[kthayes]

Originally Posted by Bill

I guess I am a little confused by this discussion, in particular the difference between the ground clearance of round-bar spring bars and trunnion springbars. I start off by going to the etrailer.com website and looking at WDH assemblies.

http://etrailer.com/dept-pg-Weight_D...f-WD_Only.aspx

I looked for pictures of trunnion and round bar hitches, and copied a couple of them below to compare the way they are constructed, and the way the springbars attach to the ballmount (hitch head).

The first item shown is a Reese trunnion WDH (RP66020), with a capacity of 10,000 pounds. The picture shows that the springbars come straight back out of the ballmount.

The second item shown is a Reese round bar WDH (PS49583), also with a capacity of 10,000 pounds. The picture shows that the round bars drop directly out of the bottom of the ballmount, toward the ground, before they bend backward.

Using the pictures, I'll admit that it is hard to compare them directly because the trunnion hitch head has been inverted. But you can see the difference in how the springbars attach to the ballmount. I would expect the round bar unit to have more ground clearance problems than the trunnion. As for the springbar tips, they will end up at the same distance below the trailer A-frame for both hitches, so ground clearance at the tips should be same. The problem, if any, should be up at the ballmount.

Obviously I've lost the thread here - someone straighten me out please. By the way, my TM has a swing hitch. I have never owned or used a round bar hitch. Instead I use a Reese trunnion WDH. Spring bar clearance has never been a problem, either from the ground or from the swing hitch pins. KTHayes, a picture of your setup would help me, and perhaps others, understand the problem a little better.

Bill

I think the issue was with the brand I bought first. The Curt 17345 trunnion-style bars have a slightly different ball mount. On the Resse WDH, notice that the ball is actually raised up slightly from the top of where the trunnion bars go into the hitch. This is not the case on the Curt brand. I've attached an image as an example. I believe this slight difference is what allows the trunnion-style Reese or Pro Series brand to work with a swing hitch whereas the Curt brand doesn't. That slight rise allows just enough room for the bars to pass under the pin that sticks out below the A frame for the swing hitch.

This is just my theory, though. I have to take the trailer out next week so I don't have time to try the Resse trunnion style. Instead, I went the safe bet and ordered the round bars. If they end up sitting too low, I will return them after my trip and order the Reese Pro Seies trunnion bars.

Kurt