Towbar creaking Issue
I have a creaking sound when braking towards, and going round a roundabout. The hitchlock has had four new pads fitted and the tow ball has been thoroughly cleaned. It is a removable tow ball so it is not subjected to weather. This sound happens despite thorough cleaning of the ball and pads each time. There is no sound when travelling along a straight road. Can anyone advise on a solution please?
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Try going round a roundabout without engaging the stabiliser, i.e. leave the stabiliser handle up and see if it still creaks, if not then its definitely the ball/pads.
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I have exactly the same problem. New pads fitted and meticulous about cleaning the towball - but it still creaks. As you say, it tends to be worse when turning. I've given up worrying about it
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Are you sure it's not the driver's hip joints?
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Thanks for all your responses. As we have had a previous had a caravan come adrift whilst on a motorway, resulting in it drifting into the fast lane and being written off, we are slightly paranoid. Fortunately there were no injuries. The ball is a Westfalia design. Is this significant? Cyber we are used to the sound of our creaking bones but this is even louder
. We have just returned from a trip down through France and it is surprising just how many roundabouts there are!!!0 -
The Witter detachable mount beneath my Sorrento leaves very little room for the spare wheel. I have to make sure the wheel doesn't touch the mount when screwing it back up after checking the pressure. If I don't then I end up with weird creaking on corners or bumps.
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Had the same problem on my Santa Fe with a Witter detachable. Local garage said the bolts were slightly too long and were touching the body. They reversed the bolts putting the head where the nut went and no further problem. Funnily enough when the caravan was empty with slightly reduced nose weight no creaking, so check your nose weight, My Santa Fe only had 80kg.
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Tigi - can you elaborate please because mine is a Westfalia (on a VW Touareg) and so, it would appear, is MrH's. Is there something we should know?
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We have experienced creaking tow bar for a couple of years and had the tow bar and hitch checked several times without finding the cause.
However when hitching up on the last trip I noticed that the electric cable coming out of the a frame cowling creaked against the cowling so I have trimed a bit off the cowling and creaking has stopped.
Not sure if this will help you but give the cable a wiggle to find out.
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I`m not suggesting there is necessarily anything wrong with a Westfalia except my previous car had a detachable one which used to creak and I never succeeded in stopping it. That towball would rust when stowed in the garage, our current towball is a Bosal retractable came unpainted lives under the car and never rusts or shows any sign of corrosion and never creaks. In a nutshell is the material used by Westfalia in the construction of the towball leading to a greater likelihood of creaking and it would be interesting if those having the problem were to include the make of their towball.
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Thank you all of you for your responses including you Cyber!!!
The ball is a Westfalia type but it is the second one I have had and the first had no creaking. It has been polished thoroughly with not a spot of paint on it. I have tried cleaning the pads before connecting up. So I will explore whether the electric cable is rubbing. My last consideration is whether the brake linkage is dry as it mainly happens when slowing down.
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just been looking at the alko web site about friction pads. everyone on this forum mentions cleaning and or replacement of the pads that squeeze the tow ball but never heard anybody mention the lateral pads. the ones at the top front and top back of the hitch and have to say that these must be taking most if not all the weight of the hitch ie the nose weight. is it these pads that are causing all the creaking as the weight that they must be under when travelling is far more that the side pads. I looked on ebay/amazon for friction pads and all the kits just have the side pads but not the lateral pads. is/could this be the answer, remove and clean/replace lateral pads.
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we had new friction pads fitted at our last service in May/June and I have noticed that it started to creak with the new pads. The towball part lives in the car boot
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taken from alko website
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When our pads were changed at service, it didn't creak for a while, so I am guessing they did change all the pads. However it soon started again and I can only assume that it is because of contamination. Although I clean the towball with one of those fine emery sanding pads every time I use it - and then spray it with a proprietary pad cleaner and wipe it dry before use, I'm obviously going wrong somewhere. What I have noticed is that the Westfalia fixed swan-neck towball isn't perfectly smooth (I suspect that most aren't) and therefore there are probably bits of rust or dirt lurking on it somewhere, despite using the cleaner. Having had a look at that useful link, I'm going to have a look at the pads, themselves.
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Whilst being serviced they changed just the side pads and I left with no noise until I got near the storage facility. I took the caravan back and they then fitted top and bottom pads. After about 20 miles an odd creak sounded so I polished the ball with emery cloth and cleaned it with brake cleaner. We then left for a trip through France and I became aware of just how many roundabouts there are there. I store the removable ball inside a bag in the boot so it is not subjected to weather issues. Unfortunately, having a previous caravan become unhitched whilst on a dual carriageway we are very sensitive in that area. At that time (the caravan was written off) fortunately no one was hurt.Watching it drift into the fast lane is something I will never forget, realising it could have resulted something far more serious. So you can imagine why I want to resolve this issue, with the new caravan.
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This is my tow ball. You can see it does not have any paint on it. Not sure it could be in better condition. Add to that there are four new hitch pads.
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Maybe when it's not creaking, is the time to worry as the stabilising has stopped working, and / or the caravan is overtaking you.
I'm now a Motorhomer, but memories of my bulldog stabiliser from old, used to sound like Jack Sparrow's galleon in a storm.
rgds
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They do quite different tasks and without the "stabiliser" [a damper] the towing experience would be less smooth so somewhat more physically a tiring fatiguing drive.
Without the ATC, there is nothing active to arrest a snake should you get in that situation. Way out of the capabilities of the "stabilisers".
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Well I have just changed my tow car and have a different tow ball altogether. Still the creaking continues. So now it is back to the dealership for further analysis.
However I have a theory. I believe the front and or rear pads are secured using a self tapping screw into the pad. I wonder if the screw(s) have been tightened too much and the screw has come through the pad and is touching the ball? Any thoughts folks?
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I would say that the screws would be a set length to take in the ware tolerances of the pads. if you have a brand new towbar and ball then make sure all paint removed from ball and if not done replace all the pads in the hitch and see how it is then.
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