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Old 10-24-2006, 01:49 PM   #1
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Ball Grease or Not?

OK fellow Airstreamers, need your help. We have been using teflon ball grease for the past two years on our hitch ball and our Reese weight dist. bars. So have many of our fellow AS'ers. Well yesterday my very good friend Don (you all know Don don't you?) stopped by one of the RV centers here in CT and they advised him to never put any type of grease on his ball.

Well, we would love to hear from the rest of you on what you do to keep things smooth?
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Old 10-24-2006, 02:22 PM   #2
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Thats a new one on me. did they offer any explanation for this advice?

you should NOT put any grease on the cams of your dual-cam hitch. that works by friction....grease defeats its function. If the noise it makes when you turn bugs you, Reese says you can put vaseline on the cams, which isn't all that slippery...not enough to impede its functionality, anyway. I've done that, and its amazing that it really works. But no grease on those.
for the trunion heads, they recommend a couple of drops of machine oil...like 3-in-1 oil.
and just so ya know, I'm just parroting Reese's recommendation. not my "opinion."
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Old 10-24-2006, 03:47 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickandsandi
... and they advised him to never put any type of grease on his ball.

Well, we would love to hear from the rest of you on what you do to keep things smooth?
Their purported advice is wrong. The ball needs to be greased as well as only the areas Chuck mentioned.

Perhaps their advice was misunderstood/misreported.

Tom
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Old 10-24-2006, 03:53 PM   #4
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Rick, One good long trip with no grease and I can gaurantee you will be needing a new ball. The one that is used without grease will gaul very badly. It is possible, and no I'm not saying it definitely would happen, but it is possible that a ball can be worked loose by running it with no grease. The Reese people make the wonderful Teflon grease for our safety and to protect our equipment (as well as to make a profit). They would not make much money making a product for an application that you should not be using it on! Oh, and by the way, the surfaces that will gauld your ball will need replacement as well.
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Old 10-24-2006, 04:04 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by steelbird312
...Oh, and by the way, the surfaces that will gauld your ball will need replacement as well.
And that's the kicker. Karma to you, steelbird, for pointing that important fact out.

Tom
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Old 10-24-2006, 04:42 PM   #6
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Well done my fellow Airstreamers! I was positive that greasing one ball was the correct thing to do. I guess I just needed to hear it from my friends.
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Old 10-24-2006, 06:17 PM   #7
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Quote:
One good long trip with no grease and I can gaurantee you will be needing a new ball.
Have you noticed how many folks don't grease the ball and get along just fine? For years? And many miles?

I used the Reese Hitch Lube over two years and got more galling on the ball than running dry. I have also used wheel bearing grease and other concoctions. I have seen reports from the wax paper and zip lock bag advocates, too.

I also understand the concern about the ball receptacle but I seldom see anyone replacing that. The only significant wear item there seems to be the ball latch.

What I do like to do is to clean the ball and the coupler with a paper towel and then use a spray on silicone or teflon lube -- that more for keeping the dirt out than lubrication.

I don't really see much of a downside to lubing the ball except for my personal experience. I do wonder about the conviction and emotion that is shown here on the topic, though.
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Old 10-24-2006, 06:31 PM   #8
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I was told to never put grease on the ball. It is part of the friction system for the WD hitch.
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Old 10-24-2006, 06:34 PM   #9
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I have towed over 5000 miles this year with no grease on my ball. It has held up fine. Until the truck rolled and pulled itself out of the tongue.
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Old 10-24-2006, 06:38 PM   #10
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I've had a hitch ball gall from lack of grease and also ruined a set of EA-Z-Lift torsion bars by not greasing the ends. A synthetic bearing grease like Amzoil won't turn into white snot like most regular grease. I'm guessing the teflon grease Reese sells is similar to the white tefon grease bike shops sell for bearings. It too is waterproof. Besided the galling an ungreased unused ball will rust. That's not good!

The down side of grease is that 1) it can make a mess (old tennis ball or flamingo hitch cover ) and 2) the grease attracts dirt which can muck up the works worse than anything. The white teflon grease is nice in that it cleans up readilly. Good old WD40 is a good cleaner and protectant but a lousy lubricant.

I'll have to reread the instructions for my Reese trunion bars. I could have sworn they recommended greasing the ends where they insert/twist into the hitch head. Could be wrong or maybe they've changed the recommencation. I know they've changed their tune about leveling via bar tension.

-Bernie
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Old 10-24-2006, 07:44 PM   #11
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Where there is friction you need grease to slow wear and decrease noise. We have always greased our tow ball and associated heavy used towing equipment. Never have had a problem.
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Old 10-24-2006, 07:59 PM   #12
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From Reese website

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQs

What kind of maintenance do I need to do to the weight distributing hitch
WDH and sway controls?

Lubricate the ballmount sockets and spring bar trunnions to prevent rapid wear. When hooking-up, place one drop of oil on the top and a second drop on forward side of upper trunnion. Place a third drop on the rear side of lower trunnion before inserting trunnion into ballmount. Use a heavy oil such as "REESE ON THE BALL". Don't forget to lubricate the hitch ball with one or two drops also. Trunnion should be lubricated each towing day. It is not necessary to unhook the spring bars however, as there are two oil holes in the ballmount top plate for upper trunnion lubrication. Lubricate lower trunnions with one drop at contact point between trunnion and lower socket. Excess oil, dirt, and grit should be wiped out whenever trailer is uncoupled.

Can I grease the Dual Cam Sway Control (DCSC)?

