Thread: Clunking

Originally Posted by Jeff

I towed my double axle trailer for the first time with the Discovery 2 the other day. It was nearly empty and I was only going slowly but the towbar was clunking unbearably. It doesn't clunk with the Defender.

Can I drill and tap a hole and use a bolt to stop the clunk, like other towbars?

Will loading the trailer reduce the clunk?

Jeff

Is it higher/lower on the D2 than the Defender, this can make a difference, if it's lower, than it will be clunking cause it's trying to level itself on the wheels. It may also sitting up higher on the Defender which would put more weight on the ball stopping it from clunking.

From my experience with dual axle trailers they will clunk, because they don't have all the weight on the ball when empty, so yes loading it should reduce the clunk.

You may need to change your tow tongue height for either vehicle to get the level right, there should a slight clunking but not to the point of being really annoying.

Baz.

I would think that this may be a D2 problem.

when I bought my D2 it had a bolt with metal shims to hold it tight, the bolt was 15/16 as far as the spanner goes,

it also had a bolt drilled up underneath that told me that it did clunk.

I have scince taken that all out and it clunks when it didn't before.

Sounds as if the tongue/hitch is pivoting on the retaining pin. simplest option is to drill/tap a 6mm bolt from underneath as you planned...a couple of cm past the pin. I also use a nut to lock it in position... Properly adjusted, it will stop the clunk associated with the hitch pivoting in the housing...won't stop the clunk arising from free play, if any, between the towball and coupling....

I used metal shims on the Disco towing hitch.

Perhaps try the shims or some other packing to eliminate or confirm the cause before trying something more permanent such as a locking bolt.

Hayman Reese put their locking bolt in on the diagonal, at the lower outer lower edge of the hitch receiver. They drill a hole and weld a nut over the opening. A matching bolt is inserted with another nut to use as a locknut.

Its much less work to dab some weld onto the 50mm square hitch, nothing super special, then grind it flat. Same concept as spacers but never gonna fall out.

Just had a thought, if you are sharing tow hitches between two vehicle receivers may want to check clearances before doing this.

Regards,
S

Thanks guys, for the moment I have filled the gap with duct tape and I took the trailer out today, but I didn't have much weight in it. It was much better than before. I still haven't had time to park on a level piece of ground to check ride height, where I live is very steep and uneven and where I went I had to load up and go quickly.

Most of the bolts I have seen to stop play in the towbar sockets are in the top, but if it works from the underside then I might try that.

I also noticed today that the socket on the Discovery 2 is angled, so I might not be able to use the adjustable towbar from the Defender.

Jeff

Originally Posted by roverrescue

Its much less work to dab some weld onto the 50mm square hitch, nothing super special, then grind it flat. Same concept as spacers but never gonna fall out.

Just had a thought, if you are sharing tow hitches between two vehicle receivers may want to check clearances before doing this.

Regards,
S

This is what i'd do, and i would weld on the edge so it takes up any slack either way - same as fitting a bolt on the angle. Mine clunks slightly but not to an annoying point.