Deep metal "groaning sound" from hitch. Is this normal?

Have the same hitch. Bought pads fron Equal-i-zer website for bars to sit on. Lubricate bar where it goes into socket. Equal-i-zer sells it too, but I now use Extreme Graphite as is less messy. Need to apply after all hook-ups.

Cheers.

I've had my Equal-I-zer for 16 years. It makes that noise. Nature of the beast. I think most of the noise is from the hitch head where the bars are inserted. Back when I bought mine, they didn't offer the nylon jacket for the L brackets but did recommend a bit of grease on them, as well as the flat, horizontal surfaces of the hitch head. The sway control is still there with the grease on those parts. I've learned you have to grease that hitch head every trip.

aftermath wrote:
I have an Equalizer hitch and have used it, actually two different ones, for close to 16 years now. The "4 point" sway control comes from the two sockets the bars fit into and the two L brackets they ride on. Look at their website and they will mention lubing up the hitch. Don't use oil, use a white lithium grease. Look at the sockets and you will see friction points above and below the socket. Put a small amount of grease on these spots.

They sell jackets that fit onto the L brackets to reduce the noise. I have never used these but I have put a small amount of grease on the L brackets too. I don't think they recommend this but I have had no trouble in doing so.

It is somewhat counter intuitive to put some lubricant on surfaces that rely on friction to function. Equalizer suggests that doing this will help the noise. If they say it is OK,I am not concerned. If you think that this "negates" the operation I suggest you try this. When hooked up, remove the clamp on the L bracket and try to move the arm.

Again, this works for me. I have over 50K miles on my current trailer and have not experienced any negative affects.

X2 I have the same hitch and yes they can be noisy. They sell pads for the L brackets that takes a lot of the noise out. I might buy some one of these days

I have an Equalizer hitch and have used it, actually two different ones, for close to 16 years now. The "4 point" sway control comes from the two sockets the bars fit into and the two L brackets they ride on. Look at their website and they will mention lubing up the hitch. Don't use oil, use a white lithium grease. Look at the sockets and you will see friction points above and below the socket. Put a small amount of grease on these spots.

They sell jackets that fit onto the L brackets to reduce the noise. I have never used these but I have put a small amount of grease on the L brackets too. I don't think they recommend this but I have had no trouble in doing so.

It is somewhat counter intuitive to put some lubricant on surfaces that rely on friction to function. Equalizer suggests that doing this will help the noise. If they say it is OK,I am not concerned. If you think that this "negates" the operation I suggest you try this. When hooked up, remove the clamp on the L bracket and try to move the arm.

Again, this works for me. I have over 50K miles on my current trailer and have not experienced any negative affects.

I used one for years. Grease helps a lot on the ball, where the spring arm meets the trunion, and where the spring arm secures to the frame.

I would lube the ball and the spring bars up front, no lube in back where they rub.Defitatly will take away from the sway control.

mike-uswest wrote:
I have a Husky Center-line hitch, and it makes a lot of noise when you first start out, but does get a little better after awhile. A drop of lithe oil on the rub area seems to help, but I guess that nullifies it's main action.

Mike

Yeah that pretty well kills the swaycontrol

I have a Husky Center-line hitch, and it makes a lot of noise when you first start out, but does get a little better after awhile. A drop of lithe oil on the rub area seems to help, but I guess that nullifies it's main action.

Mike

Nature of the beast I think. I have the same hitch with the same sounds.

It's been years since using a WDH and owning a TT, but I still remember the sounds, when turning/backing short. It is normal, due to the bind, each setup sounding different, but similar. I did, and I'm sure many still disconnect the bars, before backing short.

Jerry