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Old 03-27-2017, 06:01 PM   #1
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Anderson Ultimate 5th Wheel Hitch

Evening folks,

Has anyone been using the Anderson Ultimate 5th wheel hitch. There are a lot of good reviews on YouTube. Pin weight of 4,500 pounds, tow weight of 24,000 pounds. Aluminum only weights 35 pounds. Planning to travel and spend 2-3 months at a time in areas. Would be great to have a hitch that is easy to remove and leave my truck bed, (when I buy a truck), available. The $732.00 price tag doesn't hurt either.

I've searched the forums and there are a few random posts but nothing really definitive. Anything anyone can offer would be great.

Thanks,
Sean
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Old 04-05-2017, 09:57 AM   #2
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Evening folks,

Has anyone been using the Anderson Ultimate 5th wheel hitch. There are a lot of good reviews on YouTube. Pin weight of 4,500 pounds, tow weight of 24,000 pounds. Aluminum only weights 35 pounds. Planning to travel and spend 2-3 months at a time in areas. Would be great to have a hitch that is easy to remove and leave my truck bed, (when I buy a truck), available. The $732.00 price tag doesn't hurt either.

I've searched the forums and there are a few random posts but nothing really definitive. Anything anyone can offer would be great.

Thanks,
Sean
I was skeptical of the Anderson Ultimate Hitch (AUH) as I have a gooseneck flip over ball and my previous camper had an Anderson Ranch hitch (gooseneck adapter).

That ranch hitch got the job done on the smaller 5ver it was on, but it was a chucking pos. I had to play 80s hair music it was that bad.

I have many trailers that are gooseneck and I wasn't excited about a clunky heavy fiver attachment in my SB F250. So I sprung for the steel AUH (70 lbs) to attach to my drawtite gooseneck ball.

The product is awesome! No chucking and a solid product.

I have a 1/4" thick rubber mat under mine and it works great.

If you check the Ford and dodge truck forums you can find lots of happy users.
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Old 04-05-2017, 12:19 PM   #3
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Thanks for the input. Newer trucks have the pucks for installing a 5th wheel hitch. I'm not sure if they are brand specific. They also have a puck that uncovers a gooseneck receiver.

I saw this couple on YouTube that had the AUH in aluminium pulling a 44 foot toy hauler. The guy doesn't seen all that knowledgeable, but in the three months they have been on the road haven't mentioned a problem.

The cost isn't a factor over safety and convenience. It would be great to be able to pull the 35 pound hitch out and stash it under the 5th wheel when we are parked for a couple of months at a time when we go full time.
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Old 04-05-2017, 12:37 PM   #4
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Thanks for the input. Newer trucks have the pucks for installing a 5th wheel hitch. I'm not sure if they are brand specific. They also have a puck that uncovers a gooseneck receiver.

I saw this couple on YouTube that had the AUH in aluminium pulling a 44 foot toy hauler. The guy doesn't seen all that knowledgeable, but in the three months they have been on the road haven't mentioned a problem.

The cost isn't a factor over safety and convenience. It would be great to be able to pull the 35 pound hitch out and stash it under the 5th wheel when we are parked for a couple of months at a time when we go full time.
Yes most newer trucks "can" come with the gooseneck / fiver prep as long as the dealer ordered it right.

This was not the case on my 2012 superduty.

You'll should also check out Pullrites version of the AUH. I believe it has the ability to pair up with factory rail mounts.

Come to think of it so should the AUH rail mount version.
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Old 04-05-2017, 10:30 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by Vikes79 View Post
I was skeptical of the Anderson Ultimate Hitch (AUH) as I have a gooseneck flip over ball and my previous camper had an Anderson Ranch hitch (gooseneck adapter).

That ranch hitch got the job done on the smaller 5ver it was on, but it was a chucking pos. I had to play 80s hair music it was that bad.

I have many trailers that are gooseneck and I wasn't excited about a clunky heavy fiver attachment in my SB F250. So I sprung for the steel AUH (70 lbs) to attach to my drawtite gooseneck ball.

