Greasing the hitch and ball

[Civilguy]

I lube the ball with grease. I personally can't imagine that grease holding sand on the ball could be worse than running bare metal-to-metal all the time. Ours howls if we do run it dry. I guess if I were towing off road a lot, or someplace with a lot of windblown sand, I would consider periodically cleaning and regreasing the ball.

The wax paper idea sounds intriguing. I've pondered trying to use paraffin recently since reading two articles concerning tests of bicycle chain lubes. The article indicated that paraffin was the most efficient lubricant, and that it demonstrated the best longevity to boot.

As regards anti-rattle devices, we experienced a lot of "clunks and thunks" when we started towing the Casita. So, I bought a StowAway hitch tightener, anti-rattle stabilizer. It seems to be well built. However, and perhaps surprisingly, this device initially had no observable effect whatsoever. However, after I actually went ahead and installed it on the tow vehicle some two years later, the difference was a night and day improvement!

Now, rather than unbolt the hitch tightener, we typically leave the ball mount installed between tows. We use a vinyl ball cover to avoid contacting the grease. For whatever reason, we haven't banged into it, at least not yet. If we did, I'd consider making a padded cover just to avoid having to uninstall and reinstall the hitch tightener all the time.

I had to chuckle at the eTrailer recommendation to use a hitch cover to keep moisture and road debris out of the receiver opening. As our tow vehicle receiver tubes have all been open on the front side, under the vehicle, it might actually be best to install it there on the forward side. I guess an alternative would be to only drive in reverse when not towing.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

I had to chuckle at the eTrailer recommendation to use a hitch cover to keep moisture and road debris out of the receiver opening. As our tow vehicle receiver tubes have all been open on the front side, under the vehicle, it might actually be best to install it there on the forward side. I guess an alternative would be to only drive in reverse when not towing. [emoji57]

Even if it’s closed on the other end, aren’t there always 2 holes for the pin? And even if you sealed those, are any of the caps really waterproof?

Best to let air circulate freely and touch up the paint periodically.

Sand in the grease... never heard that mentioned before. We do camp at the beach and in the desert. When it looks dirty or feels gritty, I just wipe off the old and start over. No biggie.

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Steve L.

A few years ago I bought an Andersen greaseless 2" hitch ball. The top half of the ball is a (replaceable) nylon cap. It has worked very well and I've seen no excessive wear so far. Pretty quiet as well. No grease on it to speak of, just whatever came off inside the hitch.

I don't have the Anderson hitch but I wanted to try the hitch ball.

The only way to go!

About $20 and guaranteed for your life!

Enjoy,

Perry

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by cactus-terry

Does anyone grease the hitch and the ball? I see post on other trailering sites where some do, some don't. Also, if you do, what do you use and do you clean it off and reapply before each use? Do you cover it between hitching up time?
I currently grease mine up and cover it up with a tennis ball when not in use.

We use white lithium grease on our ball. We wipe it off when we unhitch. We put a very light coating on the ball, on the trailer hitch and on the anti-sway bar balls. It keeps them from wearing so much. We carry paper towels to do this.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

FYI, WD40 is NOT a lubricant. It is a penetrating "oil" for loosening stuck parts.
Walmart sells a hitch ball grease, in a small jar.
Main thing is to not over do. They also sell a plastic cover that you can press over the ball when unhitched to keep your pants clean.

Wayne,

A penetrating "oil" is a lubricant. Oil lubes. WD 40 leaves an oil film behind that lasts for a couple of months, at least. Try it and you'll see what I mean.
The purpose of spraying a "penetrating oil" on the moving latch mechanism is that the parts rust and don't work as well over time. WD 40 loosens the mechanism and makes it work much better after a dusty trip through the desert or after a winter of slush and salt on the road. It stops the rust. It displaces water. It rinses out dirt. It cleans the contacts on the 7 pin plug for better electrical contact, and it makes the plug insert into the socket easier.

Grease, is for the ball, not the latch. Penetrating oil is for the latch and hinge mechanism.

I've been spraying WD 40 on my trailer mechanisms for decades. Read here for its formulation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

Here is a quote from the attached link: "Function[edit]
The long-term active ingredient is a non-volatile viscous oil which remains on the surface to which it is applied, giving lubrication and protection from moisture."

I have lots of grease in stock for various purposes, including lubing the tow ball. Axle grease is an excellent choice, especially one with moly, or one designed for marine use that is water resistant. Any kind of grease is much better than no grease. I don't see the value in buying a special grease for hitch balls. My current favorite is one that comes in a plastic squeeze tube, like a toothpaste tube, for outboard motor prop splines and shift linkages. Very convenient and never a mess.

I always have a small bucket in the bed of the truck that contains a can of WD40, a small squeeze tube of grease, a partial roll of paper towels and a spray bottle filled with Windex. The windex is mostly to wash my hands, but is also for the windshield and headlights.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

As regards anti-rattle devices, we experienced a lot of "clunks and thunks" when we started towing the Casita. So, I bought a StowAway hitch tightener, anti-rattle stabilizer. It seems to be well built. However, and perhaps surprisingly, this device initially had no observable effect whatsoever. However, after I actually went ahead and installed it on the tow vehicle some two years later, the difference was a night and day improvement!

Very funny. Thanks for that!

I discovered that some of the stingers, or ball mounts, are slightly smaller in diameter than others, and rattle more. I've made sheet metal shims to reduce the problem on some. Then, I tried another method and installed a 5/8" hardened bolt as the pin and tightened the nylock nut enough to squeeze the tube a bit. This eliminated the rattle. It also may encourage anyone considering "borrowing" my stinger to look for one easier to remove.

