Noisy WDH bars in turns

[NW RV GUY]

I have an Equlalizer hitch 4 for my truck and Outdoors RV. I bought some of those pads for the L shaped brackets in hopes that it would cut out the creaking and groaning that everyone says is " normal".

I wondering if I need to raise the hitch up higher ( with truck attached) to eliminate the noise because maybe it is too tight..??

Anyone else experience this and can chime in please..?

Thank you...!

[Rexlion]

The Equal-i-zer should be installed according to the measurements contained in the installation instructions. Raising the hitch would reduce its effectiveness. When I was using one I wound up adding a bit of grease in that area, which helped with the noise but was (of course) messy when handling the bars. I never tried the pads because grease was cheaper.

[Gooma]

Grease and pads defeat the purpose of the hitch. Let it creak it's doing it's job.

[db4570]

Originally Posted by Gooma

Grease and pads defeat the purpose of the hitch. Let it creak it's doing it's job.

Yeah, that's what I assume, too. Lubricating reduces friction, which is the whole purpose of these things. I just live with it and disconnect them when pulling into a quiet site.

[JIMNLIN]

I pull a 10K flatbed trailer carrying a 7100 + lbs blue tractor/cab using a Husky Center line TS hitch with 1200 lbs bars. Its a friction type . The trailer has 9200-9400 lbs on the axles.
I add a squirt of WD 40 every so often on the L brkts with no performance reduction . Still has that great reduction of sway/over steer on sudden lane changes.
No noise on turns.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by db4570

Yeah, that's what I assume, too. Lubricating reduces friction, which is the whole purpose of these things. I just live with it and disconnect them when pulling into a quiet site.

Well, not to pick nits but the primary purpose of a WD hitch is to redistribute tongue weight, sway suppression is a secondary function......but I agree; the noise is normal and I wouldn't grease them. Even without any change to sway control, they get way too messy IME.

Dave

[smck9800]

With the noisy metal-on-metal scraping of the WD hitch (as designed), what's the visual to determine when to replace the L-brackets and/or the bars?

Of course the paint has all scraped away and there are decent grooves in the L-brackets. I have the Curt TruTrack WDH. There are no plastic pads available for this hitch - which based on info here is understandable.

[LoneTraveler]

Originally Posted by smck9800

With the noisy metal-on-metal scraping of the WD hitch (as designed), what's the visual to determine when to replace the L-brackets and/or the bars?

Of course the paint has all scraped away and there are decent grooves in the L-brackets. I have the Curt TruTrack WDH. There are no plastic pads available for this hitch - which based on info here is understandable.

X2 I have an Equalizer also and I’m into its second year of use. Wondered as well as to when to replace L-brackets. Mine is quiet. The owner’s manual says not to use any lubricant.

[Rexlion]

Originally Posted by LoneTraveler

X2 I have an Equalizer also and I’m into its second year of use. Wondered as well as to when to replace L-brackets. Mine is quiet. The owner’s manual says not to use any lubricant.

Hmm, that's good to know. It was 20 years ago that I had an Equal-i-zer, and back then I don't think the manual said anything against lube on the brackets. Folks on the other old RV forum back then were saying it was okay. But of course it's obvious that grease will cause some reduction in friction, after all.

[Wellibe]

Not sure if the OP is still watching this thread, but no one has yet pointed out that the sockets on the hitch head need to be greased, both for noise suppression and to reduce wear. The manual specifies this, and I believe there is even a sticker on the hitch head pointing out the spots that need grease.

While the bars on the L brackets do make noise, especially in tight turns, the sockets are also the source of a surprising amount of noise. My equalizer sounds terrible if I go a little too long before re-applying grease to the sockets. If I keep the sockets greased, the hitch is fairly quiet. And, as I discovered, you need to use grease that is formulated for "extreme pressure." Regular old grease wears out after a day or so of driving.

[Blazing zipp]

WILLIBE has it well stated.
A couple years ago, we went through lots of ocean sand that had washed up onto the highway. The Equilizer was howling at every turn. I tore the pinch parts out, cleaned and greased them--and the hitch ball area. The noise went away.
The hitch area seems to be able to throw grease a couple feet away because everytime I walk by-splurg-grease on my britches!

[mokurt]

Originally Posted by Gooma

Grease and pads defeat the purpose of the hitch. Let it creak it's doing it's job.

Originally Posted by db4570

Yeah, that's what I assume, too. Lubricating reduces friction, which is the whole purpose of these things. I just live with it and disconnect them when pulling into a quiet site.

I'm thinking it's the bar pressure not friction(metal galling)that makes the WDH work.
So if they are lubed the same bar pressure would exist.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by Blazing zipp

WILLIBE has it well stated.
A couple years ago, we went through lots of ocean sand that had washed up onto the highway. The Equilizer was howling at every turn. I tore the pinch parts out, cleaned and greased them--and the hitch ball area. The noise went away.
The hitch area seems to be able to throw grease a couple feet away because everytime I walk by-splurg-grease on my britches!

Ha ha, yes, I have experienced that leaping grease many times.

[LETMGROW]

Originally Posted by mokurt

I'm thinking it's the bar pressure not friction(metal galling)that makes the WDH work.
So if they are lubed the same bar pressure would exist.

I believe you are 100% correct. Having run Reese load equalizing / anti-sway bars for many years on several different trailers I came to despise that crunching, grinding, squawking noise the bars made as they rode up and down the ramps. I kept them lubed but there were times when the lube wore off but I saw no improvement in handling with my truck or my Cadillac Sedan DeVille and any of the trailers I had with the lube worn away.
It's not the friction of dry steel against dry steel which helps control sway but the bar changing pressure as it rides up and down in the hitch ramps.
If anyone wants to hear noise they can drag their fingernails across a blackboard somewhere.