Coupler wobble

[danlott]

I have wrapped black electrical tape around mine in the past. Works great.

Dan

Ditto, 'cept I used red duct tape. Put it on in 2008 (maybe early 2009) & after 4yrs it's still working great. Have towed the TD, boat, & couple of utility trailers many thousands of miles, silently...

Duct tape works well too. I used the electrical tape, because that is what I had with me when I got tired of listening to the rattling.

Dan

[stumphugger]

If you want to go faster, use duck tape with printed on flames.

The gold colored tape is for wrapping presents.

[doug hodder]

Cuz I'm lazy...if you leave the coupler in the receiver and it gets full of crud...the rattling stops. Doug

[mary and bob]

Careful Doug, you can start a whole heated debate about leaving the ball mount in and it becoming a shin buster

[milliejohn]

tyu

[doug hodder]

Careful Doug, you can start a whole heated debate about leaving the ball mount in and it becoming a shin buster

Yer right...but I couple a trailer up at least once a week so putting the hitch in and out every time is a nuisance. I have a 6th sense now about not hitting it. As a side note...people should put a lock on them...it's an easy item to steal, for lowlifes.

I had also assumed that people were talking about the fit of the ball to the trailer, but when I see the pics provided...that's how I address that issue, for the coupler on the trailer...I adjust the nut on it. Doug

[canned o minimum]

My VW bug has a semi-permanent hitch on it. My toyota truck has a removable one, but... I love leavin em ON the vehicle for them knuckleheads that like to tailgate .. caught more than one on my hitches ... causes a real BIG hole in a radiator, and...protects the rear of my vehicles a bit more...

[Dale M.]

IF you use camouflage tape nobody can see it..... And its a receiver and drawbar or ball mount not "THE" coupler....

Dale

[2bits]

what are we calling a coupler? I thought the coupler was on the trailer and accepted the ball on the drawbar or ball mount that slips into the vehicle receiver hitch, I'm in the USA, and that's the way I've called it for over 50 years.

If I had a drawbar that fit so loose that I needed to address it, I would either weld it up and grind to fit my 2" receiver, or find one that fit firmly, I measured all the drawbars I use and they all were within 2.000 inch +/- .015 inch

I think the original post was pretty clear, so lets not get all picky

[milliejohn]

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[Dale M.]

Hey guys! My coupler moves just a little bit inside the receiver and it drives me nuts, I keep thinking the hitch isn't tight enough on the ball and keep being nervous about the trailer going flying off! Of course that's the first thing I checked and it is set good but it still freaks me out when I hear that noise. My tongue weight is only about 60-70lbs so that probably contributes to it, but this allowed me to pick it up and see exactly where it is coming from and yup, the coupler is just about a 16th of an inch too small and moves just enough to make a clunk when I hit a bump. I never noticed this before on my other vehicles, is there a fix or is this just the way it is? Maybe just get a new coupler? It's a brand new hitch on the truck.

Actually the whole terminology and parts mixup starts right here.....

Dale

[Nobody]

Really, Harvey? Red?

Red duct tape should only be used for racing applications! Since our campers are usually registered as utility trailers, the choice of duct tape color is either grey or black.

Blue or green is for boat trailers. Yellow for backhoes and bulldozers. White or beige for larger camping or travel trailers (pay attention, Thomas). Choose brown if you are only planning to haul a$$.

Sorry for the hijack, but I couldn't resist ( and i am now going out to wrap some duct tape on my hitch to quiet that annoying rattle i have live with for 10 years! You people are geniuses!).

Weellll Tony, it is a red truck...

[2bits]

Thanks to everyone who provided answers to my question, I'll try the method of putting tape around the square thing that goes into the square hole seems the simplest and cheapest way to go. If anyone else has this issue, I hope this thread is helpful.

[bobhenry]

Since it's not structural, I wouldn't hesitate to cut a little scrap wood into a thin wedge and drive it in there with a mallet to stop a rattle

Must be the carpenter in us. That's exactly what I did. Tapped in a builders shim and the rattle between the reciever and the draw bar was no more!

[danlott]

Rgearudesls if he cllaed it a cuolper or a rceievr or a dwrabar we siltl fgiuerd out waht he manet.

Glad we were able to help.

Dan

(Yes, I know most of the of the words are misspelled in the first sentence. You can still read it and understand it.)