to grease the ball or not

[michael_h]

should one use grease on their tow ball or not? I haven't only because the dealer said it wasn't necessary. I did on my trip to the grand canyon and it seemed to quiet down some of the noise I hear when turning corners

[slow]

Yes you should. Never a good idea to have two metal parts rubbing against each other without lube. Not only will it wear the surfaces, but as you said, it is noisy.

[deadeye]

When we had a tag along I would put a double layer of a plastic bag over the ball. Kept the ball and myself clean while providing lube to the ball & hitch.

[SLIMSHADIE]

X2 and I keep a ball cover over them, when not towing. Somebody posted they cut a water bottle and made it fit.

10515

[fla-gypsy]

Yes, I use the Reese Teflon ball lube.

[Desert185]

If you don't grease the ball there is considerable spalling of the metal that occurs. I also lube the manual crank and ball lock mechanism occasionally with PB Blaster or LPS 2.

[GaryWT]

I generally don't and have not had issues but as you can see, many swear by it.

[gearhead]

Neversieze. Nickel. Nuclear Grade.
One can will last a lifetime.
I wipe it off after towing. It is very difficult to wash off your hands and clothes.
That is a good thing.
Sometimes use Pennzoil Marine grease, or both.
And, no spalling to report. Since I have a stainless hitch ball, no galling either.

[hankaye]

Howdy All;

When I had my TT I used Liquid detergent on the ball and for the L-Brackets
on the Equ-lizer, grease for the hand crank jack & PB Blaster for the hitch
lock mechanism.

hankaye

[denverpilot]

When we had a bumper tow we always lightly greased the ball, and covered it with a sliced open tennis ball.

[Desert185]

Neversieze. Nickel. Nuclear Grade.
One can will last a lifetime.
I wipe it off after towing. It is very difficult to wash off your hands and clothes.
That is a good thing.
Sometimes use Pennzoil Marine grease, or both.
And, no spalling to report. Since I have a stainless hitch ball, no galling either.

A one pound can of Never Seez is $91. I still have a partial can (a real metal can) of Permatex anti seize I bought when I was a kid. Might use that first...:)

[Lic0rice]

I used this dry lubricant on both my blue water sailboat, my fishing boat trailer hitch and on our CNC machines that are used in woodworking. No buildup and works well.

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/mclube--sailkote-dry-lubricant--P000318230

[geeman]

Dry ball can actually have enough friction and torque on it to start turning loose. Grease it and save the headache. Agree on some sort of cover when not hitched.

[audio1der]

Hmmm. I had a friendly "threat" from my parts dealer about lubing the ball saying it would trap dirt and grind away at the inside of the ball coupler. But the arguments presented above make sense. Maybe I'll try cleaning & greasing the ball one direction, and dry the other to see/hear the difference.

[mfifield01]

White Lithium spray is what I use.

[gearhead]

About any lube should work.
I do occasionally degrease my trailer hitch.

[texhater42]

Howdy All;

When I had my TT I used Liquid detergent on the ball and for the L-Brackets
on the Equ-lizer, grease for the hand crank jack & PB Blaster for the hitch
lock mechanism.

hankaye

I thought you weren't supposed to lube the L brackets on the equalizer

[UsTwo]

White Lithium spray is what I use.

This I use also. a couple times a year...If it gets really dusty out I will also give it a shot of WD 40.

[hankaye]

texhater42, Howdy;

I thought you weren't supposed to lube the L brackets on the equalizer

What can I say; http://www.equalizerhitch.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=52

I found (when I was an OTR driver), that liquid soap works great as a lube.
and washes off when you go through a puddle. Doesn't collect dirt either,
again it washes off ...

hankaye

[kfxgreenie]

Depending on weight and hitch setup. Be done with it forever!

http://www.andersenhitches.com/Product.aspx?Id=39

[MarcS]

I thought you weren't supposed to lube the L brackets on the equalizer
My WDH has grease zerks for the equalizer bars.

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[LarrySharon]

I am new to towing. What and how do you grease the trailer coupler? Do you use wheel bearing grease I figured that I would put some on the ball would that grease the coupler. I just can't find good info. thx

[the sodfather]

I've started using Dollar General dish soap on my L brackets and hitch head bar mounts on my Equilizer hitch. It is SO much quieter. AND I notice no performance difference. The soap idea is gtg!

[MarcS]

I'm going to try a little grease on the hitch ball next trip out as I am having a terrible time getting the hitch ball released from TT.

