I may have to get a 68RFE in my new truck.

[AH64ID]

Did you re-torque the hitch after hitching up?

Also, did you ask the Anderson engineer about flipping the hitch around backwards?

 

[Ozymandias]

There is no such thing as wrong brake setting destroying a hitch - that's hilarious!
I can not believe what i read here, we are talking about a 20 metric Ton Truck/Trailer combo going down the road with 75mph and talking about brake setting..
...to keep a wrong and to weak built hitch from destroying the trucks bed and itself?


Im off.
Ohmmmmmm, and down goes blood pressure.

 

[gsbrockman]

I get it I understand it no problem at all again if your brakes don't work right it's going to overstress the Anderson anyway you cut it anyway you slice it and anyway you put it so I think I'm a little better off now with brakes that work

You still......

• Don’t get it
• Don’t understand it

Tossing your thought processes regarding the brake setting issue aside.......which is something you have control over....what might happen in the event an issue requiring a strong evasive maneuver rears it’s ugly head?

A semi in the right lane loses its L/F steer tire, and comes over towards you on a two lane interstate, and your “way out” is a grassy median?

A deer pops out on you and you decide to take the ditch line?

Other scenarios are possible, as well.

 

[Cummins2014]

The POINT is WHY the HE!! should YOU have to do a DAMN thing to keep from denting YOUR bed?????????

The same reason B&W did

 

[JR]

The same reason B&W did

I've also been staying out of this, mainly because there have been too many good recommendations that have gone unheeded to warrant any other type of input (good or bad).
Do you or anyone know exactly what B&W did to prevent bed deformation over previous models?

I do not which is why I'm asking.

I've only got 3 seasons on my Companion but it has not put so much of a scratch on my bed...at least not that was already there. Being I bought it used it was missing one of the two teflon looking bed slats or shims as some refer it as. The last owner advised I should buy the missing prior to use but we were committed to a short trip the following weekend so I went ahead and towed without either installed.

3 seasons later it's still being used without with no ill effects, although this past summer I did add a rubber bed mat from my old gen 2 long bed over top of my Line X. So now the hitch sets on top of that.

Day I brought her home. You can see the slotted hole on the right side of the hitch where the bolt is supposed to hold the teflon slats. Slotted for adjustability.

It is no coincidence it is sitting on the legs of my engine hoist.....
A fella has to have a back when he's done unloading his hitch ya know

 

[Cummins2014]

I've also been staying out of this, mainly because there have been too many good recommendations that have gone unheeded to warrant any other type of input (good or bad).
Do you or anyone know exactly what B&W did to prevent bed deformation over previous models?

I do not which is why I'm asking.

I've only got 3 seasons on my Companion but it has not put so much of a scratch on my bed...at least not that was already there. Being I bought it used it was missing one of the two teflon looking bed slats or shims as some refer it as. The last owner advised I should buy the missing prior to use but we were committed to a short trip the following weekend so I went ahead and towed without either installed.

3 seasons later it's still being used without with no ill effects, although this past summer I did add a rubber bed mat from my old gen 2 long bed over top of my Line X. So now the hitch sets on top of that.

Day I brought her home. You can see the slotted hole on the right side of the hitch where the bolt is supposed to hold the teflon slats. Slot for adjustability.

It is no coincidence it is sitting on the legs of my engine hoist.....

View attachment 117027

I think 12V can explain. Apparently the B&W at one point was deforming beds, and needed shims. Have no idea if that holds true today.

I am by no means comparing the two, but it sounds like shims would help that Andersen .

 

[AH64ID]

The original B&W Companion had a different base, one that was designed for the older thicker beds that the OEM's offered. B&W redesigned their hitch when beds got weaker. The skids allow for a flat mounting surface on all OEM's with one part number. The weight is either between or on the ribs, not crossing them. The main legs are also for and aft with no side to side supports. The skids are not what keeps the product from damaging beds, it's the overall design.

Shims would help the Andersen by spreading the load, as would removing the middle pivot point, and some additional bracing...

B&W doesn't was anything between the hitch and the bed, whereas Andersen recommends it.

 

[Newsa]

Looking at the videos.,..The b&w doesn't clamp on a ball but has a more direct (rectangular) connection to the hitch crossmember. The Anderson attempts to clamp to a ball (a ball that may or may not have been greased).

The B&W also has a firmer setting in the bed either on or between corrugations. And seems to have longer lever arms

 

[JR]

The weight is either between or on the ribs, not crossing them.

If this is the case why does B&W offer the teflon slats? Especially given the width of the fore/aft legs. I would have to dig out my one slat I got with my hitch but if memory serves me correctly the slat was the same height as the ribs when I was eyeballing them up and figuring out their purpose.

 

[Stuart Carter Brandt]

I have said this about five times before and I'm going to say it again when I had my emergency stop situation near Shorewood I had my brakes set on wide electric therefore I was not getting complete and total breaking which caused the Anderson to put a little bit of a dent in my truck bed this is just a fact as I said before and I'll say it again now my trailer brakes are on heavy electric with the plus 4 setting for my 2 9 2019 Dodge ram 3500 dually Crew cab I send 410 rear end 1000-pound 425 horsepower truck so if your brakes are not working correctly and you have to make a very very quick emergency stop sounds to me like the RV would be really pushing really hard so it doesn't do that anymore though so just remember that that there was a mistake in the break setting that I didn't know about and that's why I ran into that difficulty snotty Anderson's fault it's the driver's fault that is me????????

