I ordered the Anderson No-Sway Weight Distribution Hitch yesterday and had a good time opening it up and assembling all the pieces. This system is relatively light-weight compared to other traditional weight-distribution systems, plus they have to add on separate anti-sway hardware. Still, it’s impressive just how much metal is involved in this thing.
The shiny silver-colored piece where the ball sits is 12.5 pounds by itself. It looks like it was carved out of a single piece of solid aluminum and seems pretty much indestructible. The brackets are made out of solid chunks of steel and are unlike everything else I work with in my daily life. Everything I touch and handle on a day-to-day basis is made out of plastic, maybe a little glass here and there, and very little metal. The pieces of this system remind me that we’re not dealing with iPhones here, this is a system that is designed to handle a 14,000 pound trailer! Even the chains weight a couple pounds each.
I went ahead and ordered this kit now because I needed some kind of hitch system to tow the trailer back from the dealer. I was looking around at other options that would work while using my old truck, and I was going to be spending at least $75 and would end up with a system I would only use temporarily. I didn’t really like that idea, so I went ahead and purchased the Andersen hitch because it will work no matter what truck I’m using, it has an adjustable-height ball, and I can use it without the weight-distribution system when needed.
So that’s the excitement of the day. I’m pretty much in a holding pattern until the trailer comes along.
November 23rd update: I ended up getting this system for $427.49 with free shipping. Gotta love Amazon Prime + 10% Amex Discount. That’s $103.30 off of what I would have paid if I had purchased it directly from Andersen.