Quote:
Originally Posted by SCBillandJane
I can add something to the Anderson hitch information. I recently reluctantly traded in our Trailmanor on another brand trailer. Here are some interesting coincidences. The dry weight of the new trailer is a few hundred pounds more than the dry weight of the Trailmanor due to its all aluminum construction including the floor and frame. The length is the same in both trailers. I drove a total of 900 miles to get one of the last available 2015 models through a terrible rain and wind storm and turned around the same day in the same storm and started driving home. The Trailmanor had an old Reese hitch with the 1000 pound bars. There was no sway control. Hurrying to the dealership to meet time deadlines, I was doing 70 with no sway. In fact with that old hitch I have never experienced sway from the Trailmanor with trips to Alaska to Key West to San Diego to Maine, but I was concerned with the new trailer's conventional frontal and side area that I would probably experience sway. I had the dealership install the Anderson hitch. I left the dealership and immediately had a lot of sway. There was so much sway that a top speed of 55 felt horribly dangerous. In 2 hours of white knuckle driving. I passed no one on the interstate and cringed when a truck passed me. I have a lot to say positive about Trailmanor, but the Anderson hitch has so far failed to even come close to the highly favorable ratings I have also read. I know that this is an apple and orange comparison, but I still think it is an interesting bit of information. I miss the Trailmanor but time and bad knees have caught up with us.
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I can't comment about the Andersen, because I use a Reese WDH. I CAN comment about switching from a TM to a "full-up" travel trailer. Towing one will NEVER be the same as towing a TM! That's the primary reason we have been TM owners for nearly 20 years. We never needed sway control with either our 3326 or 3124, but you simply can't tow without it when towing a "regular" TT. As Bill has often pointed out, unless a WDH system clearly states that it incorporates sway control, then it does not. I'm a firm believer that what's more important than the brand of WDH & sway control is that it is properly set up for your specific TV and trailer, each loaded as you would normally have them. The hours you spend (on a level surface) at home making those adjustments will pay big dividends on the next road trip. Because our "new to us" 2014 Lance 2285 did not have the sway control ball mounted on the frame, we had to drive it 124 miles home from the dealer without sway control. Never again.
