grease the hitch ball?

[Fyddler]

There is an adjustment?

[The Tin Tent]

I have pulled a lot of trailers, a lot of miles both privately and at work and I've never greased the ball. I do not like the mess, or the hassle of a cover. But I suspect that this is one of those things that varies depending on where you live. It is very dry here, so things do not rust very fast. Where it is very humid and/ or there is a lot of salt maybe the ball and hitch rust, causing noise and wear.

A dry film lube would be my choice if I had to lube the ball.


~Alden

[48Rob]

Carl is right.

Grease can be "pushed away" and not do a lot of good.

However, because I know I'm going to get dirty today doesn't mean I'm not going to take a shower...

There are no containment seals on a fifth wheel plate on a semi, yet they grease them before every trip.

There are no containment seals on the pivot pins on my backhoe, but if we don't grease them every couple days, the pins and bushings wear badly, requiring replacement.

There is a tremendous amount of friction/wear between the ball and fixed forward and top portion of the coupler, and the adjustable "lock" part of the coupler.

Couplers and balls can wear to the point that the lock no longer "locks" and the trailer can come free of the ball.
Most people don't notice wear as there is usually enough tongue weight to keep the trailer and ball together.

There are many trailer manufactures who include greasing the ball in their manuals. I've never found one that says "you shouldn't".

Rob

[Midget]

I've never put grease on the ball. I don't think we tow enough to cause much wear anyway. I've looked at the ball and it doesn't show much wear.

[bdosborn]

I have a can of motorcycle chain lube I keep handy and spray the ball every trip.

Bruce

[bdosborn]

But another topic for discussion...and maybe more important...how many people adjust their hitches for the correct tightness on the ball?

I do.

Rob

Me too...

Bruce

[campmaster-k]

I grease my ball hitches and when at camp or someplace where the balls are exposed I just wipe them with a paper towel. There is plenty of grease up in the hitch to keep it greased for the trip.

I am a greaser .

[wagondude]

I am a greaser .

Grease for peace!

[Jiminsav]

I didn't grease, but with the big traileer i got, i now grease..

[KCStudly]

I grease, and I adjusted the std ball hitch on my boat trailer when I installed it. At each hook up I try to assess the state of fit between the ball and socket, and I have never needed to adjust it (although there is probably only 3 or 400 miles on it).

Like Kirk said, it's easy to wipe the grease off of the ball if you are just loading or unloading something, and there is plenty of grease in the socket. I'll do this if the ball has gotten dirty, too, before recoupling. Don't want grit accelerating wear.

Like Prohandyman, when not in use I have a nylon tool bag intended for a Rigid 4-1/2 inch grinder that I keep my draw bar in with a rag wrapped around the ball to keep the bag from getting all greasy.

I like the idea of the dry film lube, but didn't have any on hand at the time. Maybe I will switch the boat over to that.

TPCE is getting a swivel style coupler, and is completely different. I intend to use dry film lube between the pins and bronze bushings.

[pete42]

Having worked in maintenance for 41 years a little grease goes a long way.
all of the trailers I have towed since I began pulling them have had the hitched adjusted to fit the ball
and I have always greased the ball, both gives me peace of mind, metal to metal causes wear.

my friend just bought a used car when I tried to open the gas cap filler door it almost bent the
hinge couple of squirts of lubricating grease and it now works super smooth.

[Corwin C]

Tiny (pea sized) dab of grease distributed on wear points of ball (shiny spots - each ball/socket combination will be a little different) ... it doesn't take much, there's really not a whole lot of movement there, but there is quite a bit of force which will cause galling. Wipe it clean when I unhitch AND before adding grease when hitching (both ball and socket). Any residual grease will pick up dust and dirt and act as an abrasive. If you don't keep it clean, you might as well not grease at all. I have grease in a "toothpaste" type tube to make it clean and convenient.

Also, read and understand how to adjust your hitch. If it's anything but snug, smooth, and silent I would suggest that you check the adjustment. If you have rattles, bangs, thumps, squeaks, etc. from any hitch component, you may have a potentially serious issue which needs attention.

[Wolffarmer]

I grease mine when I think of it. But after you have done it once there is usually some still in the trailer part to do a pretty good job for a long time. I do not like the dirt sticking to the grease when the trailer is off so will look to see if it is to groddy for my tastes. I welded up a tongue handle for the trailer so I am not as tempted to grab hold of the coupler to move the trailer. But any whoo. Grease will make it last longer and tow quieter. No grease and you can probably wear out something in about 50,000 miles. Specially if it is not adjusted correctly. No to loose, not to tight.

Randy