Anyone who has ever pulled a trailer or used a receiver-mounted rack knows how annoying it is to hear the incessantly repetitive clanking and rattling of the hitch or rack shank as it’s jostled around within the receiver’s loosely fitting tube, especially on trips that last hours or even days. A bouncy, empty trailer is typically the worst offender. When there’s a motorcycle or other hefty payload back there, the noise is reduced somewhat by the additional tongue weight holding the shank down more consistently against the receiver’s floor, but most bumps in the road will still set off an obnoxious burst of cacophonous reverberations. The clever folks at Hitch Clamp apparently wondered, “Why not just solidly fix the offending shank inside the receiver tube from the start?”
This is one of those inventions that does something so straightforward, it’s hard to understand why it hasn’t been universally adopted or wasn’t part of the original device’s engineering. Sometimes, genius is seeing an obvious solution that was hiding in plain sight. The Hitch Clamp combines the awesome power of two “simple machines”—the Screw and the Lever—to firmly secure the shank within the receiver. Once in place, it mimics the aforementioned tongue weight, except it’s not intermittently released by road bumps, suspension oscillations and load shifts—clanking wobbles are eliminated permanently.
Now replaced by the Heavy Duty version (identical in design), the Standard Duty Hitch Clamp I’ve used for many years is comprised of a two-piece, black-zinc-coated steel frame, outfitted with an also zinc-coated 1/2” tensioning bolt (5/8” on the Heavy Duty model). Sized for a standard 2” Class III receiver setup (which actually has a 2-1/8” internal cross section), one piece of the Hitch Clamp’s frame is a 1/4” thick open rectangle that surrounds the shank right outside the mouth of the receiver. The second piece, a 3/8” thick plate (1/2” thick on the Heavy Duty model), passes through a slot in the bottom of the first piece and extends upward to press against the shank’s lower surface. The tensioning bolt threads through the second piece from below to contact the bottom of the receiver. By tightening this bolt, leverage is exerted as the second piece, with its upward extension serving as a fulcrum, draws the hitch down against the receiver’s floor. A lock-nut prevents the bolt from backing out. Elegantly simple and totally effective! (Notice the durability of that black zinc coating in the photo compared to the deteriorating painted surfaces of my receiver tube and hitch shank.)
Hitch Clamp also offers an alternative, called the Cross Clamp, which pairs a right-angled, 1/2” diameter U-bolt with a solid steel 1” diameter bar (all zinc-coated). The threaded ends of the U-bolt pass through the bar, and nuts (with washers and lock-nuts) tighten the assembly around the shank and receiver tube, with the bar across the top of the shank and the U-bolt angled back a bit to catch the receiver’s lower lip. The result is equivalent to using the Hitch Clamp, but the more primitive Cross Clamp is a bit fussier to mount (though it can be installed or removed without separating the shank and receiver). You might assume the Cross Clamp is more economical, but within a particular size it costs virtually the same as its steel plate cousin.
The Cross Clamp is available in a full range of sizes: 1-1/4” (Class II receiver), 2” (Class III receiver), 2-1/2” and 3” (for newer trucks outfitted with a Commercial Duty Class V receiver, with or without a 2” or 2-1/2” reducer sleeve), carrying MSRPs from $26.95 to $35.00. The Hitch Clamp comes in just 1-1/4”, 2” and 2-1/2” sizes, priced from $24.50 to $35.25. Note that one of the 2-1/2” models is made for use with a 2” reducer sleeve. All but the smallest Hitch Clamp are now classified as Heavy Duty. Given that my old Standard Duty 2” Hitch Clamp has proven plenty stout for use in numerous challenging applications, the Heavy Duty versions should be completely reliable in any reasonable deployment. Unless you just really enjoy tightening numerous nuts and need to be able to install and remove your anti-rattle contraption without separating the shank and receiver, I can’t imagine what advantage the Cross Clamp has over the Hitch Clamp. I can, however, imagine a disadvantage: it’s not theft-proof like the Hitch Clamp is when used in conjunction with a locking hitch pin; if the shank can’t be removed, the Hitch Clamp can’t be, either.
There are similar devices on the market, and I’ve occasionally seen homemade alternatives fabricated by DIY-inclined trailer owners. Other options may be less expensive than those from Hitch Clamp, but the USA-made Hitch Clamps appear to be especially sturdy and well-crafted, and seem well worth the few extra bucks. They easily handle the forces generated by a motorcycle trailer or across-the-frame bike-hauler, there’s only one bolt to tighten, and—if you use a locking hitch pin (as you surely do with such valuable cargo in tow)—the Hitch Clamp is impossible to steal. Its price is a bargain when you consider the value of peace and quiet on your way to and from the shop, a bike purchase or a riding event.