Creaking

[Scorpy]

Hi All
Just come back from Spain and got fed up of constant creaking on back end of the car. I checked the noseweight of van, towbar, tyre pressure and had the suspension checked-all ok but it still creaks on bumps uneven roads etc.
I have a Coachman Pastiche fully loaded at 1610kg and tow it with a Kia Sorento 2.2 diesel automatic kerb weight 2.2t-does anyone else have this combination and if so does yours creak? It's very stable, very level when hitched, tows fine and brakes perfectly-just the b****y creaking!
Anyone else have this problem?
Mike

 

[Gagakev]

Hi All
Just come back from Spain and got fed up of constant creaking on back end of the car. I checked the noseweight of van, towbar, tyre pressure and had the suspension checked-all ok but it still creaks on bumps uneven roads etc.
I have a Coachman Pastiche fully loaded at 1610kg and tow it with a Kia Sorento 2.2 diesel automatic kerb weight 2.2t-does anyone else have this combination and if so does yours creak? It's very stable, very level when hitched, tows fine and brakes perfectly-just the b****y creaking!
Anyone else have this problem?
Mike

You need a good clean up,
clean the friction pads on the tow hitch or replace them. Its a simple operation to remove them or you could do it in situ, normally a fine scouring pad or wet and dry sandpaper does the trick.
Also re clean the tow hitch with wet and dry then scouring pad and then a good blast of brake/clutch fluid.
Happy towing

 

[Dustydog]

Mike , common problem is usually the Al-ko hitch.
Thoroughly clean the tow ball with brake cleaning fluid, not brake fluid!
With a clean rag do the same thing to the hitch .
Dry with clean cloths
If that doesn’t work remove and clean or replace the friction pads. The Al-ko website or you tube will show you how.
Addendum.
Gagakev beat me to it :woohoo:

 

[Craigyoung]

.......If that doesn’t work remove and clean or replace the friction pads.

This happened to us whilst driving through France the other year creaking and grinding, the wife was wetting herself thinking the caravan was going to come off going over the hills and it was that loud as it was embarrassing when we hold pulled on to site but took me a few minutes to pop the pads out clean them and put them back in ,
and it was just silence after that from the hitch and the wife !!

 

[Dustydog]

Craig
SWMBO is or was the same. Years ago she thought the worst. Once you know, it’s simple.
You probably know by now most of the Woosies carry lots of spares, not weighed , all of which have proved life savers. Ask Gagakev

 

[Gagakev]

Craig
SWMBO is or was the same. Years ago she thought the worst. Once you know, it’s simple.
You probably know by now most of the Woosies carry lots of spares, not weighed , all of which have proved life savers. Ask Gagakev

Oh I can vouch for of the carrying of spares Dusty, But suggesting they are not weighed, well i dont know what to say :lol: :lol:

 

[Anseo]

Just bought some brake and clutch cleaner yesterday at a discount store , £2.99.

But this is a better buy and free economy postage according to web page, think i will be ordering a couple of 500ml cans B) .

https://www.carparts4less.co.uk/cp4l/p/-/-/-/-/?542770020&0&cc5_858&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlJ3Yo6_R2gIVCLDtCh3D2QFhEAYYAyABEgIX4_D_BwE

 

[Scorpy]

Thanks guys for the replies. However, the creaking in my case appears to be coming from the car rather than the hitch-is this the same as your experiences?
Cheers
Mike

 

[Dustydog]

Mike,
How do you know that?
If that is the case then check all the nuts and bolts mounting the tow bar to the car ate tight.
Then check all the cars suspension .
Do you get the sound when unhitched?

 

[Scorpy]

Mike,
How do you know that?
If that is the case then check all the nuts and bolts mounting the tow bar to the car ate tight.
Then check all the cars suspension .
Do you get the sound when unhitched?

Hi-I don't! It just sounds like it. The sound is a creaking as if there is too much weight on a spring when I go over bumps etc not continuously and no -no creaking at all when unhitched
Perhaps as you say it is the hitch that needs cleaning as we came through some horrendous weather coming home-snow ice etc-maybe some roadgrit or salt has got into the pads?
I tried jumping on the towbar but it didn't creak then either!
I shall clean the hitch etc as described and see what happens-is it easy to do as I am not a very good DIYer and might make it worse!
Thanks

 

[Craigyoung]

It's a doddle to do takes minutes I done mine on site when I was in france in the few minutes of getting it on the site. .
Go onto "YouTube" , type in
'cleaning caravan friction pads'
And that will show you what to do or..

https://youtu.be/Hxssz8ukUFs

 

[Hutch]

Scorpy, I have Coachman 560 towed by a Sante fe, I have also experienced the Elephant bellowing from behind the car, going over a bump or at turning a corner, that was the friction pads, in 2014 The Witter towbars fitted as Original Equipment had a problem with the bolts loosening off at the crossbar and could also create a growning Noise, this is the same towbar fitted to the Sorento. Witter Increased the torque to sort this out.

 

[Scorpy]

Thanks for the info-Even I can manage that!

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hutches answer seems plausible,

I would not be surprised if just jumping on the hitch fails to make a noise, becasue the forces a caravan can impose are likely to be much more than your own weight, and in different directions.

But even if the tow bar bolts are tight, if the its is the pads on in the hitch, the vibration will be transmitted through the towbar assembly and may appear to generate noise where the assembly is bolted to the car.

It's certainly worth trying to clean the pads and ball it will maximise effectiveness and it may just resolve the noise for virtually no cost.,

 

[BaileyNiggles]

Same or similar for us last year. Came on after van was serviced and queried it when took back for some (unrelated) warranty work but don't know what they checked and it still occurred. You could go for hundreds of miles without anything and then suddenly get a great groaning creak like an old sailing ship in a film, or a haunted house door hinge. Seemed worse or only occur at very slow speeds when making turns so we too thought loose towbar (Westfalia on a Mercedes GL) bolts. Never occurred on our other car (Witter on Mercedes E class). We asked the bolts to be checked at a garage I mostly trust, which they say they did but possibly of note in our case were some loose bolts (for whatever reason) which hold a rear third row of seats in the car... now tightened and so far this year not heard the creak, so maybe it was the car body flexing ever so slightly from the van stresses but then greatly magnified by, or audible at, the site of those non-towbar bolts? Will definitely watch the pads clean YouTube too though!