Blue Ox Hitch Question

[Hans627]

We will be leaving on a 600+ round trip in several days. This will be our first trip of this distance with the BO hitch. My question has to do with greasing. How often should the bars be greased? Looking for input from those with experience.

The hitch has 1000# bars and I'm towing a 25FB.

Thanks!

[MacPDX]

I grease mine prior to starting on a trip. I typically travel 2-3K in a trip. I used to carry a grease gun, but never felt the need to grease while on the road.

I also grease the ball.

[PKI]

We do not grease the bars. We leave the socket dry. Some folks put a bit of grease on the u-bolt to chain contact area. We have not.

We do grease the nipples that lubricate the bar pivot housings. Give them a shot every time you have the bars off and can swivel the nipples out to access them (more often = less grease and less often = more grease on each application).

Use a paper towel to remove excess grease that is forced out of the housing so you keep it off your pants. It does not lubricate anything and just makes a mess.

Also grease the ball while you are at it. Saw a fellow using aluminum foil to cover the ball when not in use. There are also rubber/plastic ball covers that do the same function. We just cover the hitch assembly with a garbage bag and zip it into a carry bag.

We've run as far as 2000 miles before adding grease, but 500 is about right. We had a bit of popping earlier this year, but are not experiencing that issue and it may be because we are greasing a bit more often due to shorter trips.

Edit - we purchased one of the mini grease guns. It almost fits in a gallon zip lock bag and that helps control the grease.

Travel safe. Pat

[AWCHIEF]

I inject grease in the zerk grease fittings at the beginning of each trip as suggested by BO, wiping away excess grease. Also wipe the ball down with a glob of moly lube as needed. Other than that no other lubrication needed in my opinion. I do need to break down the system and give it a paint job. Getting a bit rusty in spots. Picked up a can of Rust-Oleum Hammered Dark Bronze 258199. Looks to be very close match to the original finish.

[HiJoeSilver]

I grease mine after each full day of driving. About 4-6 hours. So if I pull for a full day then take it off while camping I'll grease it when I put it back on. If I have a couple short 2-3 hour days I'll grease it getting ready for the 3rd towing. Also simple to squirt a few dabs from the gun onto the ball head to smooth out its movement and reduce noise and wear from friction.
I take my hitch out if I'm going anywhere without the trailer.
I put a plastic grocery bag over the ball and pivot arms when taking on and off and storing to prevent getting grease on me or all over storage compartment.
When I first got it I gave it a few squeezed on each zirc fitting, determined that with my grease gun, 3 squirts would get grease coming out of the top and bottom openings. So since then I usually put in 2 squirts. Still have to wipe a little bit of squeeze out from use. Keeps things nice and smooth. You don't need to apply copious amounts of grease, or try getting so much that you're flushing it through. Just enough to keep the metal surfaces coated.
I bought a mini grease gun at NAPA for less than $15, came with a mini tube of molybdenum grease. The recommended molybdenum grease bonds to the metal better than the lithium grease you see.
The mini grease gun is really easy to use and greasing the hitch takes less than a minute, so it's really easy preventive maintenance.
Target and some grocery stores sell Hefty zip lock 2.5 gallon slider bags. Great for many uses, holding the grease gun and a a few extra mini tubes of grease is one of them.

[Tincampers]

BO recommends greasing the hitch via the grease nipples every 1000 miles. You do not grease the bars. Keep them clean. Grease the ball.

[A W Warn]

The owners manual says grease each use.
Look at page 10.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...lC1fPw&cad=rja

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by A W Warn

The owners manual says grease each use.
Look at page 10.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...lC1fPw&cad=rja

I use mine 100% of the time. It's pretty much been in use for 14 months! Could have sworn I read 1000 miles somewhere.

[phann]

Even though the BO literature recommends greasing each time you reconnect, that seems like extreme overkill. Im doing it about every third disconnect or about 600 miles of travel.

[Rgentum]

Alta & I returned from the Lewisburg, WV rally several weeks ago --- 9,000 miles in 6 weeks. I greased the two Blue Ox fittings before leaving Seattle & after coming back home. The two fittings seemed well greased & rotated easily after the 9,000 miles but did take a couple of squirts of grease. I do grease the trailer ball every time I put the trailer on the truck --- and cover the ball with a rubber cover otherwise.