The product is awesome! No chucking and a solid product.

I have a 1/4" thick rubber mat under mine and it works great.

If you check the Ford and dodge truck forums you can find lots of happy users.
How do you attach safety chains to the pin box?
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Old 04-06-2017, 05:45 AM   #6
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Anderson has a safety chain kit that replaces the large bolts that clamp the adapter to the king pin with bolts that have a ring attached to the head so that the included chains can be attached.

There is a great debate within the rv community as to wether safety chains are needed using the AUH. Requirements vary and none of them are specific enough to make a conclusion for this type of connection.

I do know this, you will not find any reports of the trailer becoming disconnected with the AUH since it was introduced to the market, but you find hundreds of reports of fivers becoming disconnected with the standard fiver connection and no safety chains.
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Old 04-06-2017, 08:32 AM   #7
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There is a great debate within the rv community as to wether safety chains are needed using the AUH. Requirements vary and none of them are specific enough to make a conclusion for this type of connection.
While the wording of state laws may be both inadequate and out of date relative to the AUH, technically all ball connections NEED safety chains. That is because there are multiple sizes of balls and couplers. While a 1-7/8" coupler won't fit on a larger ball, the opposite is not true and in those cases, the standard lock mechanism is worthless. Later visual inspection will not reveal this mistake. Hence, safety chains. Admittedly, the number of ball sizes available for GN hitches is limited, but getting state lawmakers to understand and write GN specific laws would probably be a worse disaster. OTOH, there is only one king pin size for all fifth wheels and semi trailers.

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I do know this, you will not find any reports of the trailer becoming disconnected with the AUH since it was introduced to the market, but you find hundreds of reports of fivers becoming disconnected with the standard fiver connection and no safety chains.
"hundreds" is probably overstated, in 28 yrs I've seen one case and heard of tens of cases, but not hundreds. If it happened that often, then the number of cases of semi trailers becoming disconnected would number in the thousands. Besides the real concern is what happens in the event of an accident and there are many examples of fifth wheel hitches (RV and tractor-trailer) that remain hitched thru really terrible accidents. In fact when it comes to RV accidents, I can't recall a single fifth wheel hitch failure.
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Old 04-06-2017, 08:53 AM   #8
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While the wording of state laws may be both inadequate and out of date relative to the AUH, technically all ball connections NEED safety chains. That is because there are multiple sizes of balls and couplers. While a 1-7/8" coupler won't fit on a larger ball, the opposite is not true and in those cases, the standard lock mechanism is worthless. Later visual inspection will not reveal this mistake. Hence, safety chains. Admittedly, the number of ball sizes available for GN hitches is limited, but getting state lawmakers to understand and write GN specific laws would probably be a worse disaster. OTOH, there is only one king pin size for all fifth wheels and semi trailers.



"hundreds" is probably overstated, in 28 yrs I've seen one case and heard of tens of cases, but not hundreds. If it happened that often, then the number of cases of semi trailers becoming disconnected would number in the thousands. Besides the real concern is what happens in the event of an accident and there are many examples of fifth wheel hitches (RV and tractor-trailer) that remain hitched thru really terrible accidents. In fact when it comes to RV accidents, I can't recall a single fifth wheel hitch failure.
Feel free to research the many popular pickup truck forums for Fiver connection failures. I did before purchasing my AUH.

Lots and lots of pictures. I will agree that most of them were operator error and mostly overloaded.

If I forget to latch my AUH connection on my rig will it come off?

What happens to traditional 5th connection?

Semi tractor king pin systems and rv systems while similar in concept are far from equal in quality and construction.

If you can find a gooseneck trailer that can fit on top of an AUH without removing the entire nose assembly and still be operable, I'll be impressed.

