Reese WD system with AT35 coupling

G'day Andy,

My recollection is that there are (or were) two different types - a cast frame and a Mild Steel frame. I turned up for pick-up with a brand new cast model, only to find that the AT35 could not be fitted (there was no room for the positioning bolt).
I went around to the local HR people to see if I could trade it for a MS model........NO...so, I had to purchase a whole new one! At the time BTI were unaware of the problem and I assume that later purchasers were advised accordingly.

Maybe your friend's system was the Cast unit.

Cheers..............Rob

Andy and Rob
Yea I had the same problem 12 months ago when I purchased the American Reese WDH distributed here by Trailboss and they don't fit the AT35 without some engineering of the WDH and I wasn't prepared to that given who would cover the warranty should something go wrong.
I was fortunate to be able to take it back and swap for the Hayman Reese WDH which in my opinion is not as 'good looking'!! but to date appears to do a good job.
I had put out a call on the old BOG site and there were heaps of replies so you might like to do a search for same.
Threads would be around March 2004 I think on the MSN site.
Trailboss can be contacted on 07 33904055
You can also talk to Vehicle Compontents as they advised me on the issue with the ears which can be ground off with out ill effects.
Regards
David

Hi

We had the Reese WDH with the AT35, and yes a little bit of grinding was necessary - no big deal!

Now we have the ring/pintle and it sits on top of the Reese WDH and works beautifully.

We will next change the tow bar from 3500kg to 4500kg in as much as 1) our BT weighs more than 3500kg and 2) the capacity of the AT35 is only 3500 whereas the ring/pintle is 5000kg.

In my opinion the significant difference in the two WDHs justify the minor grinding in order to have the Reese.

Luvntravln

Hello Friends,
Bushtracker here,

Andy, the hitch you have is being discontinued, if it is the new forged one.... There is a new one on the water, to be released in the next couple of weeks... If you want, send us a digital picture to Bushtracker to make sure, or stop by; but that is why we have not done the engineering to make a new head unit for that one, as it is on the way out... (According to our inside information)... I might just change it out to either the older style one or the new one coming....

Cheers, stg

Brian

Are you using a WDH? If so what type & how is it setup?

Also Brian I recall from a posting quite some time ago that you changed to 285 tyres vs the standard 265. Do you have the extended warranty & if so does this change have warranty implicitations?

Andy

Just to finish off this thread.

We approached HR about the elongated wear in the bottom WDH bar support hole and they replaced the head unit under warranty. However given that the wear pattern clearly indicated that the bar did not sit up in the top support cavity we felt that the problem would re-occur. It is not an unusual problem with BT owners and at least one has had a bar "jump" out! We try to transfer about 100kg to the front wheels with the WDH & perhaps some use less tension so do not have the problem. HR also advise that the moving joints on the bars should be lubricated at each use. This was news to us.

We decided to move to the Reese but as mentioned earlier in this thread, the point at which the ball is mounted is proud which creates a problem in mounting an AT35. As one does with a coupling query we approached Rob Buchanan at Vehicle Components. Rob, as always, came up trumps and is currently fitting the AT35 onto the Reese. If anyone is thinking of fitting the Reese WDH they may be well advised to contact Rob to do the job.

We looked at retrofitting the Conical Ball coupling but ran into the issue of the location of the Jockey Wheel, which we have already have moved once, as the critical distance on the Conical Ball setup is 3-4cms less than the AT35 so the WDH bars would not quite fit. Anyone purcasing a new BT should ensure the Jockey Wheel is back far enough for the Conical Ball & Reese hitch.

As an aside:

-in my hunting about it came up that bainbridge Technologies are in the process of importing a hitch from the US which is apparently very similar to the Reese. I spoke to them and the unit is a month or so away.

-Rob Buchanan tells me that VC are developing a modification to the AT35 which will make coupling/uncoupling much easier. Release is planned about mid year.

Andy-

The finale to this thread is rather a let-down.

Vehicle Components advised me yesterday that the AT35 coupling is not compatable with the (American) Reese Hitch.

This advice is based on the fact that to fit the AT35 the Reese Hitch has to be ground flat and this MAY cause some loss of strength.

As an aside Vehicle Components also advise that the bush which fits into the coupling pin hole on the Reese does not meet Australian Design Standards.

Andy