I am out of warranty. I have chains and either reach from the rear or hook them to the hitch prior to hooking up and then fasten to the pinbox. What .020 gap?
I was reading a recent thread about the merits of the Anderson because I'll be upgrading my RV to a toy hauler in 6 mo. or so and wanted to consider all the options. Here's the post from a recent Anderson related thread:
Originally Posted by Garypowell
To 212pilot.
Can you share how they told you to shim the ball for a better fit?
The folks at Anderson recommended using teflon tape or similar to shim the ball here it fits into the hitch. I used aluminum duct sealing tape because I had some on hand. One wrap was enough to take up the slack which was about .0020".
A tape shim (or any kind of shim) on a device pulling a 15K trailer? OK - just not my choice.
I did do more research outside of this forum on the merits of ball hitches on fivers vs. using a traditional fifth wheel hitch. Regarding ride quality, it would be hard to beat the ride I get with a Flex Air pinbox and Air Lifts. The connection with the traditional fiver hitch, I believe, is stronger (which may not matter much if you don't have an accident). This connection type is used on semi's is because it is stronger - if a ball design was more robust, the industry would have adopted it. In particular, the locking mechanism that holds the trailer to the ball is not as robust as the jaw locking mechanism on a standard hitch, so it doesn't resist abnormal vertical movement well. This is probably also the reason that most (all?) states require safety chains with
any type of ball hitch - because under certain circumstances it is more likely to disconnect.
I'm aware of the advantages of the Anderson - lightweight, easier hookup, ability to hook up off axis, smooth ride, less expensive (at least less than a standard fiver hitch with a custom pinbox). Just not my cup of tea for the reasons mentioned above AND because I'm still in warranty.
