Apparatus and method for reducing hitch rattle

In combination,

• a ball mount including a drawbar adapted for insertion in a bore of a trailer hitch receiver tube;
• a silencer assembly that is fixedly engaged with an exterior surface of the drawbar, wherein the silencer assembly is interposed between the exterior surface of the drawbar and an interior surface of the trailer hitch receiver tube that defines the bore;
• wherein the silencer assembly comprises a first silencer member that is fixedly engaged with one of a top surface and a bottom surface of the drawbar;
• and
• wherein the silencer assembly further comprises a second silencer member that is fixedly engaged with the other of the top surface and the bottom surface of the drawbar.

A silencer assembly for use in damping rattling in a trailer hitch assembly, wherein said silencer assembly comprises:

• a sheet of material that is planar and flexible and has an outer surface and an opposed inner surface, a first end and an opposed a second end, and a first side and opposed second side, said sheet of material having a longitudinal axis which extends between the first and second ends;
• a first fold line located a distance inwardly from the first side and a second fold line located a distance inwardly from the second side, wherein the first fold line and second fold line extend between the first end and the second end of the sheet of material and are oriented parallel to one another and to the longitudinal axis;
• a central region located between the first fold line and the second fold line and extending between the first end and the second end of the sheet of material, wherein a first region of the sheet of material between the first fold line and the first side is foldable relative to the central region in a first direction, and wherein a second region of the sheet of material between the second fold line and the second side is foldable relative to the central region in a second direction so as to form the sheet of material into a U-shaped component;
• and
• a layer of adhesive applied over the inner surface of the sheet of material, said adhesive being adapted to secure the U-shaped component to a drawbar of a ball mount that is insertable into a bore of a receiver tube of the trailer hitch assembly.

A method of preventing rattling between a trailer hitch receiver tube and a drawbar of a trailer ball mount, said method including steps of:

• providing a planar sheet of material that is one or more of durable, abrasion-resistant, wear-resistant, ultra-violet light resistant, and sound dampening;
• applying an adhesive to a bottom surface of the planar sheet of material;
• placing the planar sheet of material on one of a top wall and a bottom wall of a portion of the drawbar that is receivable in a bore of the trailer hitch receiver tube;
• fixedly securing the planar sheet of material to the top wall with the adhesive;
• occupying at least part of a gap defined between an exterior surface of the drawbar and an interior surface of the trailer hitch receiver tube that defines the bore;
• and
• reducing relative movement between the drawbar and the interior surface of the trailer hitch receiver tube with the planar sheet of material.

A method of preventing rattling between a trailer hitch receiver tube and a drawbar of a trailer ball mount, said method including steps of:

• providing a planar sheet of material that is elastomeric and one or more of durable, abrasion-resistant, wear-resistant, ultra-violet light resistant, and sound dampening;
• placing the planar sheet of material on one of a top wall and a bottom wall of a portion of the drawbar that is receivable in a bore of the trailer hitch receiver tube;
• occupying at least part of a gap defined between an exterior surface of the drawbar and an interior surface of the trailer hitch receiver tube that defines the bore with the planar sheet of material, wherein a first surface of the planar sheet of material directly abuts the exterior surface of the drawbar and a second surface of the planar sheet of material is adjacent the interior surface of the trailer hitch tube;
• and reducing relative movement between the drawbar and the interior surface of the trailer hitch receiver tube with the planar sheet of material.