 

[Stuart Carter Brandt]

obviously another voice to Text problem here I had the settings on my truck to light electric and when I had that very short emergency stop in the Charlotte area that is why I had the problem with the brakes the brakes are now on heavy electric with the plus 4 settings so I actually can feel the trailer pulling a little bit back on the truck as I come to a stop again that's the reason that my bed got dented not because of the Anderson but because there was it was obviously too much and it you know it cost a little bit of a problem so now that's not going to happen because I have my brakes on heavy electric and they are set correctly.

 

[AH64ID]

Looking at the videos.,..The b&w doesn't clamp on a ball but has a more direct (rectangular) connection to the hitch crossmember. The Anderson attempts to clamp to a ball (a ball that may or may not have been greased).

The B&W also has a firmer setting in the bed either on or between corrugations. And seems to have longer lever arms

Welcome to several pages ago... probably more than several.

The middle pivot point of the Andersen has been discussed many times as a design difference.

If this is the case why does B&W offer the teflon slats? Especially given the width of the fore/aft legs. I would have to dig out my one slat I got with my hitch but if memory serves me correctly the slat was the same height as the ribs when I was eyeballing them up and figuring out their purpose.

That’s exactly why they have the skids. The ribs in a bed are not standardized between the OEM’s. Having width adjustable skids allow the hitch to make full contact either off (preferred) or on the ribs.

The skid is taller than the ribs, IIRC and makes the weight sit on the slat and not the metal. Of course different years and OEM’s have different rib height and spacing. Then throw spray in liners into the mix and depth can vary again.

I have said this about five times before and I'm going to say it again when I had my emergency stop situation near Shorewood I had my brakes set on wide electric therefore I was not getting complete and total breaking which caused the Anderson to put a little bit of a dent in my truck bed this is just a fact as I said before and I'll say it again now my trailer brakes are on heavy electric with the plus 4 setting for my 2 9 2019 Dodge ram 3500 dually Crew cab I send 410 rear end 1000-pound 425 horsepower truck so if your brakes are not working correctly and you have to make a very very quick emergency stop sounds to me like the RV would be really pushing really hard so it doesn't do that anymore though so just remember that that there was a mistake in the break setting that I didn't know about and that's why I ran into that difficulty snotty Anderson's fault it's the driver's fault that is me????????

Wrong... the hitch shouldn't care that you had the brakes on the wrong setting. The fact that it has a sloppy connection is NOT the drivers fault but an engineering design flaw.

A 5th wheel hitch MUST create a solid connection with the truck to be a safe hitch. You are simply not getting that with the Andersen.

obviously another voice to Text problem here

STOP USING TALK TO TEXT!!

It's beyond rude at this point. If you don't have the time to type out a coherent paragraph then why do you expect people to have time for you?

 

[Stuart Carter Brandt]

I have already mentioned to Anderson that they need to have slats or those I called them plastic skids to go between the corrugations in the truck bed and that might help with the situation it's not very hard and it will probably only cost $20 additional at maximum to do that I think that would be a real improvement in the design.

 

[Stuart Carter Brandt]

I understand you don't like voice-to-text however that's all I can use right now I can buy using my laptop and I'm not using a desktop and this is all I'm using right now is my phone for give the obvious grammatical errors in my posts however it will be alright think about it this way look what happened Jonah and the whale they both turned out okay.

 

[AH64ID]

I understand you don't like voice-to-text however that's all I can use right now I can buy using my laptop and I'm not using a desktop and this is all I'm using right now is my phone for give the obvious grammatical errors in my posts however it will be alright think about it this way look what happened Jonah and the whale they both turned out okay.

You would probably be shocked at the number of other posts in this thread that are done on phones and/or with talk to text. All it takes is a little bit of effort on make talk to text work, or to type on a phone.

You’re the only one who has unintelligible posts. If you’re really content portraying yourself in that manner then I guess that’s all we really need to know about your character.

 

[RVTRKN]

Actually they would have to have several different bases and the constant change would be prohiitively expensive. However you could easily fill the void with conveyor belt that has ply's. I have worked with conveyor belts in manufacturing and the fabrication of them, you could cut at an angle with a VERY SHARP knife to match the same angle of the corrugation. It could be just high enough to relieve some pressure on the metal, but be tight enough not to flex anymore than it was originaly designed for, that might help the creasing.

 

[Cummins12V98]

You and many members have stated facts in this thread over and over again. Some people are just gonna do what some people are gonna do. We try to help. I’m ASSUMING you are too. LOL

I’m not sure if you were trying to direct your post at me or what, but I sure didn’t say “poor Stuart.” I was just simply saying relax. There isn’t all that much you can besides what you’ve already done. My apologies if you thought I was talking down to you, that wasn’t my intent.

cool

 

[Cummins12V98]

GS welcome to the

“B&W HeavyWeight FanBoy Club”

There is a Zerk on the bottom side of the hitch keep it greased with regular stuff. White Lithium if it has the urethane mounts.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Any type of hard material for a filler will work. Simple rectangle as in my NICE drawing.

 

[Timd32]

Two things come to mind when ever I come here.... which is often...

Just because it's TRUE does not mean that they all work.....