Grease your Ball for wear and tear?

[slowmover]

Buy grease in a tub and wipe the ball clean when you unhitch. How hard is it?

Same for departure. At every one it is required to check lug nut torque and tire pressure. Re grease the ball. Store all those things together. Gloves, paper towels, etc.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by slowmover

Buy grease in a tub and wipe the ball clean when you unhitch. How hard is it?

Same for departure. At every one it is required to check lug nut torque and tire pressure. Re grease the ball. Store all those things together. Gloves, paper towels, etc.

Yep.....every time I unhitch....Once a year.


Bob

[Silverflames]

Also, you can but 2 5/16th hitch ball covers. I put one on mine to keep some Grease on it to prevent rust. Also keeps little hands from getting on it painting grease all over the place.

[jm2]

we use the Reese - Hitch Ball Grease on the ball, and the heads of the WD trunnion bars.

greasing the ball brings the added benefit of keeping the coupler latch lubricated, making it easier to use and minimizing wear.

we store the hitch head coupled and locked onto the tongue, so the grease is not out there to dirty your clothes.

ymmv!

[Dave-Nancy]

It's true. My boat trailer ball was unwinding from a very well tightened, lock washer-ed stinger. Also, the creaking from my originally not greased AS ball-hitch was excessive. We grease and cover for both reasons, plus the Equalizer bar assembly.

[dannydimitt]

Been greasing trailer balls for the last fifty years , have even gone as far as drilling and installing grease zerts on the top of the coupler to be able to shoot a bit of grease into the hitch and ball every couple of days on long trips without having to unhitch. Chassis grease or wheel bearing grease works just fine .

[wolf146]

Looks like the "greasers" win!!!!!!

[perryg114]

Grease is the word.

Perry

[AirEgger]

I use grease, but read a thread that recommended using silicone spray on the ball and a shot into the coupler before each hitch up. Believe the thread was on this forum, but haven't searched. Seems the silicone spray would be cleaner than grease, but don't know if it's better or equal to grease. Anybody using silicone or had experience with it? Thanks in advance.

[slowmover]

The film needs to be thick.

[Bev1940]

Yes Grease the ball. Other wise it does not let the hitch move freely also cuts down on the creaking and groaning of the metal against metal.

[graysailor]

I spray a little Teflon onto the ball when I think of it. Probably needs more attention then I give it.

[JCPOTTERF]

I find maiden oil works best, but there ya go

[rmkrum]

My Austrian grandfather always said, "He who greases, travels..."




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[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Yep.....every time I unhitch....Once a year.


Bob

Bob,

In case you might not have seen it, here is a simple way to grease the hitch ball when you have a Hensley fitted without needing a trolley jack. I did mine this way last time.

(See info below from Hensley.)

Brian




Greasing the Hensley Hitch Ball
may 11, 2013 by hensley mfg. 1-800-410-6580 leave a comment


Hensley Hitch with standard jacks.

I promise to make a video of this soon, but a number of you have asked for instructions on greasing the Hensley Hitch Ball. It’s fairly simple and doesn’t require you to lift the hitch head.

1. Hook up to your trailer. Lock the over-center latches but leave everything else unhooked. Leave the tongue jack down.
Hensely Hitch Detail

2. Unlatch the coupler from the hitch ball.

3. Loosen the strut bars until they’re sloppy loose (if you forget to do this, the struts will hold the ball tight against the coupler and you’ll never get it unhooked).

4. Raise the trailer tongue as if you were unhooking from a standard ball hitch. The coupler should lift off the ball. If it doesn’t come off, loosen the struts more or remove them altogether. If that still doesn’t work, you probably have some rust or dirt in the coupler. Get some WD-40 or rust penetration spray and spray up into the coupler. It will work free. If you lube the ball once a year, you should never have this problem.

5. Once the coupler is free, raise it up until you have room to work on the ball. You can pull the tow vehicle forward if you’d like more room.

6. Clean the ball and inside the coupler. Try to get any dirt or rust out of the coupler.

7. Now grease the ball. Any automotive grease will do. Be generous. You can’t over-grease. Use a rag to wipe it inside the coupler as well.

8. That’s it. Now lower the coupler back onto the ball, lock the latch. Many owners actually put a lock through the coupler latch to prevent theft of their Hensley Hitch. Just don’t lose the key!

9. Tighten the struts again. Remember: they should be even on both sides (count the threads) and just tight enough so that the struts don’t rattle when you try to shake them. Check your struts after the next time you tow, they may loosen as the ball settles back into the coupler.

10. That’s all there is to it! Shoot for once a year with this. Thought the ball doesn’t move much inside the coupler with the Hensley Hitch, it does rotate up and down. If it sits for years without lubing, the coupler may rust and damage the ball.

[guskmg]

All trailers and TVs need to be connected together by a ground so the lights and brakes will work properly. The pigtail serves this purpose. For those who only depend on grounding through the coupler why not grease the ball with silicon dielectric grease, the kind we used to lubricate ignition distributor parts. Permatex still makes it. This will allow the ball and coupler to ground with each other.

[panora2]

I agree with Mark Doane re; unlocking/unscrewing the ball from the hitch pin bolt. We use Vaseline jelly instead of grease. We had a neighbor who drove a semi tractor trailer and he spent a lot of time grease his 5th wheel on the tractor, I see no difference. Ron

[jm2]

sorry, but dielectric grease is insulating, not conductive.

instead, in some cases, you want an electronic connector lubricant, or a conductive grease.

what dielectric grease does includes protecting the metal from dirt, moisture, and corrosion.

these notes may be helpful - Silicone grease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

and Dielectric Grease vs Conductive Grease

[slowmover]

NoAlox is conductive, but not meant for high pressure.

[Kevin245]

Originally Posted by guskmg

All trailers and TVs need to be connected together by a ground so the lights and brakes will work properly. The pigtail serves this purpose. For those who only depend on grounding through the coupler why not grease the ball with silicon dielectric grease, the kind we used to lubricate ignition distributor parts. Permatex still makes it. This will allow the ball and coupler to ground with each other.

Grounding through the hitch is unreliable and dangerous. Slop in the hitch and coupler typically lead to inconsistent grounding which means inconsistent lighting and inconsistent braking. The umbilical is the correct route for grounding.