This is an old topic, but...
I've used the Equal-i-zer Brand 4-point hitch for many years and miles. It's the only one I've used so it's the only one I have experience with:
Whenever my rig was parked with a trailer attached and I was away from it for more than a few minutes, I always did a full walk-around of the truck and trailer to make sure it hadn't been messed with; this includes all of the pins etc. on the hitch. There were always locks on the shank and ball.
When the trailer was disconnected, ALL parts (pins, bars, L-brackets, shank & hitch head) were stored in a locking box at the rear of my truck bed.
Every month or so, my maintenance routine included...
Removing the sockets for the spring arms from the hitch head, cleaning the sockets and hitch head, install the sockets with fresh lube on them, and re-torquing the socket bolts.
A light cleaning (steel wool) of the spring arms and L- brackets and fresh coat of black paint on them; paint was all I used for a lube on them. Freshly painted, they looked better, weren't messy to handle, worked great, and, for a while they were a bit quieter.
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