Reese WD head clarification

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

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

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

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

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

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:

fixed the photos, sorry guys dont know why that happened

Steve,

The hitch in your pics is one of the ones I have. It is the 3 pieces welded head with the 2004 vintage HP DC. When set up correctly, it will work well.

There are 1,200# WD bars. Means you can use them on a loaded tongue weight so up to 1,200#.

That height can accept, 600,800,1200, 1,500 and 1,700# WD bars. However...the 1,500# bars is over your OEM receiver and the 1,700# bars need a 2 1/2" shank and a new truck receiver.

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

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

Something is not adding up with those numbers. The trailer both diffs is not the sum of the front and rear. Is there a typo?

I was trying to calculate percent TW on the GVW of the camper but do not know where the raw data error is.

1,500# WD bars may do the trailer TW for you but you will need a truck receiver upgrade if you are still on the OEM original as it is rated at 1,250# in WD mode. They are not hard to change unless the bolts are rusted solid.

Your truck and mine are not that different. I have some of the 2005 upgrades on the redesign year but the essentials are the same.

This is my receiver upgrade
F350 Receiver Upgrade - (Pic's)

Here is what the hitch setup looks like




You can buy just the WD bars as replacements. They run $92 US each
http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Reese/RP58369.html

Or you can buy the entire 1,500 # hitch and DC for $535 US
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Reese/RP66130.html but you need a shank and a tow ball. Approx ~ $110 more

If you feel the camper will go up in loaded tongue weight, then the next jump is the 1,700 Straightline but it needs the 2 1/2 shank and the 2 1/2" receiver. I have both

We also need to talk about what your trailer A frame is made out of, channel iron or tube steel and where is the ball coupler? On top or the bottom? There are different setup needs for these. Some pics of the A frame would help tell us what you have.

Your truck and camper need a WD hitch for sure to help create a stable towing setup. Tire pressure plays a big role in stability. We can get that and the setup too once you sort out what you will get.

I'll leave you with this, the Reese DC is a good tool for towing however it needs to be set up correct and the mounting on the trailer needs to be correct or issues can and have come from an incorrect setup. Again need to know what kind of A frame is on the camper to help better.

Hope this helps

John

hey john,
i would use the combined weight of 7700# for both axles as accurate this individual could have a lot of error i assume.

for the reciever issue i replaced my 2004 factory one with a 2014 one, so the ratings are much higher and it has a 2" sleeve to dummy down the 2 1/2" so 2 1/2" or ratings is not an issue for me (below is a picture) ps bought the hitch for $5 ;)

i actually replaced a lot of things on my truck, i replaced the tranny with one out of a 2010 5r110w, rear diff with one out of a 2010 with aluminum cover and bigger brakes, swapped my stock leaf springs for a 2007 front diff with coils and bigger brakes as well. my 6.0 has been fully bulletproofed with upgrades that would make your head shake (+$30,000) althought the truck aint clean and has a mismatched canopy that makes it look like a toilet as well as missing a grille, its one of the best tow rigs out there drivetrain wise. As well as changing the interior over to a 2014 king ranch besides the dash, new tow mirrors with all the power functions, 2014 tailgate with camera (wanting to add camera inside the trailer and on the back, going to screens on the dvd deck, rear view mirror, and edge programmer, all which could be a different screen or changed intermittently.

below are pics of my A frame i could take better ones tomorrow once it gets brighter. i think in your question i have channel iron. ill let your respond on the next steps for our converstation, again i appreciate your help 110% the local rv dealership guys are useless.

steve

Steve,

It looks like your frame is 6" wide (tall) and the square corner indicates channel iron. Take a pic of the inside of the A frame if you are not sure. And confirm the 6" tall.

If that is what your frame is, you actually have the same frame I do. And as such you will not have the tubular frame issues to work through, but you will have the channel iron needs to work through.

First off, you need a hi rise tow ball to lower the hitch head down to help prevent binding on the DC in a compound angle turn. The ball needs to be rated for the entire GVWR of the camper. Mine is a 25,000# goose neck tow ball. It cost about $25. You need at least a 1" rise and ideally a heavy 1/4" washer to get 1 1/4" out of it. See here, the hi rise next to a standard height


See here it lower the head down to move the WD bars down and not hit the frame also in a turn


The next is to deal with the square corner of the channel iron and the round bend radius of the DC frame bracket. See here the radius



You need to use 1/2" flat washers to space out the frame bracket to not bind on the sq edge of the channel. See here. And you will bolt the frame bracket on use a minimum of grade 5, 1/2-13 hex bolts, nuts and lock washers. Do not use self-tapping screws. You can go grade 8 bolts too if wanted.

The frame bracket “must” be dead flat to the bottom of the frame before drilling/bolting.







And clamp it tight like this


Before drilling, with the cams (vintage) you have, you need to verify the bracket is located correctly. This dimension on your frame and vintage hitch head and DC with a 1” hi raise ball will get you close to confirm. Center of ball, along the frame to the pivot bolt = 18”




Clamp the DC bracket to frame with the cam arm in the center area of the adjustment. Do a mockup that the V notch on the WD bar to line up on the cam with 6 or 7 chain links under tension. You may have to adjust the Cam yoke to get it to be on center.
This pic was my older camper, not the one I have now but it shows the mock up principal


Once this is centered and you still have good adjustment on the cam arm for future tweaks in both directions, then drill to frame. You can slide the frame bracket for or aft from the 18" number if needed

Next, the snap up bracket “must” be bolted to the frame on day 1. Once the hitch is set up and under load on the truck, try and get the chains as vertical as possible. If the snap up hits the LP tanks, a slight angle will still work., If you do not drill these on, sooner or later you will spring open the snap up in a turn. Heavy TW’s can and do cause this snap up failure problem. But bolted the problem does not surface. Drill the holes so it favors the top of the snap up hole so the bolt stops any down slipping.


You can see the carriage bolts on my snap up in this pic


Use grade 5, and I “think” they were 3/8”. Check as I might have that wrong and they were 5/16”

If your camper is not yet loaded with all the weight up front it will have, you are going to have to consider 1,500# or jump to 1.700# WD bars. If you have a lot of gear in the truck aft of the rear axle, that affects the WD bars too so the jump to 1,700 can cover this. The 1,700# will need the 2 1/2 shank, it tapers down to 2” at the hitch head.




This then allows you to not have to use the adapter sleeve.

This may be more then you wanted to know right now…. But it is the start on how to get this setup right from the get go and shows you what you need to work through. Once you are mounted then we need to talk about adjusting the hitch and the DC.

Hope this helps

John