Grease for hitch balls

[Wagtail]

^^^ Very good point about spray-on oil/lubricant... gravity takes hold and these 'penetrating' products do what they're advertised as doing.

So we're talking about a wee dab of grease, smeared around/over the ball.

There's a couple of Similar Threads below, by the way.

 

[Imold]

In 40 years I have never put grease on my ball or coupler on any of my trailers although I have put grease in the receiver area so the ball hitch does not rust in it being I never remove it unless I sell the vehicle.
Guess in at least Mn you are not supposed to leave the ball hitch in the receiver if you are not towing. Oh well.

Jim.

 

[Monster5601]

Fluid Film is likely better than nothing.
However, a much heavier grease is desirable.
If you could pump Fluid Film into your TLB zerk fittings, would you consider them adequately lubed?

I think your comparison is an apple to oranges comparison.

Fluid Film is used on, for example, three-point attachment points and no one ever suggested that wasn't a good idea and grease should be used. I've used Fluid Film (you should read the uses paragraph) on my three-point, ball hitch points both gooseneck and bumper pull for years with success. I also use Fluid Film to lubricate the slide rails of my fifth-wheel sliding hitch with equal success. If I wipe the ball clear, there are no witness marks, I call that success.

 

[prof fate]

I've seldom used anything that had a hitch ball and when I did I didn't put grease on it. For a long time I didn't even know I was supposed to. What kind of grease should I use?

boat axle/wheel bearing greese - it's waterproof.

 

[fried1765]

I think your comparison is an apple to oranges comparison.

Fluid Film is used on, for example, three-point attachment points and no one ever suggested that wasn't a good idea and grease should be used. I've used Fluid Film (you should read the uses paragraph) on my three-point, ball hitch points both gooseneck and bumper pull for years with success. I also use Fluid Film to lubricate the slide rails of my fifth-wheel sliding hitch with equal success. If I wipe the ball clear, there are no witness marks, I call that success.

I see my "comparison" as metal to metal,...... with constant wear while trailering.
No apples or oranges involved.
While the ball will certainly wear down over time, without adequate grease, the coupler may actually wear out faster.
"No witness marks"?
When unhooked, do you put your head under the coupler to inspect for wear?
Nobody does!

 

[ArlyA]

I suspect trailers with higher mileage and tongue weight, will see more serious ware. I've got a stick of some kind of waxy grease and maybe I'll put a dab of it in the campers coupler...

 

[Diggin It]

PB makes a couple of stickier products in spray cans. One is a chain and cable lube, the other is a garage door track lube. I spritz the inside of the coupler assembly on the trailer with whichever of those I have handy at the moment to keep it free, but nothing on the hitch ball.

 

[CobyRupert]

Well I used to be one who never used grease on any of my trailer hitch balls, ....Then one day I noticed my hitch ball was having the nut work loose when i pulled the trailer even though I had tightened it with a 3/4" drive large length breaker bar socket.
...
From that day on...I have greased the ball with grease and I have never had a hitch ball work loose again on me so I will continue the practice of using grease for this safety reason alone!

Are you saying: Grease on the ball hitch helps prevent the nut on the shank from working loose.
I wonder how?

 

[aczlan]

Are you saying: Grease on the ball hitch helps prevent the nut on the shank from working loose.
I wonder how?

It's to make up for a lack of the proper torque on installation of the hitch ball.

Aaron Z

 

[TMGT]

My larger ball is greased, smaller 2" isn't. My big trailers can have 2k plus tongue weight and 18-20k trailer weight. The ball I use isn't chrome and the couplers are cast rather then stamped. I was starting to see wear on the ball so I started keeping them greased as much as I hate having a greasy ball on the back of my truck.
I dont think the people using the hard chromed balls and stamped couplers in lighter trailers would have as much wear showing, especially if they don't tow often.

And I had a gooseneck that would loosen the ball even when torqued to spec if the ball was dry, of course it also had around 8k pin weight sometimes so it lived a hard life.