Lubricating hitch ball

[Canadian couple 1983]

I was at my RV dealer dropping my Whitehawk off and pointed out some gouges in the ball all be it light 1's I asked if I should be using grease or what.... The guys response was " you don't have to put anything on it, there is grease in e coupler already" too me this seems crazy... Thoughts?

[owenssailor]

I put grease on the ball of our trailer. as far as I know the couple does not come with any grease.

[edowsfamily]

I grease it to even inside the coupler

[Flyrotor]

Seen this discussion a few times over the years, most people do not add grease to the trailer ball, a lot of people do, argument follows the line of grease is messy, dry will take forever to wear out the trailer ball and/or the hitch.

I agree, the dealer was speaking incorrectly, even if there was grease there at one time, it doesn't last forever.

If you are willing to put up with the grease, lube it heavy, otherwise for infrequent towing (normal camping usage) you probably won't harm anything

Personally, I like to spray it often with WD-40, it's not messy, it provides a light lubrication and makes me feel better.

[mcfarmall]

If it moves, grease it. Put a cover on it when you drop the TT. I use a mushroom can, cheap and plentiful.

[Seann45]

Grease is good but gets on your pant leg latter. WAX PAPER is great cut a squ just big enough to fit over the ball add a second sheet and drop the hitch on the ball. This works GREAT leaves no mess later the only thing you have to do is reach up into the hitch head and take out any bits that got ripped up. Of course new sheets next time you tow.

[eldermike]

Seann,

I always were shorts. Just kidding.......Wax paper, I might try that.

[Canadian couple 1983]

Thanks guys is there a specific grease to use? I do have axle grease would that work? And I will totally try the wax paper

[owenssailor]

Last year I used lithium. This year I'm using the grease from equalizer. It is in a nice handy little tube. When the trailer is unhooked I place a ball cover on. I swing the bars back parallel before removing them to cover the greased swivel points. The hitch stays on the truck except for auto car washes.

[clutch]

I usually use motorcycle chain lube in a spray can. It is tacky and doesn't get hot and run.

[slabat]

I have never greased either one in all my years of towing trailers. I come from a family of truckers and farmers and none of them have ever used grease either....not saying that truckers and farmers are the smartest people in the world

[mcfarmall]

Any grease will work just fine. There is no need to worry about thickener compatibility, drop point or any other of the complexities that surround lubrication. You could use bacon grease if that's all you had. Vaseline works too. Go to your favorite farm, home improvement, or good old Wal-Mart and pick up a tube of the cheapest stuff they have and it will do the job nicely.

[Redhorse 823]

Originally Posted by Canadian couple 1983

SNIP... pointed out some gouges in the ball all be it light 1's I asked if I should be using grease or what.... The guys response was " you don't have to put anything on it, there is grease in e coupler already" too me this seems crazy... Thoughts?

I have 2 thoughts on this
First the gouges in the hitch ball were probably not caused from towing but hooking up
Second, if the coupler is greased you will be fine. If being the big word here. If it was greased you would see residue on the ball.


IMO grease the coupler with cheap grease

[TCNashville]

I grease mine with wheel bearing grease. My hitch stays on the truck during camping and is locked into the receiver via a hitch lock. I cut a Diet Pepsi can in half and place it over the greased ball, it stays there even going 80mph. Plays havoc with the backup sensors though.

[Jagiven]

Grease is GOOD. When we first got our HTT, after a few trips I noticed the same gouges you are talking about. I also had a lot of noise and banging from the hitch. I use tube of high temp bearing grease, and I slather it on the ball quite generously. What I found, it eliminated most of my hitch noise. When I grease the Equalizer WDH pivot points as recommended I now have absolutely no hitch sounds. When the HTT is uncoupled, I place a red Solo cup on the ball. It fits perfectly.

[Seann45]

when I got my Hensley Arrow hitch one of the statements in the install manual was to grease the ball ..

[Camper_bob]

I use general marine grease, because that's what I have (used to own a hole in the water). Apparently it has the added benefit of being a little more "sticky" so it stays where you put it better. I tried spray-on white lithium grease before the marine grease; it worked, but not well...

I started greasing mine because the ball lock on the tongue was getting stuck. I greased the ball and it worked its way into the lock, and voila, no more stuck lock.