Andersen WD hitch review

[RobE]

Hi all.. We have a Jay Feather 199 trailer that we pull with our 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe XL AWD. The trailer has a gross vehicle weight of 4750lbs and the XL has a towing capacity of 5000lbs. Loaded the trailer typically weights in at 4200lbs with a hitch weight of 350lbs.

This is our second Santa Fe XL and I had noticed that the rear springs bottom out without much extra weight in the vehicle. Other Santa Fe XL owners said the same thing and have found that they can upgrade the rear springs to a heavy duty version that was used in the older Veracruz model. I have done this and the bottoming out is no longer an issue. The rear of the vehicle does ride about an inch higher and after adjusting the headlights and getting an alignment, the ride is certainly much improved. This was done instead of the more traditional air cushions and compressor.

When we bought our Jay Feather 199, I wanted a trailer that had a low hitch weight and overall gross vehicle weight that could be towed by our XL. The typical WD hitch adds around 100lbs which would not help when the TV is near its maximum load.

I searched around for WD hitches and was pleased to find the Andersen product line.

The Andersen WD hitch weighs about 60 lbs which quite a bit below the competitors. As well, its unique design includes sway control.

I decided to go ahead with the model 3324 which can be used with various trailer frames. As it happens, I needed to shim the gap between the bottom bolt and the frame to ensure that the mount stays parallel with the frame. Other than that, the installation was pretty simple.

The first trip home with the trailer was a bit of a white knuckle trip due to some high winds, but pulling the trailer was not a problem.. There was very little bounce and except for the wind buffeting, uneventful.

We just finished our first camping trip and pulling the Jay Feather was a breeze. The Santa Fe XL has plenty of HP and driving at highway speeds was not a problem. Once again, no bounce and the trailer followed along without any swaying.

Hooking up and disconnecting is pretty easy with the Andersen hitch.. Just use the trailer jack to lift both the trailer and the coupler once connected. This allows the triangle plate to be attached or disconnected without releasing the WD chains..

Our driveway has quite a slope when compared to the street, but this doesn't cause any problems for the hitch, nothing needs to be disconnected until the trailer is parked..

I am pleaseed with my purchase of the Andersen WD hitch.

I hope this informal review is helpful..

[RogerR]

Do you have the newer swinging triangle plate or the original fixed triangle plate?

[RobE]

Its the swinging version..

I saw your post from earlier and mine does not have the collar for the friction cone.

[Neo1130]

I really need to upgrade to the "swinging" plate! The older style pretty much means you cannot easily hook-up or un-hook by releasing tension. Everything would have to come apart. But I prefer that anyways so I can lock up my stuff. Replacement parts aren't cheap!