Rattling tow bar advice

[Matt5933]

Hey everyone just wanted to get some advice on a rattle I have when towing with my bf xr6. I tow a jet ski which basically has no down ball weight at all which causes it to rattle on the tow ball when towing. I've adjusted the screw on the hitch to as tight as it can be while still being able to get it off the car. Also have adjusted the trailer to try and get more weight on the ball but the jetski has all its weight in the ****. Someone suggested putting a cloth over the tow ball before hitching it up to stop the banging as I drive. Its not the end of the world but its really annoying having a constant rattling and banging as your driving along.

Does anyone have any remedies?

Thanks

[Silver Ghia]

Perhaps you could put some weight on the drawbar so it pushes down onto the towball. Maybe bolt on a trailer spare wheel or toolbox.

[aussiblue]

Check your tow ball is the right size the metric and imperial sized ones can be close but the few mm difference can make it loose enough to rattle. i.e 2" versus 52 mm the 52mm is one mm bigger.

[Captain Stubing]

Is the towbar one of those square steel tubes that holds the towball, that slot into the towbar frame (receiver), held in place by a big pin?

If so, an extra bolt is needed to be fitted to stop the up/down movement of the towball carrier insert.

Sorry, but I don't know the technical names for these parts....

[aussiblue]

towbar one of those square steel tubes that holds the towball, that slot into the towbar frame (receiver), held in place by a big pin?

Hayman Reese?

[graham7773]

If as swanny says, you have the square receiver (female) type towbar, just drill and tap an accessable hole in the side of the receiver then put a short bolt with a shake proof washer under the head so it clamps onto the male part of the towbar. No more rattle if that's the problem.

[Matt5933]

Thanks for the advise. It isn't a haymen reese style tow bar just a light ford solid bolt on type. Before the falcon I owned a Jeep which the rattle didn't happen anywhere near as bad. Maybe different ride heights or tow ball dimensions. Not a huge problem but bloody annoying, especially compared with the diff bushes that need changing on it. Driving in bumper to bumper traffic my car makes many different rattles squeaks and what not. Thanks for all the advice.

[mike_nofx]

Is your ball 2" or 52mm?

[graham7773]

Just another thought. Or 2. With your suspension problems ie noises etc, the extra rattles may just be your normal rattles made worse by the load on the towbar. Also, have you checked the towbar mounting bolts?

[mickbundy]

I wrapped the tube with insulation tape and jammed it in the tow bar mount this worked for a while. But got squashed when I used it to tow,but solved the problem with out the trailer