Previous to that, I ran a weld bead around the face of the opening of the hitch socket. Not around the circumference, and not inside the receiver, but on the rear facing thickness of the receiver hitch tube. This shrunk it enough that the receiver could not rattle.

[Glenn Baglo]

Quick quiz. What smells worse than WD-40? Nothing.
I'm using Jigaloo for the same purpose.

[Cory Hilby]

Originally Posted by Carl Pa

I use a anti-rattle device also, along with the stinger with a piece of metal inserted the same diameter as your pin. I forget what the hitch ball is called. I got it at E-trailer. Cuts down on the noise.

Correction- I got it at Amazon. It is called the cushioned ball mount. Works well. Pricey though,but i got it with $$$s off

I used dryer sheets for some years. Work great. Not messy. You've got to watch them or else they'll blow away, however. Eventually I kept forgetting to use them so I greased the ball good so now every time I hitch up everyone who sees my hands KNOWS it. Keep the ball in a plastic garbage bag sort of under the back seat of the car, easily accessible.

[Raspy]

Thanks Glenn,

I can hardly wait to try that on my rubber trailer ball. Or the leather one!

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Thanks Glenn,

I can hardly wait to try that on my rubber trailer ball. Or the leather one!

I don't understand this comment, since metal is indicated.

[Raspy]

My father used to put a steel wool pad in the coupler before setting it on the ball. The theory was to increase the electrical conductance to the trailer when the hitch was used for the 12 volt negative connection in the wiring. It seemed to work just fine for that.

[Glenn Baglo]

Here is article from Popular Mechanics that is worth a read, just for the humour.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/car...of-lubricants/

[Raspy]

Fishermen on old fishing trawlers have a lot of corrosion issues with steel parts around the boat. Lots of working mechanisms get rusted up, seized, and look terrible.

A common and practical solution to a seized block and tackle, or swivel of some kind, is to dip in sea water and bang it against something to jar it loose.

It works. But in theory, is the worst method imaginable. Soaking a steel part in salt water to free it up? What!?

So, what does "fixed" mean? Does it mean something is fixed forever, or that it is fixed for now? Does fixing something have to mean it is the absolute best method that can be imagined in a perfect world, and will last forever? Or does it mean you get the job done, when you need it to be done, and with materials readily available? Can something be considered "fixed" if it requires regular maintenance and only lasts until the next time you need it, when it will have to be fixed again?

The flickering flashlight is the perfect example. Haven't we all smacked a flashlight with our hands or banged it against a surface to make it get brighter? Is that fixed?

I recently fixed my thermostat by installing new batteries. Just yesterday, I fixed a pneumatic stapler with a new part, identical to the broken part I took out. Are the thermostat and the stapler fixed?

Since nothing lasts forever, how long does a "fix" have to last to be considered a fix? How perfect must the materials used for the fix be, before the fix is considered valid?

I think fixed means the thing works until the next time it doesn't work. And a good fix means the next time will be farther away than it would be with a poor fix. Or, a good fix might mean an easy fix.

Whipping out my WD40 and fixing my coupler latch mechanism only takes a few seconds to complete. Many years form now, my great grandchildren probably won't notice any benefit from that task. But the thing will work fine for more than the duration of my camping trip and I will be relieved of it's annoying corrosion and stickiness issues for that period.

Maybe I should learn more about oil before going on a camping trip. But I might put that off and just go.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Raspy

Many years form now, my great grandchildren probably won't notice any benefit from that task.

But, they will notice the smell of WD-40.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I use the same green waterproof ball bearing grease I use for my bicycle, comes in a squeeze tube sorta like an oversized toothpaste tube. I use a blue shop paper towel, squeeze a dab of the grease onto the top of the ball and use the paper towel to spread it evenly around the ball. I use the blue towels because they don't shed paper dust

[Raz]

I started with grease. Concerned with the dirt accumulation I switched first to Super Lube, a teflon based lubricant and Dupont Multiuse, which adds wax to the teflon. Both worked without attracting the dirt but didn't last long. So now I'm back to grease and a tennis ball when unhitched. The grease eliminates the noise and allows the coupler to smoothly drop on the ball. The tennis ball keeps me clean and eliminates most of the dirt issue.

[robertplattbell]

Originally Posted by cactus-terry

Does anyone grease the hitch and the ball? I see post on other trailering sites where some do, some don't. Also, if you do, what do you use and do you clean it off and reapply before each use? Do you cover it between hitching up time?
I currently grease mine up and cover it up with a tennis ball when not in use.

I got tired of Grease getting on everything. When we had our 5th wheel we used to have this plastic disc we bought at Camping World that replaced the grease, which was much cleaner. I got the idea of wrapping the ball in the Walmart bag. Wrapped it around the ball several times then tied a tight knot.

The plastic bag acts as a dry lubricant and prevents the ball from squeaking. I've been doing this for over a year now including our five month trip to Alaska and not had any problems. The bags only last a day or so but there's an endless supply of them.

When I unhitch I tie a new bag around the ball and the white color of the bag reminds me not to bang my shins into it.

[MTRCYCMAN]

FYI
Actually WD40 is designed to displace water. WD stands for WATER DISPLACEMENT. 40 stands for the 40th try. It was never intended as a lubricant. We as consumers decided to use it for that. Years ago, we use to use it on the ignition points when the distributor would draw moisture. It would not be a good lubricant for the ball and hitch.

[Calait]

Since buying a new trailer last year, I have bought both dielectric grease and a proper ball cover will be watching how this helps my towing and the ball last.

[Alli]

We use a new piece of wax paper on the hitch and each sway bar point each time. It works beautifully and there is no mess. Happy trails!