Reese WD head clarification

I see the same photo over and over. You may need to edit the images in the above post.

On thing I noticed with those tear drop shaped parts: If they are straight then the threads/nuts need to be on the outside like this:




Just to be complete, if they are the bent type then then threads go to the inside like this:

first off thank you john for your post and taking the time to review my issues
i took my trailer to the scales today for the first time and was actually my first time towing it as well with my 2004 f350 man did it make it squat. i took a bunch of measurements and ill post them after the pics of the hitch.

this is the hitch i was looking at buying used. it would be nice to clarify which one it is as the asking price is only $450 might be a steal not sure? im up in canada now too so everything is more expensive for us


Click For Full-Size Photo.


Click For Full-Size Image.








ive searched and i have narrowed it down to a reese straight line kit. unless you guys can recommend something else that will be safer and easier to tow with?? im thinking im going to have to go with a 1700# kit 1) to meet the weight requirment of my trucks hitch and 2) my tongue weight was really high, although i dont know how much water is in my tanks i believe they are mostly empty (havent bought a sewage hose yet so couldnt drain and i didnt fill) i know that having toys in the back will drop the tounge a few hundred pounds maybe but i dont have any yet so...


Here are a few pics of my truck trailer combo, just check out how much that trailer makes my truck squat. dropped 3 inches when i put it on. the hitch im using temporarily is a rapid hitch 6" drop or raise, it was in the second last hole inverted upwards didnt really trust it in the last hole as the trailer is heavier then what it is rated for.

notice that the trailer is a bit angled down toward truck because it squat so much dont know if that is bad for my weights or not






check out my poor springs :(




i towed the trailer today to the scales it was only about 15 miles but with mild wind it was sketchy. only got truck up to 60 and i didnt want to go much faster. seemed like the truck was all over the road suddenly being from center line to the shoulder in a heartbeat. i have never used equalizer bars but im hoping that they correct this. i just didnt feel safe at all.

im not sure which measurments i really need or what to do with them but here is what i took. hoping one of you guru's can just tell me what hitch to buy

after hooking up the trailer:

front end of truck raised 1/2" at the diff
rear end of truck dropped 2" at the diff
dropped 3" at the ball

weighed truck on a load cell scale could just barely fit both my diffs of the truck onto the scale.
trailer was hooked up to truck for all weight except for the tounge weight i just un hitched the truck and had the jack sitting on the scale.

truck:
front diff: 4180 lbs
rear diff: 5346
both diffs: 9526

tounge weight( trailer unhooked and jack sitting on scale) : 1386

trailer front diff :4004
trailer rear diff : 2948
trailer both diffs: 7700

thanks for any help you can give me in advance
steve

Hi Steve,

I'll see if I can help. In this case pictures go a long way. Ever since about year 2000, Reese has kept the same HP trunnion hitch head part number but the head itself has changed.

You said the 3 pieces welded head. That is a good one, I have 3 of them and the all cast one that replaced it. But...Reese made so many trunnion bar heads I want to make sure your is not by chance one of the pre 2000 vintage ones.


This is the 3 piece head with the serrated washer tilt. Reese pn 58167






Here is the 1 piece all cast steel that replaced it.






The newer all cast steel 58167 has a higher boss for a ball mount to help hide the nut so the trunnion bar does not hit it and is of course all cast.

This all cast head was before the 58167. It had a square washer tilt adjust. Was popular pre2000 time frame but many may have been on dealer stock shelves way into the ~ 2003 maybe 2004 time frame.


As to the 58167 ratings, this is clear as mud.

The first one I bought in 2004, was a 3 piece welded, had no sticker. But in that time frame they never made a WD bar larger than 1,200#. Time went by, around ~ 2006 Reese came out with 1,700# bars and had to have a head to go with it. In 2007 I bought a new 3 piece and now it has a sticker on it. You can see the weld under the date.


I bought that head with my 1,700# WD bars and 2 1/2" shank. And Made in the USA. I'm keeping it for sure.

Then the all cast newer 58167 came on the seen and it has the same sticker


The sticker started showing up once Reese started making WD bars larger than 1,200#

If you can take some pics and post, I can usually spot what it is by the identifying features as to what vintage it is. Reese also has a 1-800 tech service hot line and they can tell you, may need to email them a pic too so they know exactly what you have

The HP DC... This too has now changed several times. Can you link or post a pic of the vintage you are looking at? They are all good, just some of the more recent ones have some oddity things about them to be heads up when mounting.

I myself have the 2004 vintage HP DC, the 1st redesign since the older standard Reese DC which mounted with U bolts. It is till going strong, has over 50,000 miles on it running heavy TW's. I have full faith I can get over 150K miles on it and maybe even more. However... there are some learning things on how to set them up so they do not bind in a turn and snap off the arm. The newer redesign helped the binding but has other concerns to again watch out for with the frame brackets bend radius.

Again, post or link a pic can help better

Hope this helps

John

I have sent a PM to John Barca to see if he can help you. I agree he is the one to go to for this information. I have not seen him online much lately but know he has been tied up quite a bit with some projects. Hopefully he will get online and see your thread and help you out.
Barney

John Barca is your man on this. He's the bomb on trunnion hitches.

Maybe, etrailer.com could answer your questions. Reese is one the brands they sell.