I'm new to FW rv's... Have many miles in commercial semi's...We have a Husky 26K articulating hitch...When we leave from a stop I get a clunking sound/feel... Same when we come to a stop... Sounds like the king pin is banging back and forth maybe 1/8" in the jaw...Contacted Husky... They suspected the bolt for the articulating head wasn't snug enough... (I have very little fore/aft movement in the head...just enough so I can feel the head moving as I shake the head)One thing I did find was the legs of the hitch have some play up and down where they attach to the rails. . Normal?The Husky rep also advised me to adjust the brake controller to come on a bit sooner... Might keep the clunking from happening as the trailer would then have constant rearward tension...Or is this clunking I'm experiencing part of the FW experience... Just ignore it?

IMO, there should be virtually NO play anywhere in the hitch/pin box. I'd be concerned about the play in the hitch/rail connection. Any play like that will only get worse as it wears.Lyle

My previous Pullrite Super 5th hitch had some play in the upper cradle where it mounted to the base. It could slide front to back a fraction of an inch (1/8"?) on the mounting bolt. But that was enough to cause that clunk. I tightened the bolt holding the cradle and reducing that gap and the clunk stopped.My current Reese Elite had the same play, and the same clunk. But the shaft holding the cradle is fully welded and no way to take up that slack. So I put a plastic disc around the shaft between the cradle and the base to reduce the gap. Greatly reduced the clunk.Both of these hitches have wrap around jaws.Others have reported a similar clunk was due to some slack in the base mounting to the rails. Don't remember how they eliminated that, but some did.I think some clunking is just part of the experience and not to worry about unless something is actually wrong. But it is still annoying and probably can be eliminated or at least significantly reduced if you can isolate the cause.

What pin box do you have? Some of the Trail air tri-glides and demco may clunk as well

Or is this clunking I'm experiencing part of the FW experience... Just ignore it? ----------------------------------------------------------------No it's called "Chucking" and will damage the hitch eventually. Some hitch brands are notorious for it (Reese) but I don't recall Husky being one of them. It's often a sign of a problem with the hitch.Wrap around jaw hitches like the Pullrite or B/W rarely have a problem with it and if it does happen on one of them it's a sign to stop and figure out what the problem is.

You probably have a 9200 GVWR and max payload of 2400# for that truck so you are running at/over trucks ratings with that GD 5vr.When towing heavy.......ANY slop in hitch/5rv connection will result in amplified clunking(Have you weighed truck/5vr??)When hitch jaw is closed it should wrap king pin....king pin should not move inside jaw.Hitch should sit in bed rails TIGHT.Sounds like you have too much movement at rails.Pull hitch out of railsLoosen bolts in railsThen tap rails away from each other.....spreading them so that hitch has to be 'helped' to fit in rails (I need to use a light whack with ball peen hammer to get tabs on hitch legs to drop into slots on rails)Also check pin box mounting bolts......any movement in pin box will cause clunkingThen re-adjust trailer brakes (manually adjust so they slightly drag) and then readjust brake controller so that 5vr brakes come on just before truck brakes so

Clunking on take off/stopping | Good Sam Community

23 Replies

Mile_High
Explorer
Jan 21, 2016
What pin box do you have? Some of the Trail air tri-glides and demco may clunk as well
BB_TX
Nomad
Jan 21, 2016
My previous Pullrite Super 5th hitch had some play in the upper cradle where it mounted to the base. It could slide front to back a fraction of an inch (1/8"?) on the mounting bolt. But that was enough to cause that clunk. I tightened the bolt holding the cradle and reducing that gap and the clunk stopped.
My current Reese Elite had the same play, and the same clunk. But the shaft holding the cradle is fully welded and no way to take up that slack. So I put a plastic disc around the shaft between the cradle and the base to reduce the gap. Greatly reduced the clunk.
Both of these hitches have wrap around jaws.
Others have reported a similar clunk was due to some slack in the base mounting to the rails. Don't remember how they eliminated that, but some did.
I think some clunking is just part of the experience and not to worry about unless something is actually wrong. But it is still annoying and probably can be eliminated or at least significantly reduced if you can isolate the cause.
laknox
Nomad
Jan 21, 2016
IMO, there should be virtually NO play anywhere in the hitch/pin box. I'd be concerned about the play in the hitch/rail connection. Any play like that will only get worse as it wears.

Lyle

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Clunking on take off/stopping

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