Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection Review
#1
03-26-2012, 10:42 AM
Andersen Ultimate 5th Wheel Connection Review
Well after a bad experience with a Reese Slider (the review can be seen here) I Decided to give the Andersen Ultimate Fifth Wheel Connection a try. I ordered the Rail version as I already had them installed from the old Reese 15k. So here is the review.
Price:
$350 shipped from Tweetys.com, Cheaper than pretty much all the competition, A++
Initial Inspection:
Nicely welded and assembled, appears to be very strong, MUCH lighter than the old 15k slider. This thing cant weight more than 40 lbs. Very important for those of us with 1/2 ton trucks with limited payload or a bad back. Just got 135lbs of payload back! A++
Installation:
This is super easy. The hitch tripod part only has the 4 pins that pin it in, and 1 pin for ball height adjustment. The pinbox part has 2, 1 1/16 bolts that attach it to the kingping and 4 #6 allen set screws. This part can be rotated front to rear to adapt it to extended or non extended kingpins. Plus the hitch itself has 2 positions for longbed or shortbed trucks. The remote unhitching cable is also a great feature. A++
Hitching:
This is much easier than my old Colibert GN adapter or the Reese 15k. The ball is high enough on my f-150 that I can see it from the drivers seat. You can hit it first time everytime. No need to chock the wheels, engage the RV Brakes or do a pull test. Just back it up, retract the landing gear, lock the handle and your hitched, Marvelous!
Road Test:
1 word, Awesome. No bucking, no chucking, no noise period. The Camper is far enough back that I don't need a slider in 99.99 percent of situations. No worries about pinbox stress either as the ball and original pin are on the same plane. No moving parts to grease or maintain. A++
Summary:
Pretty much the perfect 5'er setup. I'm in love. A++++++
-SeaRayder
Price:
$350 shipped from Tweetys.com, Cheaper than pretty much all the competition, A++
Initial Inspection:
Nicely welded and assembled, appears to be very strong, MUCH lighter than the old 15k slider. This thing cant weight more than 40 lbs. Very important for those of us with 1/2 ton trucks with limited payload or a bad back. Just got 135lbs of payload back! A++
Installation:
This is super easy. The hitch tripod part only has the 4 pins that pin it in, and 1 pin for ball height adjustment. The pinbox part has 2, 1 1/16 bolts that attach it to the kingping and 4 #6 allen set screws. This part can be rotated front to rear to adapt it to extended or non extended kingpins. Plus the hitch itself has 2 positions for longbed or shortbed trucks. The remote unhitching cable is also a great feature. A++
Hitching:
This is much easier than my old Colibert GN adapter or the Reese 15k. The ball is high enough on my f-150 that I can see it from the drivers seat. You can hit it first time everytime. No need to chock the wheels, engage the RV Brakes or do a pull test. Just back it up, retract the landing gear, lock the handle and your hitched, Marvelous!
Road Test:
1 word, Awesome. No bucking, no chucking, no noise period. The Camper is far enough back that I don't need a slider in 99.99 percent of situations. No worries about pinbox stress either as the ball and original pin are on the same plane. No moving parts to grease or maintain. A++
Summary:
Pretty much the perfect 5'er setup. I'm in love. A++++++
-SeaRayder
Last edited by SeaRayder; 03-26-2012 at 11:04 AM.
#2
05-24-2012, 08:17 PM
I'd really be concerned with added stress on the frame of the fifth wheel there doesn't look to be much if any support for the pin box when its hooked up , there looks like a lot of lateral movement in the video, there have been issues with some fifth wheel frames cracking . I would also check if the trailer's warrantee is affected.