Grease or Dry?

[weldingisfun]

Do you put grease on a trailer hitch ball or do you leave it dry?
To me grease on the ball makes sense, what with friction and all.
Please give me the benefit of your experiences or teachings. Thanks in advance to all who respond.

 

[Diamondpilot]

This was covered a few months ago and it seems like the guys who tow a lot do use a lube of some sort. I personally use Reece Teflon Hitch Ball Lube. It can be purchased at Wall Mart for about $4. It last forever. Just put a ball cover on when not using to keep your clothes clean. As for the benefits, my big boat, about 16,000#, used to loosen the ball before lube due to the 1,800# of tong weight. Now with the lube it does not so I am sold.

Chris

 

[drtydeed]

Grease!

 

[drtydeed]

Any waterproof grease will work well (look for something "marine" grade).

 

[radman1]

On my larger, 14K trailers I will use grease. On my smaller trailers, I don't. Didn't say it made perfect sense, but that is how I do it. I have several different heights of hitches and having grease on all of them gets a little messy.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Just some food for thought. Grease is a great dirt magnet. Dirt will collect and soon become grinding compound. If you use grease, make sure you keep things clean and grit free.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Grease and keep the grease clean. We use moly wheel bearing grease on our gooseneck hitch, and keep a plastic bag over it when not in use. Some kind of dry lube might for lighter duty hitches.

 

[ray66v]

I have several small 4x8 trailers that I use approximately once a week. And I have found at that rate, with no grease it takes forever to get noticeable, (Visually), wear on the ball and do not feel any slop in the hitch. So I have decided not to be bothered with the grease. Your results may vary.

 

[rback33]

I grease my gooseneck ball for sure. I rarely pull from my receiver hitch so I usually leave it alone.

 

[grnspot110]

Grease!