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On our second trip with the Anderson hitch and brand new Grand Design 295rl. The dealer installed the hitch. Towed with it about 3 hrs home. After I unhooked I checked the Allen bolts to see if they were torqued to 40 ftlbs. They weren't. I torqued them again. Checked torque again before we left on another trip a week later and were loose again. After retorquing I noticed the bolts punchered through the plate on the camper. Anybody else have this problem? Here is a picture
I have read about it on some other forums when I was looking at an anderson.
one solution I seen is if top of hitch is open, put a longer bolt in and then washer and nut on top to bolt it up solid.
I have towed 10's of thousands of miles with the AUH steel version on two different 5th wheels and have not seen this in my application. @Wes444 had a similar situation as you on his father's 5th wheel pin box, but I believe the set screws were bending the plate, not puncturing.
Maybe he will be along shortly to give you more accurate details, but I think they welded another plate in place to reinforce the existing.
I too would contact Andersen, but they are probably going to place blame on the pinbox. Worst case scenario is you get a new pinbox and have it reinforced in order to inspire confidence and retain safety.
I will call the manufacturer and let you guys know what they say. It appears to be punching through the metal. I think that's why it isn't retaining its torque setting. Hopefully it's safe to use until I can get this resolved. We are taking a trip from Illinois to Florida next weekend.
I would probably try to find a way to spread the contact point a bit with a fastener if you cannot have it addressed before the trip.
I don't know for sure, but I believe those bolts are to hold the AUH box in place where the two large bolts are what actually keep the AUH box secured to the pin.
2018f250 a standard pin box is designed to have the pin wieght carried on the flat surface on the pin box that sits on the flat surface of the 5th wheel hitch and the pin is design to take the horizontal load when pulling not the vertical pin weight. With the Anderson hitch all the pin weight is carried on the 4 locking bolts that distribute all the weight on 4 very small areas and then they extend the ball reciever out past the pin box causing even more stress on the 2 front locking bolts and I'm sure putting stress on the pin that it's not designed to have. If your pin box had a higher strength steel it would probably work but apparently that's not the case with yours.
What you can try is measure the space between the Anderson hitch and the pin box and get some high strength bar stock and attach it to the pin box where the locking pins ride to distribute the weight.
I believe you are right. I contacted Andersen and it looks like they are going to replace my pin box. The question is do I want to go with a different box other than a turning point box which comes on the Grand Design Reflection. Thoughts?
So far it seems Andersen is a great company that stands behind their product. I really appreciate the way they have handled this situation so far.
I bought a steel rail version when they still had a metal acceptance cone. I lost one of the 4 set bolts prior to install somehow and called them to order a replacement. They sent 4 new bolts at no charge to me, not even shipping.
A while later they released the polymer orange acceptance cone and I sent them an email about purchasing the polymer version. They asked for my address and said no charge. Again, no charge to me, not even shipping.
I have been very happy with their support and product.
I believe you are right. I contacted Andersen and it looks like they are going to replace my pin box. The question is do I want to go with a different box other than a turning point box which comes on the Grand Design Reflection. Thoughts?
So far it seems Andersen is a great company that stands behind their product. I really appreciate the way they have handled this situation so far.
I will keep everyone updated.
If your going to stay with the Anderson I would look for a box that has a heavier flat plate.
My Pullrite SuperLite uses a simular mounting for the adapter but they don't extend it out so far. Our Hitchhiker uses a thicker and high grade steel flat plate and the system would have worked but because of the size of the Steel adaptor plate I drilled out one set of threaded holes (they use 2 sets of 4) out with matching holes in the pin box and installed four 1/2 bolts to hold the adapter tight against the pin box so nothing moves. The original tensioner bots are still there but aren't doing anything, I can quickly mount it on another trailer if I have to.
After having a ball and socket hitch I don’t think I would ever go back to a conventional hitch.
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