hi all,
this started happening last year, i get the loud "thump" when pulling away, its only when on level or slightly downhill starts, so i changed the damper rod, but its still the same, the spares shop matched the new rod to the old one, using the numbers on the rods. its fine on braking, no noise at all. but after you brake and pull away ,its there again. going to try and rectify this when i bring the caravan out of storage and park it at home for the season clean and airing, i feel as there may be something missing ,like a rubber damper or something does anyone have a drawing of the alko hitch, and does it show any rubbers?
thanks
Stuart
p.s. on above ,there does'nt seem anything wrong with the old damper either, theres resistance when pushing in ,and it pushes back out slowly
Quote: Originally posted by AndyDW on 24/3/2025
Have you checked the ball and fittings on the car ?
..........
Andy
It's not unknown for tow bar fixings to snap/come loose, and the movement/thumping is not from the coupling itself, but the towbar moving against the car!
Have you checked the grease points on the hitch, i had same and repalced the damper , but was more lack of grease. grease niple usually under hitchm near flixible rubber coupling.
thanks for replies all.
i'm going to check the towbar and ball tomorrow, but i would have thought if it was that , there would be a"thump" on braking as well as accelerating.
i regreased the hitch "slider" when i changed the damper rod
as regards the brake shoes sticking , they wer'nt sticking when i changed the damper rod, because i had the van jacked up ,to change the tyres
hello all again,
i thought i would give an update on this , above a year on, i've brought the van out of storage and temporarily parked it on my front garden so i could work on it again. i removed the complete hitch and drawbar including the damper rod. i took the drawbar tube and drawbar to a local caravan repairers and services, and they couldnt understand the reason for the "clunk" only on pulling away.
so after extensive research i found one place on e-bay that sold a (Alko hitch drawbar damper rubber) its just a flexible silicone clear rubber, and is the correct dimensions to fit the drawbar "50mm" and the tube "60mm" and 10mm thick.
so i sent for this (which was £21 by the way) fitted it ,and lo and behold no more clunking,
i couldnt find an exploded diagram of the drawbar ,or any referance to this rubber anywhere , neither were the caravan shop aware of it, when i showed them it.
hope the link to the e-bay photo works, it may help someone else in the future https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/146786972482?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11996.m144671.l1979........
* This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, as an eBay Partner Network member we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Quote: Originally posted by bofs on 10/5/2026
Congratulations on your perseverance and solving the issue. You must (deservedly) be feeling very pleased with yourself!
yeh thank you bofs, i'm relieved more than anything, that its solved, the original one must have disintigrated then falen off,
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Topic: caravan coupling thumping when pulling aw
via mobile 23/3/2025 at 8:48pm
