Hitch Age

[Irish2]

Any opinions on the age of a hitch to consider replacing it. I have a Reeese dual cam and even though I have replaced the sway bars, the head and assembley are now 14 years old and have towed approximately 80,000 Kim's. My TT have ranged from 7500 to 10,000 lbs and from 29 ft to 34 ft. I have recently retired and plan on some extended trips and want to make sure we are within our safety limits. A visual inspection each trip does not reveal any stress cracks or bending on the head or receiver.

[Irish2]

I bought this head in 2001 and the bars have been trunnions with weights of 700lbs, 800 lbs and I beleive the set I bought last summer are 1000 lbs. There is no stretching on the head where the bars are seated. I did note that the 700 lb bars had a flattening on the lower shank and as a result I went to the 800 lbs bars. Also I always make sure the trunnions sockets are lubercated which has preserved that area.

[JBarca]

Irish2 wrote:
I have a Reeese dual cam and even though I have replaced the sway bars, the head and assembley are now 14 years old and have towed approximately 80,000 Kim's.

Hi,

Do you have a few pic's of the hitch? We can tell better which vintage and style you have. 80 Km is a good record.

Is yours a trunnion bar or round bar? What size WD bars have you run with it over the years? And tongue weights?

Pending which vintage & type you have I can suggest where to look. In the early 2,000's Reese did have a stint of issues with some hitch heads. It was a sub supplier issue I believe. That and the fit up with the shank. The head would split in half in the worst cases. They worked their way out of it and have not seen that any more other then a few years back when they went off shore. And they worked out of that too. Since you are at 80km, odds are high you do not have one of the problem ones.

I have 4 Reese Trunnion bar hitches. I'm still using my orignal HP DC bought in 2003 on the camper. I fell I can get over 100,000 miles on the DC and then flip it over and start again. I keep the trunnions sockets greased and there is very little to no wear in the lug sockets. And I am running a 1,600# TW with 1,700# bars. I have seen others run them dry and in 3 to 4 years they have the sockets swedged for not running lube.

The hitch when set up correct and understood is a good product.

[Irish2]

Thank you for the suggestions. All the holes are still in perfect shape and as stated, the spring bars are the components that seem to take a beating. I am on my second set due to going to heavier hitch weights but there always has been noticeable straighting of the bevel on the bars. I will leave the head alone for another 80 k and invest in another set of spring bars as we are planning on a 9 month trip starts this fall. Routine inspection of equipment is paramount to safety. Thank you again. I have been a member of this site since 2003 and it is so valuable to bounce thoughts off a large number of people.

[ScottG]

I would check the holes where the spring bars enter the bottom of the head for elongation. If they're distorted then the spring pressure will be reduced. (After ten years mine are starting to show this)
This seems to be the area that shows wear first on the Reese.

[K_Charles]

Ours is 14 or 15 years old. When we got our last TT the tongue weight was higher so I got new bars, side by side I could see the bars were worn but the rest of the hitch look fine.

[Campfire_Time]

I think the bars are about the only thing I'd replace on a hitch. The shank is, and always has been solid steel. So yes, they do still make them like they used to.

[Ivylog]

Congrats on using it that much. I still use a head that's 30+ years old. If anything they do not make them like they used to as it has a solid steel shank.