Creaking, groaning hitch

Hooks and stabilisers get dirty from time to time with road grime etc.  All the advice about regular cleaning is sound and you seem to have solved the problem?  An anecdote.  Many, many years ago (1981 I think) we had one of those bulldog stabilisers with a spring like bar which linked to a fitting by the tow hook on the  car.  We were returning from Venice and near Cortina in the Alps when this grating sound came from the rear when we went round corners.  Thinking it was the tow bar loosening I took it apart and refitted it (we often fitted our own tow bars in those days!), grating sound remained.  So removed the stabiliser and it went!  So took stabiliser apart, cleaned it and refitted - all OK.  So linking to your current  problem, 99% (no 100%) sure that cleaning the pads and ball will have cured your problem.

Last year when in France we noticed horrible sounds from the hitch. They started when we had driven over a newly resurfaced road and some tar or some other foreign material had found its way onto the ball and/or the alko hitch. Cleaned both with degreasant and problem solved.

Moral of story.....always keep your balls clean!

There are still quite a few old style hook ups on the older vans that do need grease.     Those with friction pads don’t.

When I first discovered the problem someone in the know, in the Lake Garda area, advised white spirit, but all I had was Aramis after shave, but it worked!

After that I always kept a bottle of white spirit in the car to clean both tow bar and pads regularly.

BillC