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Old 04-07-2014, 07:02 AM   #1
Ram189
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Clunking on stops and starts

I am brand new to the 5th wheel world. TTed for 20 years.

I took my new ride out for the 2nd voyage to try and judge distance, ect before taking a big trip at the end of the month.

When stopping and starting I get a noticeable clunk like the kingpin is riding back and forth in the hitch.

Is this normal or do I have a problem with compatablity between hitch and trailer. Hitch is too big or something??

I would not call the clunk any worse or better than I had with my travel trailer but that was 14 years old and the ball was getting worn so I contributed it to wear and tear.

All my stuff now is brand spanking new so I am minorly concerned unless you guys tell me it is normal.

Thanks
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Old 04-07-2014, 07:46 AM   #2
Festus2
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A certain amount of "clunking" is normal for 5th wheel stopping and starting. There is some movement taking place between the king pin and the hitch and depending upon the design/type of hitch, there may be slight differences in the amount of movement.

On some hitches, there is a bar that slides across keeping the pin in place while on others there are "jaws" that do the same job. Having your TV and 5th wheel out of level may affect the chucking/clunking. It may be that the jaws are slightly better at reducing the movement.

There are some after-market hitches that will greatly reduce this movement - both front to back and side to side. Hitches such as Air Ride, 5th Airborne and Morryde all do a good job of this.

You needn't be concerned but if you find it annoying, looking into one of the hitches mentioned above might be an option.
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Old 04-07-2014, 08:06 AM   #3
oldfamer
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I have one of the hitches with the bar locking device. I have some clunking when starting or stopping. I try to start and stop as easy as possible depending on traffic.
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Old 04-07-2014, 08:59 AM   #4
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I have a Reese PRO series hitch with straight bar and experience little or no clunking. I wonder if the Teflon king pin Disc I have makes a difference. The only clunking I experience I believe is from the small movement of the hitch in the bed hitch rails. Some clunking is normal but excessive clunking can be annoying to say the least.
Steve
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Old 04-07-2014, 09:58 AM   #5
Ram189
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I have the Teflon disc.

From the sounds of it, it is normal noise I am hearing. Just nervous after the first couple of trips and not know what to listen for. I get nothing at all when towing just at a stop and start. Just letting off the gas and coasting or braking a little I get nothing. My hitch has the wrap around jaws also that may cause some of it from the sound of it.

It is annoying though I will say that.
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Old 04-07-2014, 12:33 PM   #6
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Keep in mind that if you are traveling around with an empty trailer it will make more noise. Once loaded with your equipment and what nots, it will be heavier on the hitch and will be a lot quieter.

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Old 04-08-2014, 05:31 AM   #7
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I would check to make sure all of the bolts are tight on the hitch and the pinbox.
We don't get any slop or movement from the hitch to kingpin connection.
The only time we get any 'clunking' noises is when we travel over speed bumps.
Then we will get some movement where the hitch mounts to the rails.
You mentioned having the teflon lube plate - but, you should still grease the kingpin and hitch jaws. FWIW
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Old 04-08-2014, 08:49 AM   #8
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By design, a bit of a clunk can happen due to tolerances between the pin and the jaws. However, you may actually have your brakes set a bit aggressive which tends to exaggerates the clunk.
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Old 04-08-2014, 08:51 AM   #9
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You didn't say which hitch you actually have!!! Some hitches appear to have wrap around jaws...but the jaws only make contact to the king pin at the rear of the hitch.

I am NOT a fan of the blanket statement of "clunk is normal"! I had a hitch that had the "normal" clunk and replaced it with one of the abnormal "Non-clunk" hitches and LOVE it!
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Old 04-08-2014, 09:52 AM   #10
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The hitch is a wrap around jaw style. It is the Mopar branded hitch. Not sure who makes it for them.

Hook up is easy enough and nothing seems to move much when holding the brakes on trailer to make sure the jaws are closed and locked but on stops and starts I get the clunk like it has a little movement in it.
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Old 04-09-2014, 08:19 AM   #11
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You may not have enough pin weight if your trailer is empty and/or you've water in a rear tank. Ours did that a bit on its way home since I asked for about a third of a tank full and it had nothing else in it. Never done it since though.
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Old 04-09-2014, 09:51 AM   #12
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I "tighten" up the rear brakes on the controller last night on a trip back from the shop and it seemed to stop a lot of it.
I am wondering if it was just pushing the truck too much and shifting back and forth on stops and starts. Seemed much better 2 clicks up on the brakes.
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Old 04-09-2014, 04:46 PM   #13
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A MorRyde pinbox will eliminate 90%of this. I could not believe the difference.
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Old 04-12-2014, 12:43 AM   #14
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We had a hitch hiker unit and before we had a mod done it clunked a lot. After an upgrad There is no clunking. Nice difference
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Old 04-15-2014, 04:55 PM   #15
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Did some searching, and what I found is, that Curt makes the Mopar hitches, 20K and 25K. Here is a link to the pdf showing the options--

http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO8...XP8aPSaaKD1lY-
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Old 04-15-2014, 08:17 PM   #16
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Don't know about your hitch, but our former fiver had a bolt in the front of the hitch that you could adjust to take out the slack so there was no clunking. You had to be careful because you adjusted it too tight, the hitch would be difficult to unhitch. But adjusted properly it worked great.
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