Grease or not?

Ourgetaway
Ourgetaway Forum Participant Posts: 20
edited July 2019 in Caravans #1

Hello all.pretty new to this caravaning but am enjoying it I must say .my question is having just had new tow bar fitted to car and doing as it says i.e. rubbing tow ball down of paint etc on our 2nd trip out iver the weekend I noticed a creaky noise as towing ,I have a winterhoff hitch and was wondering should I grease the tow ball a little now it basically got no paint on ?

Thanks Dean 

Comments

  • Justus2
    Justus2 Forum Participant Posts: 897
    500 Comments
    edited July 2019 #2

    The vast majority of caravans these days have alko tow hitches with a built in stabiliser, either a red or newer ones a black handle is depressed after the van is on the car which engages the friction pads on to the tow ball. Creaking is normal, its the pads doing their job gripping the ball and no grease should ever be applied.

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited July 2019 #3
    The user and all related content has been Deleted User
  • richardandros
    richardandros Club Member Posts: 2,684 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2019 #4

    Just make sure your van isn't overweight.  I had the problem of what I was convinced was a creaking tow ball on our last van.  No end of cleaning and even changing the friction pads would cure it.  Then I took the van to the weigh bridge and discovered it was overladen - even with the minimum of equipment in it. I reduced the weight and the problem went away - suggesting it might have been the suspension creaking rather than the tow hitch.

    On our new van - with a payload of 360kg and the same car and tow ball, same type of Alko hitch/stabiliser, we have not had a problem at all.

  • Lutz
    Lutz Forum Participant Posts: 1,564 ✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2019 #5

    Hitches are standard components. The same hitch will also be fitted to trailers with probably higher loads than your caravan. Overloading can therefore not be the cause of a creaking hitch. Any creaking must have its origins elsewhere, maybe in the caravan chassis itself.

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited July 2019 #6
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  • Ourgetaway
    Ourgetaway Forum Participant Posts: 20
    edited July 2019 #7

    Thank you all .all your replies are very helpful .will clean parts first to see how that goes .

  • richardandros
    richardandros Club Member Posts: 2,684 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2019 #8

    Lutz - I wasn't suggesting that overloading was causing the hitch to creak - but that the problem was elsewhere - most likely the suspension.

  • Mike Brace
    Mike Brace Forum Participant Posts: 41
    edited July 2019 #9

    Hi, I had the same question when I first started caravanning about 3 years ago. As all have said, likely culprit is dirty tow ball and stabiliser pads.

    I removed the pads and cleaned them up with a fine sandpaper and brake cleaner and then the creaking/groaning went away. The issue for me was that although I also removed the black paint from the new towball....I didn't do a thorough enough job and some of it still contaminated the pads.

    Here's a video showing you had to remove the pads assuming you have a similar stabiliser....really easy job to do...minimal DIY skills needed!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxssz8ukUFs

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