Anderson unhitch problem

[Idaho Spud]

I just purchased an Anderson weight distribution hitch. Other folks have told me that to unhitch you only have to pull the pin on the triangle plate to unhitch.
My chains even with the jack fully extended never loosen enough to get the pin out. I set the tension the way the manual and the Anderson videos explained.
What am I doing wrong? Thanks

[Midnightmoon]

Do you have a block under your jack to give yourself some room?

If I run in to that, I just loosen the adjustment bolts real quick with a ratchet and supplied socket. Makes life quick and easy. Just remember the number of rounds that you need for your reinstall. Takes only a few seconds.

[ttavasc]

Another possibility is to move your frame brackets ahead a 1/4" - 1/2" towards the coupler which should provide you with enough slack to pull the pin on the triangle plate. I've always used the amount of compression on the red bushing as my metric when applying tension rather than counting threads. Once I had the tension where I wanted it I measured how much compression was needed.

This way on the occasion that I'm not able to get the triangle plate perfectly lined up I can still ensure that I have the proper tension in place even though the chains aren't quite even between the two sides. This worked great with my early model Andersen and it looks like it will work fine for my new Andersen and the much bigger/heavier trailer although I'm not yet finished with the adjustments on the new trailer. Still need to get it fully loaded and run it over the CAT scale.

[TonyCO]

I’m on my second trailer and second Andersen WDH. I’ve never considered removing the plate to unhitch. I always just reverse course and remove the nut, washer, and bushing. I’ll have to give it a try. Thanks for making me think.