Anybody Grease Their Hitch Ball? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 09-20-2019, 02:53 PM   #1
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Anybody Grease Their Hitch Ball?

Got the tip of the week from E trailer on rust. It mentions of greasing the hitch ball. Never done it. Sounds like rubber gloves and paper towels mess...

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-rust-pr...Prevention-edu

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Old 09-20-2019, 03:17 PM   #2
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I do. Eliminates one source of hitch noise. No mess, no gloves, just a napkin- always have a supply in the car. Dip, wipe, dispose, easy. I remove the stinger when we unhitch.

You don’t have to buy the expensive Reese stuff. Any white lithium grease will do. Doesn’t take much, a small container lasts forever.
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Old 09-20-2019, 03:18 PM   #3
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I use a spray can of white lithium grease.
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Old 09-20-2019, 04:04 PM   #4
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NEVER

Grease is a mess. I only lube on long trips and then only with waxed paper folded twice to give me four layers.
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Old 09-20-2019, 05:02 PM   #5
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We plan to use T-9, good protectant and less messy.
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Old 09-20-2019, 06:40 PM   #6
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I use a squeeze tube of white lithium grease before every trip. To keep the mess down, I cap the ball with a tennis ball with a slit cut in it whenever it's not hitched. The grease seems to really cut down on noise and wear on the ball.
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Old 09-20-2019, 09:21 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Justus C View Post
I use a squeeze tube of white lithium grease before every trip. To keep the mess down, I cap the ball with a tennis ball with a slit cut in it whenever it's not hitched. The grease seems to really cut down on noise and wear on the ball.
This is the best answer. ^^^^^^^^

I too, use a squeeze tube of grease that looks like a toothpaste tube. I never have to touch it and it only needs it once in a while. Then a ball cover stops it from getting on clothes when unhooked. Grease significantly reduces wear, especially if using a WDH, and works much better than thin sprays, like WD40. A cast steel coupler, like a Bulldog coupler, can really grind on a ball.

WD-40 or equivalent is a good thing to spray up into the coupler mechanism to keep it freed up, and to keep it from rusting.

I keep a small bucket in the back of the truck with WD-40, a squeeze tube of Quicksilver Extreme grease, a spray bottle of Windex (for windows and hand washing after fill-ups), paper towels, and the ball cover.
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Old 09-20-2019, 10:09 PM   #8
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Smile Ball grease

I actually use a small, emptied toothpaste tube from the dentist. I filled it with white grease, squirt a pea sized portion on a finger, rub it over the ball.

When not in use, I cover the hitch ball with a tennis ball with a hole drilled in it with a hole drill.
I cleans the ball occasionally and regrease.
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Old 09-21-2019, 07:02 AM   #9
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Anybody Grease Their Balls?

I have a tennis ball, too, but prefer to remove the stinger entirely, since we access the cargo area of the tow vehicle frequently in camp. With or without grease, it’ll give you a nasty bruise on your shin.
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Old 09-21-2019, 07:41 AM   #10
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Anderson makes a greaseless hitch ball I've used for about 5 years without issue. Top half is a hard plastic that can be replacesd altough I haven't had to yet. Replacement tops available on eTrailer although I bought the ball on Amazon to find one wiith the treaded bottom.

Doesn't address the shin-busting issue but the grease mess and noise is dealt with.
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Old 09-21-2019, 09:23 AM   #11
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[QUOTE=mosquito13;755924]Got the tip of the week from E trailer on rust. It mentions of greasing the hitch ball. Never done it. Sounds like rubber gloves and paper towels mess...

Yes, do it. That jar of grease is just the right size to fit over a 2" ball.
dab some on the top, and spread it around the sides.
Get a Ball Cover to place over it when unhitched.
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Old 09-21-2019, 09:50 AM   #12
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Yes, but

I always grease my ball with a dab of white lithium grease, but I go one step further and grease the inside of the ball receiver on the TT tongue. At least with the grease up in there, it isn't all over my pants like the grease on the ball always is. I've started removing the stinger part of the hitch with the ball and keep it under the front of the TT to keep the cussing to a minimum from when I would invariably walk into it sticking out in back of the truck. ... Jim
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Old 09-21-2019, 09:58 AM   #13
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Greasing ball hitch

Metal on metal with grit from the road will wear your hitch ball the coupler cup. It is quick, easy, and does not need to be messy. I use a manufactured hitch ball cover that cost around $4 dollars and it is easy to put on and take off with no mess. It is best to use a grease and not an oil as the grease helps to suspend the grit better.
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Old 09-21-2019, 01:30 PM   #14
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I use a small dab of pretty much any grease I have open at the time and cover the ball with a storage/freezer type zip lock bag when not in use (the storage bag is heavier and won't break open). The advantage of a bag is that it will stick to the grease on the ball and and allow me to handle the stinger by the ball and not make a mess. Occasionally, I will clean the ball off and reapply clean grease.

I tried going greaseless for a while a few years ago and all it did was wear the ball and cause it to clatter on every bump. Let's face it, your balls perform better when lubed. Nobody wants to see chafed balls or listen to their balls chattering for hours on end.
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Old 09-21-2019, 03:21 PM   #15
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At the end of the season I spray the stinger and coupler with Carburetor cleaner and wipe it down clean for the winter as we don’t go south in the winter. Trailer is kept inside. In the spring I use some tube grease inside the coupler and along the hemisphere of the ball. Then a little shot of Tri Flow on the area where the over center coupler lock pivots. Mid season I clean everything up and relube to get any abrasives that have ended up on the ball and coupler cup and front edge of of the coupler that can put a nice horizontal grease stripe on your pants. I’ve handled trailer setups like this for 50 + years so probably won’t change much now.
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Old 09-21-2019, 06:36 PM   #16
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I use a teflon spray. I think it came from PB Blaster. It goes on wet and leaves a nice dry coating of friction-resistant plastic. It does NOT keep me from barking my shin on the hitch-ball, nor from dirtying up my chinos on the ball, either. I also spray it up into the receiver.
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Old 09-21-2019, 07:26 PM   #17
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A random thought about using those plastic ball covers to keep the grease contained: Before the first use, poke a small hole or knife slit in the top of the cover which will break the suction that'll fight you when you go to remove the cover.

Although I've seen some with what looks like a pocket along the side to help pry it off with a flat blade screwdriver.
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Old 09-21-2019, 08:26 PM   #18
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A random thought about using those plastic ball covers to keep the grease contained: Before the first use, poke a small hole or knife slit in the top of the cover which will break the suction that'll fight you when you go to remove the cover.
Good idea. They are hard to get off because of the suction.
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Old 09-21-2019, 08:48 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by mosquito13 View Post
Got the tip of the week from E trailer on rust. It mentions of greasing the hitch ball. Never done it. Sounds like rubber gloves and paper towels mess...

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-rust-pr...Prevention-edu

We grease the ball and the sway bar balls every time we hitch up. We wipe them all clean with a paper towel when we arrive at our destination. We have a little bottle of grease like a medicine bottle and keep it in with our leveling boards. We used to not do that and the ball really started wearing.
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Old 09-21-2019, 10:53 PM   #20
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I used to grease the hitch ball but got tired of getting it on my clothes. It also picks up dirt and become an abrasive. I bought a hitch ball with a nylon top that does the job without grease. The top can be replaced when it wears. I can’t remember the brand.
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