My husband and I are looking at adding WDH

[eddugo]

Something else I like about the Anderson other then low weight, easy to hook up, no mess is the fact that it holds the swing away hitch in place. many folks have had cracking and separation problems with the swing away and that should not be a problem with the Anderson. If you look at the Anderson like a triangle, the spring tension is on the bottom leg rather then the verticle leg and it pulls the hitch pieces together. Hope I explained that correctly. One negative on that hitch is if you have a front slide, you may have to add spacers so the rubber springs are away from the frame enough to turn the adjusters. I have pics posted on this site as to what i had to do to install.

[momto4girls]

Thank you all for the info--very helpful. We are making a trip at the end of the month, and I'd like to have one for that.

[inghamm]

Here's what I got at the CAT scale today:
With Anderson on:
Steer Axle: 2700
"Drive" Axle: 3440
Trailer Axle: 3400

With Anderson Loosened up:
Steer: 2640
"Drive": 3540
Trailer: 3360

No Trailer:
Steer 2880
Drive 2800

Conclusions:
1. The Anderson took 100 lbs off the "drive axle" - the rear of the SUV and put 60lbs on the front axle and 40 lbs on the trailer. That's not a ton, but it seems to help. It's also lighter in the first place, which also takes weight off the hitch in another way. I would be interested to see some figures from non-Anderson WDH with similar CAT scale measurements,

2. We are 360 lbs over our tow capacity on the Highlander. We are on our 3rd long (32 day) fall trip and we brought a lot of food, but we still need to lighten up a bit. Each trip we take we weigh more.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by inghamm

Conclusions:
1. The Anderson took 100 lbs off the "drive axle" - the rear of the SUV - and put 60lbs on the front axle and 40 lbs on the trailer.

I'm glad to see that the WDH is doing what it is supposed to do. You might crank it up another notch and see if you can move a bit more to the front axle, which is still almost 200 pounds light. You should also check the driver's door sticker to find the Gross Axle Weight Rating (Rear), and compare it to your CAT reading of 3440 pounds.

2. We are 360 lbs over our tow capacity on the Highlander.

I'm not sure how the CAT numbers brought you to this conclusion. Perhaps I am missing something?

Your vehicle apparently has a tow rating of 3500 pounds. Since 2010 was still in the age of optimistic tow ratings (before SAE standard J2807), I would be a little careful. On the other hand, I always had the feeling that Toyota was one of the few mfrs that were reasonably honest about it.

Quite a number of members have posted CAT scale readings. A search should turn them up. I think I have done so three times, although never with before-and-after readings.

Bill

[dab1950]

On our trip to Indiana back in September, we stopped by a truck stop for the
sole purpose of using the CAT scale. I should mention that I was not able to
park the rig with each axle on separate scale pads. I think I would have to
pull through the scale backwards in order to park each axle on a separate pad.
Also, I did not take the time to unhook the WDH.
Our 2720SL had no water on board and nothing in any holding tank. Both
propane tanks are full or near full.
The SUV with the particular hitch that is installed in rated to tow 5,000 lbs and
500 lbs tongue weight.
CAT scale readings with both of us in the seats:
SUV = 6150 lbs
TM = 3320 lbs
Total = 9470 lbs
WDH brand unknown. It is a generic, old style with spring bars and chains to
the saddle brackets and rated to 10,000 lbs tow and 1,000 lbs tongue(overkill,
I know but got it cheap via Craigslist)(It is very heavy).
And for additional info; we averaged 14-15 MPG using 89 PON gas. SUV
has 5.7 L V8 with MDS.

Hope this helps.

[inghamm]

Originally Posted by Bill

You should also check the driver's door sticker to find the Gross Axle Weight Rating (Rear), and compare it to your CAT reading of 3440 pounds.

I'm not sure how the CAT numbers brought you to this conclusion. Perhaps I am missing something?


Bill

I'm not sure I can adjust the Anderson Hitch any tighter. I did notice that some heavier items that I usually pack on the floor behind the front seats had gotten moved back to the back end of the SUV. I'm going to try one more weight at the end of our trip for comparison.

And yes, my rear axle is also a bit problematic: Rated for 3420 lbs. and we were at 3440. Another reason for not going with the heavier more standard WDH.

I got the trailer weight by unhooking it for the third weigh in.Total with the trailer (the same in weighs 1 & 2) was 9540 lbs. The total without the trailer was 5680, with a difference of 3860, or 360 above 3500.

I can't remember what our TM's axle rating is.

[inghamm]

Originally Posted by dab1950

I should mention that I was not able to
park the rig with each axle on separate scale pads. I think I would have to
pull through the scale backwards in order to park each axle on a separate pad.

It was a bit tricky getting each axle on a separate scale. The front wheels were barely on the 1st scale, and the trailer wheels were barely on the 3rd scale. I doubt going in backwards would make it better.

[dab1950]

Actually, I did just that many years ago with a different TV and our pontoon
boat. And it worked just fine. The printed report from the scale was backwards
of course but it was easy to position the axles on separate pads. Try it some time, you'll like it.