The truth of the matter is all trailers should have safety chains because of the human error factor.
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Old 04-06-2017, 09:10 AM   #9
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It doesn't make one bit of difference whether it's a RV 5th wheel or a semi tractor trailer unit. If you forget to latch/lock the hitch, you are going to drop the 5th wheel on the bed of your truck when you pull ahead, and a semi will land on the rear end of the tractor frame.
Visual inspection after you back in and hookup is imperative.
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Old 04-06-2017, 10:59 AM   #10
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Feel free to research the many popular pickup truck forums for Fiver connection failures. I did before purchasing my AUH.

Lots and lots of pictures. I will agree that most of them were operator error and mostly overloaded.
No need for research, plenty of experience and countless hours on both truck and RV forums and tons more is posted about fifth wheel hitch 'failures' on these RV forums than any place else.

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If I forget to latch my AUH connection on my rig will it come off?
In an accident or severe maneuver to avoid one, possible. If you feel that it won't come off, are you still using the latch anyway?

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What happens to traditional 5th connection?
As Lloyd stated, it will drop immediately.

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Originally Posted by Vikes79 View Post
Semi tractor king pin systems and rv systems while similar in concept are far from equal in quality and construction.
You miss the point, if fifth wheel hitch 'failures' were due to a preponderance of evidence against the design, quality or construction of a specific fifth wheel hitch, it would no longer be on the market. There is no such evidence against RV fifth wheel hitches.

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If you can find a gooseneck trailer that can fit on top of an AUH without removing the entire nose assembly and still be operable, I'll be impressed.
I'm not sure what this is in reference to. But to lawmakers, all ball connections are the same and probably very few applicable laws have been revised since the AUH was introduced into the market. If lawmakers understood that the AUH has other semi-permanent attachment points (potential points of failure) in addition to the ball connection, they might require even more backup systems.
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Old 04-06-2017, 12:50 PM   #11
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No need for research, plenty of experience and countless hours on both truck and RV forums and tons more is posted about fifth wheel hitch 'failures' on these RV forums than any place else.

In an accident or severe maneuver to avoid one, possible. If you feel that it won't come off, are you still using the latch anyway?

As Lloyd stated, it will drop immediately.

You miss the point, if fifth wheel hitch 'failures' were due to a preponderance of evidence against the design, quality or construction of a specific fifth wheel hitch, it would no longer be on the market. There is no such evidence against RV fifth wheel hitches.

I'm not sure what this is in reference to. But to lawmakers, all ball connections are the same and probably very few applicable laws have been revised since the AUH was introduced into the market. If lawmakers understood that the AUH has other semi-permanent attachment points (potential points of failure) in addition to the ball connection, they might require even more backup systems.
No I did not miss the point. You are comparing apples and oranges...as often is the case with AUH discussions.

I used specific points to poke holes in your expert opinion.

You are stuck in the belief that the AUH is a common gooseneck attachment simply because it has a ball on it.

A standard gooseneck trailer cannot be attached to the AUH period. It simply can't happen without serious modification.

Your rational for different ball sizes has no bearing either as their are none than can be put on the AUH.

BTW you couldn't be looking terribly hard at Fiver hitch failures. Google search yields over 25 hits with posts less than 1 year old on RV sites...not counting those dummies on the truck sites as you imply.

Care to elaborate why chains are not needed on fivers but on the AUH again?
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Old 04-06-2017, 01:34 PM   #12
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No I did not miss the point. You are comparing apples and oranges...as often is the case with AUH discussions.

I used specific points to poke holes in your expert opinion.

You are stuck in the belief that the AUH is a common gooseneck attachment simply because it has a ball on it.

A standard gooseneck trailer cannot be attached to the AUH period. It simply can't happen without serious modification.

Your rational for different ball sizes has no bearing either as their are none than can be put on the AUH.

BTW you couldn't be looking terribly hard at Fiver hitch failures. Google search yields over 25 hits with posts less than 1 year old on RV sites...not counting those dummies on the truck sites as you imply.

