Noise level on Unibody vs Body-on-Frame

vijay
vijay
in Trailer & Towing
I just bought my first RV camper - the Tab400 and am a total newbie. During my research, I heard that unibody SUVs transmit the clanking from the hitch making for a noisy ride, while body-on-frame SUVs isolate those vibrations resulting in less clanking inside the cabin.

Do any of you have experience with both a unibody (most modern SUVs?) and a body-on-frame (some of the Toyotas and a few other SUVs) with your Tab400? Was the difference enough to push you one way or the other.

Considering we might spend many hours a day in the cabin, I'd like those long drive days to be as relaxed as possible, which is pushing me towards the Toyota 4Runner, but perhaps I am overthinking this?

Thanks!

Comments

  • Sharon_is_SAM
    Sharon_is_SAM
    Get a hitch tightener and call it a day.  
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
  • pthomas745
    pthomas745
    Something like this.  Your "ball mount" goes into the vehicle's "receiver tube".  There is a tiny bit of space between the mount and the tube.  When you attach a trailer to it, that little space can cause a bit of noise.
    This makes that noise go away.  Still the occasional noise, but 90 percent gone.

    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
  • atlasb
    atlasb
    due to the tongue weight of the 400, have never had hitch rattle.  Did with our 320 though.
    2018 T@B 400, 2017 Nissan Titan Crew cab
  • Denny16
    Denny16
    No, but you can still feel the slack being taken up between braking and acceleration of the TV.  You feel this even with a pickup truck.
    cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
  • Marceline
    Marceline
    I have a unibody SUV. Yes, I had some clanking due to a loose-ish fit between the ball mount I'm using for the T@B (I have another ball mount that has less rattle) and the receiver. I solved it with a hitch tightener. Some people ignore it but I associate the sound with metal fatigue so I wanted to stop it. I've never heard of this being specific to unibody vehicles, and frankly that doesn't make much sense to me.

    San Francisco Bay Area | 2013 CS-S us@gi | 2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab

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