1st trip

[Ken / Claudia]

I have a question regarding turning and hearing a popping sound as the turn is made.
I just got back from a 300 mile test run with a over night stay in the new trailer. I have a WD hitch with chains and sway bar. Every turn I made we could hear popping sounds from the trailer area. There was no jerking of truck/trailer has the popping sounds happened.
On return trip I adjusted the sawy bar for less thinking that it was what we could hear but, still had popping sound on turns. Could it be the chains on the WD bars. Last time I towed a RV was in 2005, a 30ft TT without a sway bar and never had any sounds popping or other wise. Thanks Ken

[Javi]

Most likely it's just the friction on the bars... some folks apply a small amount of grease to the friction points and it stops the popping noises... Others just ignore the noise and consider it part of towing a tongue pull..

[Scottinvt]

Yup normal friction form the weight distribution hitch.

[rrohrer]

yep. they do that. make a heck of a lot of noise. i thought i was doing something wrong at first. it's pretty normal.

[Ken / Claudia]

Thanks guys, I was wondering if something was to tight etc. I can live with it if that is normal. I will add greese into the bars also.

[SteveC7010]

Reese recommends lubrication at the two contact points where the weight arms set into the ball platform. If you have a Reese (or other Cequent product), look carefully to the left and right of the ball. There should be a small hole with the word "oil" next to it for each weight arm.

When I had the TT, I always put a couple of drops of oil in each hole and at the bottom pin of the weight bars.

Folks who have the dual cam sway control will get lots of noises from them when turning tighter corners. The cam contact points can be lubed also.

[SteveC7010]

More on the lube thing.

From the Reese installation guide for trunnion WD hitches:

LUBRICATION
1.Lubricate the ballmount sockets and spring bar trunnions to prevent rapid wear. When hooking-up, place one drop of oil on the top and a second drop on forward side of upper trunnion. Place a third drop on the rear side of lower trunnion before inserting trunnion into ballmount. Use a heavy oil such as "REESE ON THE BALL". Don't forget to lubricate the hitch ball with one or two drops also. Trunnionsshould be lubricated each towing day. It is not necessary to unhook the spring bars however, as there are two oil holes in the ballmounttop plate for upper trunnion lubrication. Lubricate lower trunnionswith one drop at contact point between trunnion and lower socket. Excess oil, dirt, and grit should be wiped out whenever trailer is uncoupled.

And from the install guide for the round bar WD systems:

LUBRICATION
1. Place several drops of oil at spring bar / ballmount contact points. Excess oil, dirt, and grit should be wiped out whenever trailer is uncoupled.

[SteveC7010]

And for the Dual Cam sway controls:

MAINTENANCE:
1. DO NOT – use grease on the cams or cam arms.
2. If noise of the system is offensive, a very light coating of lubricant such as Vaseline may be used on the portion of the cam where the spring bar rides on the cam. Tongue weights in excess of 1,200 lbs. may require the use of such a lubricant to prevent excessive wear.
3. Keep all painted parts painted to prevent rust and maintain a good appearance. (Do Not paint over labels)

[fla-gypsy]

Perfectly normmal and never lubricate the friction bar of a sway control system, only the ball sockets unless otherwise indicated by the manufacturer.

[Htfiremedic]

When we towed our first TT(used and owned by the Aunt) it had the WD hitch chain locks welded to the TT frame. We accidentally over tightened the chains and bent them. There was no give on the TT in turns.
That being said, the noise was horrific and the popping was dad gum loud! After that was solved and the parts replaced, we did not re weld the brackets and greased them lightly on a regular basis. Seems to help.

[Ken / Claudia]

Thanks again for your information. I got a sheet on the Reese WD hitch and will lube as mentioned.
I took trailer back to dealer for warranty fix's it is about 10 miles away with 8 on a freeway. I left off the sway bar to see what it would be like. I had very little noise from the hitch area. I think I will try adjusting the sway bar at different levels. With my truck/trailer I might not need a sway bar but will use it anyway. All of the crashes I investigated with a Trailer that the driver lost control and flipped the vehicles in windly conditions NEVER had a sway bar.