I have a Reese Titan shank and the trunion style head. When the bolts are as tight as I can possible get them the head is still loose on the shank. I see it calls for 300 lbs torque. Can the cast head actually squeeze onto the shank to keep it from moving up and down? Looking for some guidance here. I am going to purchase new nuts and bolts and try again as these seem to have the threads rolled and one bolt is bent. It took a 1" drive rattle gun to get the nuts loosened back up and it took a lot of time. Still the shank and head were not tight.

There should be 2 steel shims that fit inside the head with matching holes for the bolts to the shank. They are for such a problem. From installation guide:"OPTIONAL SHIM KITUse the shim provided when needed to fill any gap between the Weight Distributing Head shown below and the hitch barused in the particular application.It is easier to install the shim from the top down as shown on the following page. In doing so, you will encounter one ofthree scenarios:1. Shim will go all the way down to line up with the bottom hole. If this is the case, use the entire shim in the gap. Note: It is conceivable that in some rare combinations, two shims could be used. In these cases, contact Customer Service at 800-632-3290 or 800-428-7303 for a free additional shim service kit #58207.2. Shim will not begin to fit between the head and hitch bar. If this is the case, discard shim and continue installation. The existing gap is acceptable3. Shim will not go in far enough to reach bottom hole.If this is the case, cut shim in half and use only the top half for the top bolt. Discard bottom half of shim"

Where in OR are you, I have shims and bolts.

I am about 1 hour southeast of Salem, two hours south of Portland and 1 1/2 hour west of Bend. This shim part makes sense as that would solve the problem.

I machined the inside of the head to make the sides true and parallel, then made a shim with near zero clearance. Bending cast metal for such an important part is not something I would do.

I talked with a technician at Reese a few years ago. He said the shim is only necessary if the rattle when unloaded is bothersome. I put one shim in and no rattle.

Reese head loose on shank | Good Sam Community

TUCQUALA
Explorer
Jun 23, 2020
There should be 2 steel shims that fit inside the head with matching holes for the bolts to the shank. They are for such a problem. From installation guide:

"OPTIONAL SHIM KIT
Use the shim provided when needed to fill any gap between the Weight Distributing Head shown below and the hitch bar
used in the particular application.
It is easier to install the shim from the top down as shown on the following page. In doing so, you will encounter one of
three scenarios:
1. Shim will go all the way down to line up with the bottom hole. If this is the case, use the entire shim in
the gap.
Note: It is conceivable that in some rare combinations, two shims could be used. In these cases,
contact Customer Service at 800-632-3290 or 800-428-7303 for a free additional shim service
kit #58207.
2. Shim will not begin to fit between the head and hitch bar. If this is the case, discard shim and continue
installation. The existing gap is acceptable
3. Shim will not go in far enough to reach bottom hole.
If this is the case, cut shim in half and use only the
top half for the top bolt. Discard bottom half of shim"

Forum Discussion

Reese head loose on shank

About RV Tips & Tricks

Related Content

Loose Injector

Long shank question...

Reese Revolution Hitch

Reese Goosebox

Reese hitch