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I think I would go the Anderson route as well. The weight alone makes it so much more convient and of you look at the videos it doesn't place any additional stress on the pin box.
The main reason I went with the Anderson is the light weight of removing it/installing it in the truck! I can handle 45 pounds!
We have to remember that he already has the B&W hitch installed , By the time he buys and pays for somebody to install the rails needed for the Anderson hitch and the cost of the Anderson hitch he could have bought the companion hitch, also I don't know if he can mount conventional rails without removing or modifying the B&W system..
I think I would have to change the pin box and pin to a gooseneck to use the Anderson hitch mentioned byMe Border. It sits way too high.
As it is now, with the convert a ball attached to the king pin, when I backed under it, without my ball in place and the camper cranked up high enough to back under it with the 250 pound 17 year old sitting on the tail gate, the hitch sat 2 inches above the bed and the camper was leaning way back. No-where near level. There is not enough adjustment to get that to fit onto the Anderson adapter thing pictured by Meborder in his link.
If I take the converta ball off and make some adjustments to the pin box and the campanion, it should be able to sit nice and level.
I can sell the convertaball to make up some of the cost of the companion, and put that big teenager to work and have him lift it into the bed of the truck!
I think I would have to change the pin box and pin to a gooseneck to use the Anderson hitch mentioned byMe Border. It sits way too high.
As it is now, with the convert a ball attached to the king pin, when I backed under it, without my ball in place and the camper cranked up high enough to back under it with the 250 pound 17 year old sitting on the tail gate, the hitch sat 2 inches above the bed and the camper was leaning way back. No-where near level. There is not enough adjustment to get that to fit onto the Anderson adapter thing pictured by Meborder in his link.
If I take the converta ball off and make some adjustments to the pin box and the campanion, it should be able to sit nice and level.
I can sell the convertaball to make up some of the cost of the companion, and put that big teenager to work and have him lift it into the bed of the truck!
Good plan, I think I got $225.00 for my convertaball when I sold mine..
We have to remember that he already has the B&W hitch installed , By the time he buys and pays for somebody to install the rails needed for the Anderson hitch and the cost of the Anderson hitch he could have bought the companion hitch, also I don't know if he can mount conventional rails without removing or modifying the B&W system..
i'm not sure if you looked at the link or not.
andersen makes two types hitches.
1. the type that attaches to the rails
2. the type that couples to the existing ball.
the link i posted was for the latter and is just the ticket for someone who has a gooseneck ball already in the truck.
Originally Posted by WyoBlueF3
I think I would have to change the pin box and pin to a gooseneck to use the Anderson hitch mentioned byMe Border. It sits way too high.
As it is now, with the convert a ball attached to the king pin, when I backed under it, without my ball in place and the camper cranked up high enough to back under it with the 250 pound 17 year old sitting on the tail gate, the hitch sat 2 inches above the bed and the camper was leaning way back. No-where near level. There is not enough adjustment to get that to fit onto the Anderson adapter thing pictured by Meborder in his link.
If I take the converta ball off and make some adjustments to the pin box and the campanion, it should be able to sit nice and level.
I can sell the convertaball to make up some of the cost of the companion, and put that big teenager to work and have him lift it into the bed of the truck!
according to the manufacturers:
the andersen has "Three height adjustments: 16-1/8" lower position, 17-7/16" middle position and 19" upper position (from bed of truck to top of ball mount)"
the Companion "Three vertical adjustments from 16.25" to 18.25""
splitting hairs here, but the andersen goes 1/8" lower than the companion.
not knocking the B&W at all ... its a helluva unit and it's reputation cannot be touched
but for half the cost and way less than 1/2 the weight (3/8's to be exact) ... i dunno, the andersen looks very attractive.
Have you RIDDEN on some of these roads ?!?!
Our "granite" sink toppers bounced off and ended up in the living room on one trip !!!
I can visualize that happening!! We are currently on the road and have hit some pretty nasty patches.
Originally Posted by WyoBlueF3
Would be a lot less expensive than a $1400-1700 slider!
I can't speak for sure about the non-slider version of the Companion hitch, but my slider version does not install to the ball, it installs in the hole the ball fits in. And I paid considerably less than that amount you are talking about.
The issue with the anderson thing is that the converta ball attachment on the king pin also comes down several inches lower than the king pin itself...added with the raised height of the ball on the Anderson, it's too much. I would have to swap out the king pin pin box for one of those that has gooseneck conversion and not the king pin and would sit on the ball of the anderson.
I can't speak for sure about the non-slider version of the Companion hitch, but my slider version does not install to the ball, it installs in the hole the ball fits in. And I paid considerably less than that amount you are talking about.[/QUOTE]
You are right about that...I realized that after hittin submit.
I found an outfit in Denver area selling the slider hitch on the net for $1400 and the regular companion for $879. thats the lowest I've seen for the slider. Will be calling them tomorrw.
The issue with the anderson thing is that the converta ball attachment on the king pin also comes down several inches lower than the king pin itself...added with the raised height of the ball on the Anderson, it's too much. I would have to swap out the king pin pin box for one of those that has gooseneck conversion and not the king pin and would sit on the ball of the anderson.
I don't think that's true at all.
In the video below at 0:18 you can see how the bottom of the adapter sits above the bottom of the king pin.
the ball on the hitch will ride against the top of the adapter, which sits flush with the slide plate at the top of the kingpin.
that is to say, the center of the ball on the andersen will be almost exactly the same height as the center of the kingpin. and the top of the ball will be almost exactly the same height as the top of the kingpin.
the andersen does not, near as i can tell, and ANY height realative to the bed when hooked up -- it is designed not to. The height adjustmets of the andersen are almost exactly the same as the B&W.
you may have a height problem with your truck/trailer combo, but you will have the same problem no matter which hitch you choose.
I'm not trying to push you into one thing or another, i really don't care, but it seems that you are basing you decision almost entirely on a height problem that does not exist.
After watching the video, I see what you are saying...There is a different adapter that attaches to the king pin..I was thinking that the converta ball that is already on the king pin was going to sit on the ball on top of the Anderson hitch..I also see that the Anderson hitch simply bolts onto the turnover ball in the bed. No rails.
This is a great option, but I am still concerned with cab clearance..Living/camping in mountains. traveling and camping on forest service roads and campgrounds can present some tight turning and backing situations. The long camper only makes it all the more tricky...If we got a 27 footer or less, I would not have the concern and would try the Anderson hitch adapter.
your concern about tight turns and cab clearance is another nudge to the andersen over a slider, IMO.
in the video you can see how far back the hitch sets the kingpin from the ball in the bed. i was trying to find a dimension for you, but the setback is clearly several inches. it looks to be about 4" of setback on the hitch, then another 3 or 4 at the kingpin adapter.
I really like the design and can see a lot of good features, that's the only reason i mentioned it.
Here's the new 2006 Jayco Eagle all hooked up. I went with the B&W Companion Sliding Fifth Wheel Hitch.
It pulled home nice and smooth with plenty of clearance between the cab and over the tool box. It looks like I might even lower the hitch to the next setting down. About 1 - 1 1/2 inch. I will wait and see after taking it up in the hills a couple times. There can be some rough roads on the forest service with water bars in them to cut down on erosion.
Here's the new 2006 Jayco Eagle all hooked up. I went with the B&W Companion Sliding Fifth Wheel Hitch.
It pulled home nice and smooth with plenty of clearance between the cab and over the tool box. It looks like I might even lower the hitch to the next setting down. About 1 - 1 1/2 inch. I will wait and see after taking it up in the hills a couple times. There can be some rough roads on the forest service with water bars in them to cut down on erosion.
