Installing a Quiet Hitch on a Receiver Hitch
Dave SolbergDescription
It happens to every tow hitch over time. The constant stopping and starting causes the receiver hitch to elongate and rattle, causing incessant clanking any time you bring your rig to a halt. To quiet the noise, you could turn up the radio and hope no one else notices, or you could do something that actually eliminates that annoying clank.
In this lesson, Dave Solberg teaches you how to install a Quiet Hitch from Roadmaster. This simple component, which bolts onto most 2-part receiver hitches, is designed to work like a clamp for your RV hitch. You’ll learn how to navigate the two-step, one-man installation process using basic tools. The Quiet Hitch can be bolted on in a matter of minutes, and it keeps your hitch firmly in place, ensuring you never again have to hear what the receiver has to say. Peaceful travels!
A receiver hitch or stingered style like this is pretty common in towing smaller RVs, boats, and trailers. The problem with the receiver hitch is when it slides in and it pins, there's a lot of play in it. Now this one happens to be a fairly old one. So it's even elongated a little more. And every time you take off, you start, you stop with the trailer, you're gonna get this clanking sound, and sometimes you don't know if it's something wrong with the trailer hitch itself or just the noise. Roadmaster has come out with this Quiet Hitch it's called. And it's so simple, it's brilliant. We simply take this cradle, almost like a muffler clamp, and we're gonna put it on top of this trailer hitch and hold it underneath. And it's gonna snug that up. So let's just apply it. So we're just gonna take these off. One's a snug nut and the other one is a locking nut. And according to the directions, simply put it over there. Bring it to the underside here. Let's see. There we go. There we go. You'll notice this has what's called a flange nut and a flange nut has these little ridges in here, and that's really gonna lock it down onto the surface. And I think I'm gonna have to turn this over. I want the flat edge. Yep. Get it snug to start with. It's up over the ridge here. And I would just take a 9/16. Just kind of working back and forth so we don't have one side crooked, tighter than the other side. Let's see. There we go. One more good one. Now this is a flatter nut, and all that's gonna do is just help hold that in place. Just snugs right up against the other one and holds it in place. So now when we go down the road, absolutely no clanking whatsoever. Simple, but very effective.
Would that work on bike racks that attach to your receiver hitch ???
My comment is that this bracket according to the posted video is not installed optimally. The current video has this bracket carrying the load because the orientation causes the bracket to lift the ball and hitch unit in the up position. Once a trailer is connected the additional weight from the trailer is supported by the new bracket that was just installed. The bracket needs to be re-aligned so that when the bracket is tightened down it holds the ball and hitch assembly in the down position. When the trailer is added after supporting the ball and hitch in the down position all the load is taken off of the bracket and transferred to the receiver. This is the same position the ball and hitch would rest at in a static position.
Warren is correct. The video shows it being installed upside down. The stinger ought to be held down on the receiver fro maximum strength of the hitch and lifespan of the device. Installing it the way its shown on the video will soon strip out the threads on the U-bolt with all the weight and force of the trailer sitting on it.
Congratulation, you just defeated the purpose of a quick change Reese hitch. You might as well use a permanent hitch and swap balls as needed since you need a wrench anyway!
kinda gives up the "QUICK CHANGE" of one size ball to another with another slide in hitch..but good ideal for rattling hitch and slows down HITCH THIEVES..
This looks like a good idea but I think it would work better installed the opposite way the way it was installed it would put the tongue weight on the clamp, if reversed it would put the weight on the receiver.
I would install the u-clamp the other way, holding the stinger down, not up. This way the weight would be on the receiver instead of the u-bolt.
Wouldn't it be better to pull down on the shank instead of lifting? This is accomplished by leaning the in the opposite direction.
if you pit that on upside down ,,,it would hold ,but NOT have the weight of the trailer pushing down on the clamp !! :)
Looks upside down, should be pulling down on the draw bar, no strain on the quiet hitch threads???