Hello,
I have recently purchased a used travel trailer that came with a WDH and Anti-sway setup. It works well and I am going through the process of getting everything adjusted for my van. On thing that I have noticed is that it is very loud in regards to making popping and creaking noises whenever I am turning etc. I thought I remembered reading a while back that properly lubricating the hitch can help reduce this. Is this correct? If so, where would I lube it and what kind of lube is recommended?

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of my specific hitch but it looks like the picture below.....complete with friction anti-sway bar.

 

Some of your favorit grease on the bars where they go into the head will help a lot. You can try try lube like graphite too, might not be as messy. My hitch has grease zerks on both sides that make it a breeze.

 

About all you can do is lubricate all the pivot points. The ***** the friction bar mount on as well as the hitch ball and the holes the torsion bars fit into. You don't want to get any grease on the friction pad. That's about it.

 

Yep I have the same hitch and I lube everywhere wrvond stated. Quieted down considerably but there always gonna make some noise. Also don't forget to remove the sway control before backing into your site.

 

 

You have trinuion bars, same idea, lube the pocket the nubs sit in.

 

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Is there any specific type of lube that is recommended? Using a grease/oil of some kind could prove messy whenever I have to hook or unhook. I usually use a Dry Lube spray in these situations. Has anyone used this in this application with success?

 

I used grease because my hitch has zerks on it so it's really easy and quick. Dry lube should work too depending on what kind it is, may not be any less messy though. I just carry a few plastic bags that i put over the ends of the bars as soon as they come off. That helps keep all the junk off of them too while we camp. I used to put on on the ball too but i would always forget about it and end up losing it somewhere.

 

My Blue Ox WDH had zerks also. I used whatever grease was in the grease gun. It didn't seem to care. It was fairly quiet. The trailer suspension on the other hand made up for it.

My new Andersen WDH has no zerks and it's as quiet as can be. In fact, they tell you to NOT grease the coupler/ball.

 

Thanks for the input folks. I will clean things up and lube them to see what I get.

 

It should definitely help, but there will be still some noise, just not enough to sound like you're dragging your camper on its frame LOL.

 

If you turn up the stereo the WDH makes less noise.

 

I find this interesting. Sometimes, with a new ball, I've ended up using it without grease the first time or two. Every time I've done that the coupler has ground the chrome off the ball. Have you not noticed this on the Anderson?

 

Not that I've noticed. In theory, the ball turns with the coupler, not the hitch.