A different Blue Ox issue: upon releasing the chains, they get hung up on the inside of their receptacles, & I've had problems releasing the chains with the simple bar provided by Blue Ox without getting whammed by the bar when the chains do release, often quite suddenly: BOOM, WHACK, OUCH. That problem was solved by getting a 25 inch breaker bar from Harbor Freight ($12) & a 1-inch, 6-point, 1/2-inch deep socket from O'Reilly's auto supply ($8).

[BASE729]

Not sure if its recommended... but I can lift the trailer to the point where I can rotate the cam unit with the supplied tool with zero resistance.... just lift the chain off. To do this I leave the Anderson Leveler tire replacement unit on its side under the tongue to give me extra height. It only took two hard releases to figure out another way.

Basically the tool just gives me leverage to rotate the cam since the chain is slack prior to trying to rotate.

[AWCHIEF]

Eaz of Hook up and release depends on the angle of the TV in relation to the trailer. A steep angle makes it difficult. Often I wait until I pull out of the spot to level ground before hooking up the chains or unhooking chains before parking. Lessons the load on the jack. I still use the socket and extension method because I do not like having my fingers that close to the moving brackets and chain or having my face right over the bracket. Early on in using the BO I did have a bracket fly loose once and the damage done to my face was not pretty. Still a bit gun shy to say the least. Lessons learned the hard way tend to stick the longest. Everyone has to learn what works for them.

[Jekerrville]

AWCHIEF, thru his posts have proven to me he has forgotten more than I may ever learn. I have taken his experiences to heart and it has proven very effective.

Using this we have had no issues hooking up and unhooking out 28' with the BO levelers.

Additionally, we give a shot or two to the zerts during the Annuals and simi-annuals on the trailer. The BO works well and we don't end up with a trail of grease in the TV or the AS.

Otherwise, supplies, little mothers wine and hit the trail.

Still trying to figure out why the BO hitch has to weigh more than the trailer

[Tincampers]

We lost our wrench at Stanly Lake in Idaho and did not have a 1" socket. I had to raise the tongue high enough to turn the latches by hand. Next stop was to buy a 1" socket to go on the breaker bar.

Don't try to release the bars while they are under a lot of tension, you can break things that way.

[toothpull]

I think hitching the BO head been discussed. The best way to hitch is to use your jack to raise the tongue way up while attaching your bars. This is the technique advised by BO. I raise mine high enough that I can almost place the bars by hand.... no need for a lot of muscle to do the job and far safer. Your jack is designed to handle the weight.... give it a try

[HiJoeSilver]

Your jack is designed to handle the weight.... give it a try.

Don't do it if you have a 3000 lb Atwood jack. It tends to break the jacks lifting the back of the tow vehicle. If you do, do it just slightly to get some but not all the tension out.

[JCWDCW]

I only grease twice a year, but if I have been in a really sandy dusty area I will re-grease when I get back home to flush out the grit.
I always use the jack to ease the tension. I have a Hensley and use the hand crank to tighten the bars rather than an electric drill.
JCW

[PKI]

Notice - there is a Texas dealer that had three old style BOSP hitches in stock. Do not purchase these. One was recently sold to a customer who thought they were getting the new hitch. The old design has an adjustable head, a solid shank, and side tilt chain tighteners. Get latest version of hitch. You will be much happier. Pat

[kmclaren]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

I inject grease in the zerk grease fittings at the beginning of each trip as suggested by BO, wiping away excess grease. Also wipe the ball down with a glob of moly lube as needed. Other than that no other lubrication needed in my opinion. I do need to break down the system and give it a paint job. Getting a bit rusty in spots. Picked up a can of Rust-Oleum Hammered Dark Bronze 258199. Looks to be very close match to the original finish.

How did the painting with Rust Oleum work out. My sway bars are rusted and am thinking of doing the same thing. Thanks.

[JCWDCW]

Rustoleum is a good paint choice. It does have one downside, and that is that it weathers and develops a chalky finish after some time. Still, it sticks to things like hitch parts and frame without extensive prep and undercoat.
JCW