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Topic: Creaking at tow hitch

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oxter

via mobile 05/6/2022 at 4:48pm
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At slow speed when turning manoeuvring there’s a creaking from the tow hitch. No creaking at pace or towing straight.
I wonder if this is a sign that the pads in the hitch are worn or contaminated?

Can anyone advise please?

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G#Winger

05/6/2022 at 4:56pm
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yeh mine does the same, i think it is rust deposits on the towball ,going to clean it before our next trip, other than that ,maybe the friction pads and/or the housing need cleaning

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664DaveS

via mobile 05/6/2022 at 4:57pm
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They may be dirty. I clean the hitch and pads with brake cleaner on a cloth.
It is a friction devices so can make a noise, ours does sometimes.

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oxter

via mobile 05/6/2022 at 5:17pm
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Away at the moment. Thanks for reply, Winger. No meths in caravan but surface cleaning wipes for grime and grease did a pretty good job on both, followed by nail varnish remover.

Moving on Tuesday. Will report outcome.

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Monty15

05/6/2022 at 6:33pm
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Alarming noise when you don't know what it is, sounds like back of the car is being torn off!

Usual cause is contamination on the tow ball and/or pads. Aerosol brake cleaner is the easy/recommended way of cleaning things up if only dust/dirt, but may need to polish tow ball if a tad rusty (you did clean the paint off it I trust!!!!) with a paint sanding pad (looks like a big pan scouring pad) until bright and smooth, I always keep one with the caravan kit for such occasions, then clean with brake cleaner for spotless finish.

HumberWolf

05/6/2022 at 6:58pm
Location: North Lincolnshire
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Quote: Originally posted by oxter on 05/6/2022
Away at the moment. Thanks for reply, Winger. No meths in caravan but surface cleaning wipes for grime and grease did a pretty good job on both, followed by nail varnish remover.

Moving on Tuesday. Will report outcome.

Many nail varnish removers contain acetone and these should not be used on friction pads as they will leave an oily residue, reducing their effectiveness.

As Monty suggests, use brake cleaning fluid with a scouring pad to clean the hitch pads and tow ball to prevent the hitch from groaning.

oxter

via mobile 05/6/2022 at 8:29pm
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The tow ball has been used for years and of course the paint was removed before use. It could have been in need of a better clean as it’s also used for my trailer which is greased. I cleaned it before we left- caravan stored in France - but possibly could have done better.
No acetone in the polish remover and quite a lot of muck came off the pads and hitch, so hope it’s better for our next campsite hop in France.
I’ll let you all know, but thanks meantime for replies.
The pads look ok, but I’m not sure how to tell how worn they may be.
The caravan is unused for 46 weeks of the year and stored indoors. Doesn’t do a huge mileage in a year.
🤞

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oxter

via mobile 07/6/2022 at 10:07pm
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As promised, here’s the update. It worked a treat! Not a creak or groan to be heard. Thanks all for your knowledge and for sharing your advice. All greatly appreciated.
We are in sunny France with excellent weather so far.
Good wishes to you all.

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blueexpo97

08/6/2022 at 5:35am
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cliffbrown

10/6/2022 at 7:14am
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I clean the tow ball and hitch before every trip

bobmel

10/6/2022 at 11:13pm
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If its that noisey replace the friction pads, I did. Mind you £30 a pop. Dead easy to replace and the silence is brilliant.

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Monty15

11/6/2022 at 9:00am
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Quote: Originally posted by bobmel on 10/6/2022
If its that noisey replace the friction pads, I did. Mind you £30 a pop. Dead easy to replace and the silence is brilliant.

Mine has 'creaked' a couple of times when I've been a bit lazy and not cleaned tow ball well enough, but a good clean sorts it and never needed to replace pads yet, now 4 years, many trips, and many, many thousands of miles on the same pads. - and only cost has been a sanding pad and a tin of brake cleaner, all for a couple of quid, and plenty of life still left for future cleans, beats £30 for new pads in my book! - and you still need to keep it all clean even with new pads!

tango55

19/6/2022 at 3:58pm
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The solution in checking to see if the friction pads are worn is to engage the detached towball into the tow hitch and lock down the stabiliser handle. If you can budge the towball from side to side then it proves that the friction pads are not gripping tightly and need replacing. If it fails to budge then the friction pads are effectively working properly.

oxter

via mobile 19/6/2022 at 4:12pm
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Thanks Tango. I have a detached tow ball at home and will perform a test. We have not covered a lot of miles and pretty sure the pads won’t have worn much. Meantime - silence is golden. 😀

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Paul_B

20/6/2022 at 8:04pm
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Brake cleaner is good at cleaning the tow ball and the hitch, nail varnish removers can contain oils and/or glycerine to prevent nails splitting, this would stop the hitch groaning by lubricating it.

HumberWolf

20/6/2022 at 8:14pm
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Quote: Originally posted by Paul_B on 20/6/2022
Brake cleaner is good at cleaning the tow ball and the hitch, nail varnish removers can contain oils and/or glycerine to prevent nails splitting, this would stop the hitch groaning by lubricating it.

If you lubricate the hitch you will contaminate the hitch pads, thus making them ineffective. You should not use any oil based substance to clean the pads or tow ball as it leaves a residue which is very difficult to remove.

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