Do not grease the cam and cam arms. The Dual Cam was designed to use metal-to-metal friction. Heavy greasing of the cam and cam arm surfaces with affect performance. If noise is offensive, a very light coating of lubricant, such as Vaseline, may be used. Tongue weights over 1,200 lbs. may require a light coating of grease to reduce friction and prevent excessive wear. The Dual Cam Sway Control DCSC is not to be lubricated on the cam arms when the tongue weight is under 1,200 lbs. Instead you will want to apply a thin coat of a petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline. This will act as a poor lubricant, but works well to dampen the sound. For trailers with over 1,200 lbs. tongue weight you should apply a couple of drops of an 80/90 gear lube to the cam arm to prevent excessive wear caused by the increased tongue weight.
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Old 10-24-2006, 08:06 PM   #13
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Uh, oh. Here comes a story...

My dad moved mobile homes in the late 60s and early 70's, back when the idea was that a mobile home should be mobile. Many of them belonged to folks in the military. These would have the wheels still on them (or stacked up under a tarp) when he came to move them. He would always pack the wheel bearings, inspect the tires, and put a good slobbering of the wheelbearing grease all over his ball before taking off.

Like many others, he had an International Transtar with a big gas engine, huge gull-wing hood, and a dual-wheel single axle.

The rear frame could slide in and out to increase or decrease the wheelbase. Being short was necessary to tow one of the new 60 footers and stay within length requirements back then. The hitch ball could be moved up and down and was attached to a tall gas tank/tool box mounted right behind the cab. When the frame was extended, the tool box and the gas tank moved aft as well. It also rode noticeably better when it was extended.

It was a cool truck when gasoline was cheap.

Lamar
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Old 10-24-2006, 08:21 PM   #14
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I towed a gooseneck horse trailer for years and followed the mfg recommendation to grease the ball. I picked up my new AS and the ball was greased by the dealer. Who am I to argue with the experts. I personally keep the ball greased ( and clean !)
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Old 10-25-2006, 10:01 AM   #15
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The service manager didn't mention greasing the ball when I picked up my new Airstream and he installed my Equal-i-zer hitch on it and my truck. I guess I need to confirm with him. I have pulled over 4,500 miles now and the chrome has worn off of the ball in a ring, but there is no pitting. Is that gualling?
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Old 10-25-2006, 10:13 AM   #16
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When I bought my AS earlier this year, the dealer's shop supervisor told me to never ever grease my Equalizer hitch b/c that would make it ineffective. Completely dry, the trailer and hitch sounded like an old creaky battleship trying to dock - it was loud enough that people looks at us oddly when we pulled into camp. Also, after a couple of short trips, my trailer ball was gouged/galled, whatever you want to call it. Clearly something wasn't right.

Just by going to the Equalizer website I found the correct instructions showing that the hitch should be greased. I now grease the ball/hitch religiously and everything is great.

Goes to show that the so-called experts can be wrong and give you poor advice sometimes.
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Old 10-25-2006, 10:56 AM   #17
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Grease mixed with dirt = lapping compound, which will accelerate wear.

Each travel day I clean the ball and the trailer's socket with paper towel and WD-40. Then I lube the ball with wheel bearing grease. Even with care after 4 years the ball is wearing and due for replacement.
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Old 10-25-2006, 10:59 AM   #18
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dbradhstream, I have been advised to grease the spring bar brackets where the spring bars ride to eliminate the noise you mentioned and to grease the sockets/pivots in the hitch head but no mention of the ball. The only thing I have seen about greasing the ball was on an RV show that said greasing the ball would cause dirt to collect on the ball and cause gauges in the ball or pitts to occur that could cause the sand particles to wedge in them and cause the ball to turn and become loose.

On another show the "RV doctor" demonstrated how loose the ball could become and then recommended lots and lots and lots of grease on the ball. So much that he must have put a 1/4" thick all around and told the owner to do this every time they towed. This left me confused!

I have a tube of the socket grease from Equal-i-zer so I guess I'm going to have to get some teflon grease for the ball this weekend.
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Old 10-25-2006, 11:43 AM   #19
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One of the guys at my dealership advised against lubing the ball. He said most folks don't keep it clean and the junk that gets embedded into the lube does more harm than good.

I thought that sounded pretty good but after one year of towing the Classic this way, the ball got chewed up pretty good. My neighbor who is a tool and die maker also noted that that damage to the ball would also shorten the life of the mechinism that clamps onto the ball itself.

So I got a new ball, went back to using my Reese teflon lube, making sure to wipe off the old stuff and relubing with clean before each trip. I've been doing this for 2 years now and the ball is still smooth.

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Old 10-25-2006, 12:10 PM   #20
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If there was a lube that didn't attract dirt that would be ideal. Unfortunately with the loads involved I don't think there is such a product. Having a chromed ball certainly helps prevent rust and in it's self presents a smooth relatively low friction surface. One big advantage I think is that it's easy to clean off. I think that's the big attraction I see in the white teflon grease too.

As far as dirt acting as a lapping compound that's not the end of the world. Lapping is something that's done to smooth out irregularities or remove minute amounts of material so that things slide easier. Where I would be most concerned about the dirt and gunk buildup is in the mechanism on the trailer tounge and other enclosed places.

With the EA-Z-Lift and copies of that style the spring loaded pins on the hitch head and the grooves on the torsion bars are very susepable ot wear. They're also hard to keep clean so you really need to keep on top of the maintenance.

Has anyone used graphite lube like they recommend for lock cylinders in the mechanism on the trailer? That or some other form of dry lube would seem to be a good solution.

-Bernie
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