WDH Question

Dave, I see Bill has answered your question. Those tips do wear. But I hadn't heard of using oil before. I grease both the tips and the ball.

I've also been thinking about adding shims to my receiver as mtnguy suggests. But I'm probably more concerned about why I need to. Was my receiver that loose when we first started trailering 12,000 miles ago? Is this normal wear? The receiver is rated at 650# and has a substantial metal collar around it so hopefully it's not a serious problem.

[ShrimpBurrito]

I understand that the "stubs" wear and that's a point of lubrication. But I'm talking about removing the bars from the sockets when unhitching.

In the attached photo, is B easily removed from A? If so, B wouldn't ever have any grease, and thus wouldn't make a mess. I understand there's some sort of pin holding A in, but can it be removed without tools?

Dave

[Barb&Tim]

On my Reese WDH B would be a pain to remove from A. Part A would not stay attached to the hitch once the pressure from the bars are removed. Not something i would consider doing -- Yes I know the grease is a hassle but i just wipe the ends down before i store them.

Tim

[scrubjaysnest]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

I understand that the "stubs" wear and that's a point of lubrication. But I'm talking about removing the bars from the sockets when unhitching.

In the attached photo, is B easily removed from A? If so, B wouldn't ever have any grease, and thus wouldn't make a mess. I understand there's some sort of pin holding A in, but can it be removed without tools?

Dave

On mine its a bolt and nut looks like a 1/4 20 but its much easier to just take the trunnion out of the socket and wrap a rag around it.

[Bill]

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

I understand that the "stubs" wear and that's a point of lubrication. But I'm talking about removing the bars from the sockets when unhitching.

In the attached photo, is B easily removed from A? If so, B wouldn't ever have any grease, and thus wouldn't make a mess. I understand there's some sort of pin holding A in, but can it be removed without tools?

Dave

Gotcha Dave, and my apologies. I knew I was misunderstanding something about your question. It never occurred to me to separate parts A and B.

In the factory configuration of my Reese hitch, like Barb and Tim's, parts A and B cannot readily come apart. B is retained in A with a pressed-in roll pin. You can see the end of it in your photo, just to the northwest of the tip of the A arrow. For your purpose, the pin could be punched out, and something a bit looser and a bit more removable could be substituted. I don't think the pin itself takes a lot of stress. And that would let you separate A and B.

The problem I see is that once you take the bar (part B) out of the socket, the socket piece (part A) is free to flop around. If it swings outward by 90 degrees (or less), it will fall out of the hitch body, and you will lose it. Bummer!

Bill

[ShrimpBurrito]

Well that is unfortunate. I have never used a trunnion WDH, so I had no idea. But I'm glad I know now so I never buy one with the intention of doing what I described. The roll pin obstacle is easily overcome, but not the part where part A falls out of the hitch. Bummer.

Dave

[mecicon]

My WDH came yesterday, and I started the reconfiguration of the hitch today to be completed tomorrow.

My son and I are on our way to South Dakota on Thursday for 10 days.

Thank you all for all the excellent information helping me make my decision, and making my rig more stable.