Grease or No Grease?

[banderabob]

Had a discussion with another streamer about greasing certain points on the WD system. He says the only thing he greases is the hitch ball. I do that, plus all contact points on the weight bars both at the hitch and the trunion system. Which is correct?

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by banderabob

Had a discussion with another streamer about greasing certain points on the WD system. He says the only thing he greases is the hitch ball. I do that, plus all contact points on the weight bars both at the hitch and the trunion system. Which is correct?

The spring saddles should be coated with vaseline. It will keep it quiet, but is a poor lubricant. You want friction between cam and spring saddle. Grease the trunnions and ball.

[CRH]

I grease my ball and trunnions....Both of my trunnion heads have holes above the trunnion. One of the heads says "oil" at the hole.

[cliffcharb]

I used grease once on the saddles and that was it. Too messy, moved to wd40 when they start to get noisy. Might go back to grease because after 3 years my saddles are starting to wear.

[Silver Goose]

Originally Posted by cliffcharb

I used grease once on the saddles and that was it. Too messy, moved to wd40 when they start to get noisy. Might go back to grease because after 3 years my saddles are starting to wear.

We take the travel part seriously in our “travel” trailer and sometimes log as much as 15,000 miles in a year. Walmart and others sell white lithium grease in a spray can with a tube like WD40. A quick shot on the cams keeps them quiet without providing excess lubrication that defeated the purposes. I also prefer the white grease sold by Reese in a convenient plastic jar. I wipe off the ball and put a light coat on the upper half of the ball that contacts the coupler. While there, I also place a dab in the trunnion sockets where the pressure is placed when hitched up (upper forward and lower rear).

Over time, the round cams will wear a pair of flat spots as the trunnion ends move back and forth. This is normal. When the wear becomes excessive, simply remove the cams and flip them to the other side and readjust the turnbuckles so that the trunnions fit squarely over them with the trailer and tow vehicle in perfect alignment. That will give you double life for the cams before thinking about replacing them.

[ROBERT CROSS]

I would think that 'friction' sway control needs friction to operate properly.

This tag was on the anti-sway bar on our first AS...

Bob
🇺🇸

[Life is a Highway]

We have an Equalizer hitch.

Was set up and delivered with the bolts not torqued correctly 60-62 ft lbs and no grease. When we pulled into a campground people would come out looking for the snap pop crack creak and groan noise. VERY EMBARRASSING!

That night wife and I got out the PDF instructions. Next day we torqued the bolts to spec’s and applied the equalizer hitch lube ( provided ) to the locations as per instructions.

I also put a light coat of grease on the ball.

No more noise. We just came back from the mother ****. From Florida to Ohio and back. No noise at all. Funny how the manufacturer knows what works.

[Gulliver72]

We have the same Reese system you have.
Went one day w/ no grease....wore off 1/16” of steel
Never again dry. White lithium grease all contact points. Clean and replace every 1k mi +\-.
No noise, no wear, very happy.
18,000 mi and counting 😃.

[thewarden]

Reese recommends no grease on the spring saddles as it will defeat the purpose of the sway control provided by the friction of the bars in the saddle. Reese goes on to say that a little vaseline can be used if you want to quiet them down. A good lithium based grease on the ball and the bars on the hitch is all that is required.

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by Life is a Highway

We have an Equalizer hitch.

Was set up and delivered with the bolts not torqued correctly 60-62 ft lbs and no grease. When we pulled into a campground people would come out looking for the snap pop crack creak and groan noise. VERY EMBARRASSING!

That night wife and I got out the PDF instructions. Next day we torqued the bolts to spec’s and applied the equalizer hitch lube ( provided ) to the locations as per instructions.

I also put a light coat of grease on the ball.

No more noise. We just came back from the mother ****. From Florida to Ohio and back. No noise at all. Funny how the manufacturer knows what works.

Bracket Jackets will solve most of your noise problem without the mess of grease ...

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by Gulliver72

We have the same Reese system you have.
Went one day w/ no grease....wore off 1/16” of steel
Never again dry. White lithium grease all contact points. Clean and replace every 1k mi +\-.
No noise, no wear, very happy.
18,000 mi and counting [emoji2].

My spring bar saddles had rough casting/forging surface imperfections which caused point loading and rapid wear. I took a dremel grinding drum and smoothed out the roughness. Not only stopped the wear but created a much larger contact patch, which presumably would provide more friction. Seemed to help with noise as well. I used vaseline per reese, no grease.

[Life is a Highway]

Originally Posted by mefly2

Bracket Jackets will solve most of your noise problem without the mess of grease ...

Had them installed day 1 not a bit of difference. That area should never be greased. I love the jackets have a spare set.

The problems was on the stinger side. Bolts for the bars way! overtightened and not a bit of grease as per the instructions. Tech claimed you never ever grease. Call the Equalizer was NOoooooooooooo why we sell equalizer grease

It’s all good now!