Squeak when towing on motorway
Hi, I am really desperate for some help.
When towing our Bailey Unicorn 2 with our Land Rover Discovery 4, at motorway speeds of 45-60 there is a loud constant high pitched squeaking noise (not a groan) coming from the rear of the car seemingly where the towball is. I have thoroughly cleaned our genuine Land Rover towball, fitted new side and front and rear pads to our Al-Ko stabiliser and greased where the detachable towbar fits into the car (with advice from the handbook!) Still the loud squeak persists and it has become so grating and annoying that we’re feeling like we don’t want to tow the caravan which is such a shame. I have a video of the noise but am not sure how to upload it as I only have the options for pictures here.
Many thanks for your help,
George
Comments
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Two things spring to mind. Years ago we had a similar problem but it was more of a squeak especially on bouncy roads. I eventually tracked it down to bolts holding the towbar onto the car chassis not being quite tight enough.
The other thought, as you say it is a constant noise and only at speeds above 45 mph could it actually be a wind whistle? Not sure what could cause this but when towing, the air in-between the car and caravan will have some turbulence that might cause it. A bit of a wild suggestion but when all other possible causes have been eliminated the whacky ideas have to be examined.
Many years ago it was easy to hear a Volvo approaching as many of them had a constant whistle when driving at the sort of speeds you are talking about.
Hope you sort it soon. I know our constant squeak drove us to distraction.
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could you get someone else with a towbar fitted to pull your van at that speed and see if the same noise is heard, that way you will know where to look, van or car. Also have you greesed the damper on the A frame, remove cover and should be greese ni**les ( cannot type correct word as would be removed ) give a couple of pumps in each nip and test again.
take a look here---https://www.caravanguard.co.uk/news/greasing-your-caravans-overrun-assembly-and-corner-steadies-4073/
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Just turn the radio up.
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Hi everyone, many thanks for your suggestions. Unfortunately it’s so loud it can be heard very clearly above the radio! I thought of wind whistle too but when sitting in the back of the car it’s clear it’s coming from somewhere near the towball, plus it didn’t used to do it when we first started towing it. I will grease the areas suggested and I am going to swap my towball for my dad’s and retry as they are easily interchangeable on Land Rover Discovery 4s. Thanks again.
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Just to throw another one in ,sound travels in funny ways . It could be caravan wheels ect..
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And car suspension with caravan nose weight ?
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Before I traded in my Discovery 4, the dealer advised me that I needed to get the towbar fittings checked as some needed the crossmember cut out and a new one welded in, along with a new detachable towbar as there was some weakness carried out free of charge. Have you checked with your dealer if this has been done or needed to be done on yours?
I did experience a rather loud squeak on my Range Rover that turned out to be the electrical lead rubbing against the a-frame cowling.
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