Care to elaborate why chains are not needed on fivers but on the AUH again?
Actually, I'm not making any comparisons, they are both ball connections and therefore subject to laws regarding such. If over the past few years you had read any of my posts on any forum regarding ball connections for fifth wheel trailers, you would find that the AUH is the only one I recommend because it puts the least additional stress on the fiver frame. Being an elevated ball,it is a different animal from that perspective. But it is still a ball connection, and being elevated does not in any way make it safer than other ball connections. So, if all other types of ball connections require safety chains, the AUH is technically no different.

And again, you miss the point that ball connection laws apply to all ball connections and are meant to cover such in the past, present and future. Just because the only size ball currently available on the AUH is 2-5/16", that doesn't mean that will forever be the case. Especially if other manufacturers and applications develop. Today, you can buy a 3" 40k rated GN mount, drop it over a 2-5/16" floor mounted ball, slip the safety pin in place and have no protection against de-coupling.

Finally, chains are not needed with king pin connections because that is the law, simple.
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Old 04-08-2017, 06:26 AM   #13
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Yes most newer trucks "can" come with the gooseneck / fiver prep as long as the dealer ordered it right.

This was not the case on my 2012 superduty.

You'll should also check out Pullrites version of the AUH. I believe it has the ability to pair up with factory rail mounts.

Come to think of it so should the AUH rail mount version.
The AUH does have a rail mount version.
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Old 04-08-2017, 06:43 AM   #14
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Look in your warranty if you use a goose neck on you fifth wheel the warranty is void. I would check with Lippert on this hook up.
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Old 04-25-2017, 11:49 PM   #15
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While I was still shopping for my 5th wheel I watched videos of the Anderson hitch and was extremely impressed. I was sold. Then when visiting 2 dealers in a row they showed me pics of an Anderson hitch failure of a 5ver when coming down Parleys canyon (a fairly steep canyon dropping down into Salt Lake). They had pictures and you could see how the metal twisted on the pyramid. The first dealer said that Anderson refused to indemnify the dealer so the dealer no longer carries them. Second dealer said he didn't trust the design and had heard about the mishap up the canyon. When he heard about the indemnification problem he vowed to verify it and if true he would no longer even install them. I'm looking at the auto slider from Demco or the non auto from B and M (the Patriot).
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Old 04-26-2017, 06:03 AM   #16
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Look in your warranty if you use a goose neck on you fifth wheel the warranty is void. I would check with Lippert on this hook up.
Thanks for the information. Technically is it a goose neck? The goose neck is the hitch attaching to the truck. The 5th wheel is attaching at the same attachment point as a regular 5th wheel hitch. Putting a goose neck adapter on a king pin and attaching that to a king pin is technically the same I guess, but it pulls at a different angle, causing stress on the trailer.

I'm not sold on it, just found it interesting and gathering information. I like that its light. I like that I can easily throw it under my 5er when not in use.

This is what I love about this forum. People share points of interest others may not think of.
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Old 04-26-2017, 06:04 AM   #17
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While I was still shopping for my 5th wheel I watched videos of the Anderson hitch and was extremely impressed. I was sold. Then when visiting 2 dealers in a row they showed me pics of an Anderson hitch failure of a 5ver when coming down Parleys canyon (a fairly steep canyon dropping down into Salt Lake). They had pictures and you could see how the metal twisted on the pyramid. The first dealer said that Anderson refused to indemnify the dealer so the dealer no longer carries them. Second dealer said he didn't trust the design and had heard about the mishap up the canyon. When he heard about the indemnification problem he vowed to verify it and if true he would no longer even install them. I'm looking at the auto slider from Demco or the non auto from B and M (the Patriot).
Good to know. It's unusual that there aren't more negative reviews on the system. Normally people are quick to post negatives about a product, (I don't mean you, I mean like on websites or YouTube). Thanks
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Old 04-27-2017, 05:40 AM   #18
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Hey I did alot of research and ended up going with the andersen. I have only towed 3 times with it ao far but have been very happy with it. Very easy to set up and tows very well

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Old 04-28-2017, 02:42 PM   #19
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Hey I did alot of research and ended up going with the andersen. I have only towed 3 times with it ao far but have been very happy with it. Very easy to set up and tows very well

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