Getting about a 1/8" play in the hitch section of the tongue. not really noticeable when unladen but very noticeable when loaded. I'm just curious as to if any of you have experienced this and what you have done to remedy the problem? It is an unpleasant ride when loaded and that is usually not the case. It use to be smooth as silk but now it is downright unpleasant.
Help: Play in trailer tongue.
- Thread starter dmax_ty
- Start date
Is the play between the hitch and the ball or in the ball mount to truck hitch? If it's the latter, I have used a bolt to secure the ball mount to the hitch. Just drill through the hitch with a little room to spare, then on the ball mount, thread it to the size of your bolt. Tighten the bolt and the play is gone. Or you could drill thru both mount and hitch and mount a nut on the end of the bolt. Same result.
Play in Hitch
Ive seen this alot.
The play is between the Hitch and the Receiver.
What happens is the receiver will wear over time and the inner diameter gets bigger. There is really no safety issue here just a rattle noise.
If you have torsion bars on your trailer then the play is one due to the bars loading 1 side of the play.
If its a standard hitch then it can bang around.
There is a company that sells a spring loaded or or offset pin that suppose to eliminate the rattle.
The best thing to do is either put a shim on the top of the hitch to remove play - pound it in with a hammer and leave it, weld in position if required.
Lastly would be to replace the reciever with a class 4, 2500 come with class 3 receivers. The difference is the receiver will have a double front wall and is rated heavier.
Hope this helps.
Ive seen this alot.
The play is between the Hitch and the Receiver.
What happens is the receiver will wear over time and the inner diameter gets bigger. There is really no safety issue here just a rattle noise.
If you have torsion bars on your trailer then the play is one due to the bars loading 1 side of the play.
If its a standard hitch then it can bang around.
There is a company that sells a spring loaded or or offset pin that suppose to eliminate the rattle.
The best thing to do is either put a shim on the top of the hitch to remove play - pound it in with a hammer and leave it, weld in position if required.
Lastly would be to replace the reciever with a class 4, 2500 come with class 3 receivers. The difference is the receiver will have a double front wall and is rated heavier.
Hope this helps.
I have a cheap hitch I bought that is smaller than most out there and it knocks and bangs if I'm light on the tongue. Been running it for years like that with no issues.
The one that drives me is when the hitch slides in/out from the play in the pin holes. Scares me when I have a big trailer on.
The one that drives me is when the hitch slides in/out from the play in the pin holes. Scares me when I have a big trailer on.