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[Big Boy w/ Big Toys]

Use motorcycle chain lube. It dries to a nice waxie coating and it doesn't get on your clothes after dried but provides plenty of lubrication.

[xrated]

Metal to metal fitment of the ball to a trailer hitch is NEVER a good idea. Always apply some kind of lubricant when there will be a metal to metal contact if there is movement.....as ALWAYS is the case with a trailer coupler to the ball connection. Imagine putting a new wheel bearing in, and not lubricating that metal to metal connection..whether it would be a roller bearing or needle bearings. It probably wouldn't last a mile or two. The trailer coupler a a ball are similar...metal to metal, except there obviously isn't as much movement there as there is in a wheel bearing so, it just takes longer to ruin something with the coupler/ball connection without grease/lubricant.

[Tbos]

I'm going to try a little grease on the hitch ball next trip out as I am having a terrible time getting the hitch ball released from TT.

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I had a similar issue. Use lube on both the hitch and the hitch ball. I found the secret to releasing it was after removing the WD bars I start applying upward pressure to the release as I lower the jack back toward the trucks natural height. Wearing gloves helps. It works every time.


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[xrated]

I'm going to try a little grease on the hitch ball next trip out as I am having a terrible time getting the hitch ball released from TT.

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One of the big reasons for not being able to get the coupler to release from the ball of the T.V. is that the wheels of the trailer not chocked well enough and the trailer is still trying to roll forward or backwards. This causes the coupler to not be perfectly aligned over the ball, thus trying to pick up the ball/truck/tow vehicle. Having the ball/coupler greased will certainly help with this, but not as much as proper alignment will.

[PT RV`er]

I use wheel bearing grease on my ball hitch as well as my WDH bars. Makes a whirl of difference.

[Dodgeman]

I do not grease the ball my reason may be stupid but I use my hitch as my backup ground blinking trailer lights means ground wire is broken and hitch is acting as the trailer ground blinking trailer lights is better then no lights. I do live in Michigan snow and slush corrode wire connection pretty easy. You can see lights blinking in mirrors so you fix when you get home.

[xrated]

I do not grease the ball my reason may be stupid but I use my hitch as my backup ground blinking trailer lights means ground wire is broken and hitch is acting as the trailer ground blinking trailer lights is better then no lights. I do live in Michigan snow and slush corrode wire connection pretty easy. You can see lights blinking in mirrors so you fix when you get home.

I'm at a loss for words.........other than fix your ground and grease the ball!

[Dodgeman]

I do fix when I get home.

[xrated]

That is certainly a step in the right direction, getting the ground connection fixed properly through the use of the trailer/truck electrical plug. Also putting lubrication of some type on the ball/coupler connection will certainly make system last longer without fear of damaging the coupler of the trailer.

[Tbos]

I do not grease the ball my reason may be stupid but I use my hitch as my backup ground blinking trailer lights means ground wire is broken and hitch is acting as the trailer ground blinking trailer lights is better then no lights. I do live in Michigan snow and slush corrode wire connection pretty easy. You can see lights blinking in mirrors so you fix when you get home.


Are you saying the ground on the TT is bad or is it the one on the TV?

[Dodgeman]

Travel trailer Doesn't happen often more with older trailers. Haven't you ever seen a trailer utility, to a semi trailer, and everything in between every time they hit a bump the lights blink.

[Dodgeman]

Usually the problem is where trailer grd at the frame before going to truck, utility trailers in pig tail at trailer of plug of tow vehicle water gets in the plug of truck driving in slush going down road.

[Tbos]

Usually the problem is where trailer grd at the frame before going to truck, utility trailers in pig tail at trailer of plug of tow vehicle water gets in the plug of truck driving in slush going down road.



I understand now. A long long time ago in a galaxy far away when
I was a kid my family had a pop-up. We always had issues with the clearance lights.


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[gearhead]

A pop-up with clearance lights, hmmmm.
I wonder why?

Dodgeman you might have to use dielectric grease. Really.

[Tbos]

A pop-up with clearance lights, hmmmm.
I wonder why?

Dodgeman you might have to use dielectric grease. Really.



Good question. What can I say it was in a he early 70's.


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[Blackbears]

We could likely debate forever what the best option is for lubrication. However, metal moving against another metal under assumed conditions will always create friction + heat = wear. We don't want that so I will lubricate.