Is your receiver hitch making a clunking noise when you take off.

My receiver hitch was making a clunking noise when I take off. I disassembled the hitch looking for wear but it is fairly new and there was no wear. I found that the hitch pin is a little smaller than the receiver hole. I bought a new locking style hitch pin and it was the same size as the original pin - maybe a little smaller so the clunking noise was still there. So I went in search of a shim that would stay in place and make the pin tight but removable. I found the perfect shim right in my tool box. I removed the hitch pin, pushed a ty-wrap through the hole, then reinserted the pin. I had to try a couple different sizes before I found the one that was just right. The perfect size made it tight enough so the pin had to be tapped into the receiver. I did not trim off the excess, instead I connected the ty-wrap ends under the receiver. It is not noticeable and I figured the long ends would help removal. No more clunking noise. No more fears that I just squashed a Geo. Hope this helps someone the way all you guys have helped me. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/wink.gif

I just left mine in till it rusted itself in

You got trailer (surge) brakes.... they can do when taking off....

You got trailer (surge) brakes.... they can do when taking off.... oopps quess I should have read the whole post before chiming in http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif

i just tacked the hitch in the with a welding machine.. no more clunking..

Mine was doing the same thing, and upon inspection, I found out the hole in the hitch for the pin was twice as long as it was tall. I also noticed that the hitch sideplates had weld material on them.

Long story short, the truck has been hit in the rear hard enough with an insert in it to oblong the pin holes and crack the sideplates.

I now have a brand new hitch on it........

Sometimes they have just enough wiggle room to rattle without a trailer hooked up.you can pull out the hitch and cram a plastic grocery bag in the hole and stick the hitch back in. This will take up that little bit of slack and make it quiet. Kinda hillbilly but it works well.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tailchaser &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i just tacked the hitch in the with a welding machine.. no more clunking..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I kinda did the same thing, I welded a bead down all 4 sides (dodging the pin hole) and worked them down with a grinder and a file....quit clunking.....then after a good rain there was enough mud in it it wouldnt move at all

wrap ducktape around hitch b4 inserting to take some of the slack up works wonders also http://xs-s.com/zf/images/smile/emthup.gif

I spray painted mine with 3M Rubberized Paint used for undercarriages and such. Let it dry, then pounded it in trimming any areas with too much on with knife. Gonna be hell to get that sucka off though http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/roll.gif

tie it to a tree and pull it out lol

I was having the same noise and it was the ball reciver moving up and down. I cut a fender washer in half and drove it in with a ball peen hammer..no more clacking up and down. Bobby Mc http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/wink.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/wink.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/wink.gif

Duct Tape worked for me too!

I have modified mine on every truck I've had by drilling and tapping a hole for a 3/8 bolt in the bottom of the reciever, then after inserting the hitch and pin I tighten the bolt and this eliminates all the slack so no more clunking. When you need to remove it all you have to do is loosen the bolt. Just make sure that you only use stainless steel bolts for this.

this might sound stupid, but i did it once, make sure you have the right size ball,

i have 2 boat trailers, one with 1 7/8 & one with 2 inch ball, when i switched to a 1 7/8 inch i forgot to switch it back for a few trips

it was clunking just like u said

Mud Man

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by basfshr27 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have modified mine on every truck I've had by drilling and tapping a hole for a 3/8 bolt in the bottom of the reciever, then after inserting the hitch and pin I tighten the bolt and this eliminates all the slack so no more clunking. When you need to remove it all you have to do is loosen the bolt. Just make sure that you only use stainless steel bolts for this.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Ditto. It works perfect every time... http://www.bassboatcentral.com/boardstuff2/beers.gif

Is there plenty room to get a good bite for the threads and still tighten up on the hitch ?

Could you go one step further and drill all the way through into the hitch and then just tighten the bolt all the way in........wouldn't this pull both together and eliminate all movement ?

Of course this would only be good for those of us who leave the hitch on all the time......this would also virtually eliminate the chance of theft of hitch.

I don't see why either wouldn't work and the answer to your first question is yes there are plenty of threads for this to work.

I bought a cushioned ballmount from Cabelas. It works great.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kevenater &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">tie it to a tree and pull it out lol </TD></TR></TABLE>

I've actually had to do that when I was ready to trade vehicles. http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif http://www.bassboatcentral.com/smileys/Laugh.gif