rubber mat under their hitch. As for the ball with the flip over lever. It's not a problem. Once you torque the top bolt, there is no way the locking balls are going to let anything to move. I hope you are torquing the top bolt before you are torquing the side bolts.

 

[orion7144]

I've had an Andersen Ultimate for 3 years now and thousand of miles. If I remember correctly Andersen States not to use a rubber mat under their hitch. As do the ball with the flip over lever. It's not a problem. Once you torque the top bolt, there is no way the locking balls are going to let anything to move. I hope you are torquing the top bolt before you are trying the side bolts.

They used to state in their manual "no mat more than 1/2" thick" I do not think it is in there anymore.

 

[avvidclif]

When I bought mine last year they recommended a mat. I did have a problem last month and their customer service is superb.

 

[mwatts0088]

Yes. Top bolt gets torqued & then torqued again after the weight of the trailer is hooked up then the side bolts are torqued. Anderson is now recomending a rubber mat for any trucks that have the factory puck system. The four corners of the hitch base will sometimes rest on the edges of the pucks & will not allow the entire base to make solid contact with the bed surface so the rubber mat makes a level surface. Mine is 1/4 inch thick with half moons cut out around the edges of the pucks. This ensures my hitch is dead level & not touching the pucks.

 

[Bogie]

i have had my Anderson for two years. Use a Curt ball on my 2017 RAM. I have had a Bedrug under the Anderson since the beginning with no problems. The Bedrug is a plastic composite and has ridges on the bottom to match the groves of the truck bed. I get virtually no chucking.