How much grease should I put on the ball hitch - Diesel Forum

clydesdale · 05-05-2006, 09:29 AM

I heard that i should grease the hitch. How much?

TerryP · 05-05-2006, 10:11 AM

The ball doesn't need much grease. Be sure to use high pressure waterproof grease and clean ball and hitch socket well before applying.

reyjay · 05-05-2006, 11:18 AM

" A little dab 'l do ya! "

Leader · 05-05-2006, 03:50 PM

When was the last time someone here "wore out" a hitch ball or reciever ?
Who here actually knows someone that did ?

cdacaraudio · 05-05-2006, 03:54 PM

towing with the same 2" ball for years never had a problem with it and i don't grease mine

Black05 · 05-05-2006, 04:11 PM

I have never greased a trailer ball, with no adverse effects. This is particularly true if you are using the hitch/trailer in any kind of dusty conditions; never use grease as the grease attracts the dirt and then you have sandpaper working on your ball and coupler.

Mr_Roboto · 05-05-2006, 07:05 PM

It's fifth wheel type hitches that you need to grease. They carry more weight than a ball hitch.

It isn't a bad idea to shoot a little white grease up inside the trailer coupler, to keep the mechanism lubed up. The ball doesn't need lubed, although a little wouldn't hurt anything.

pristine · 05-05-2006, 07:34 PM

I have never greased my 5th wheel hitch. I use a teflon plate and that is it. Grease collects dirt, which will grind away the hitch faster than nothing IMHO. Also grase gets on everything when not hooked up.
jgr

Mr_Roboto · 05-05-2006, 09:57 PM

Well yea, "lube" of some kind is needed... which the teflon plate is. Without the lube a fifth wheel can bind in a turn and keep the truck from turning.

When I drove Big Trucks the fifth wheel plate got greased at every oil change, and the terminals had air operated grease hoses if you wanted to do it yourself in between.

tsaelens · 05-06-2006, 12:01 AM

[ QUOTE ]
When was the last time someone here "wore out" a hitch ball or reciever ?
Who here actually knows someone that did ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Probably depends on how much tongue weight you carry and how much turning you do. Right after we got our trailer and before I greased it I noticed fine metal shavings after a particular trip that had me backing into all kinds of strange spots.

Trinity

RopinandRidin · 05-06-2006, 03:00 AM

I've actually seen several balls that have been worn down pretty good. Before I switched trailers, I ran a gooseneck that worked for a living and that one along with several others I saw regularly had worn enough that when you hit a bump you would hear the trailer receiver bounce on the ball.

Mine got lubed regularly, you just had to make sure you cleaned the dirt or anything else out of the grease so the ball wasn't ground down too quickly.

LMJD · 05-06-2006, 10:09 AM

Me too, I smear a bit on about every 10 or so times I pull a trailer. Plenty enough stays up inside the ball socket in between to provide a little lube. I've seen some worn down also, some of the sockets are manufactured far from smooth inside.

ADStryker · 05-08-2006, 11:45 PM

[ QUOTE ]
When was the last time someone here "wore out" a hitch ball or reciever ?
Who here actually knows someone that did ?

[/ QUOTE ]

I wore the chrome off a ball, pulling without lubing it. I tried wax paper on the ball for a while, but wasn't convinced it actually worked, so I lube mine with moly grease now. I wipe the ball clean when the hitch isn't sitting on it, so attracting dust doesn't seem to be a problem.

nacep · 05-10-2006, 10:17 AM

At the expense of a few laughs, I use vaseline [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img].....The cheap stuff from Walmart. It comes in a good container, doesn't leak like a grease gun or tube with a bad cap and doesn't stink. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I keep a container of it in the truck toolbox and apply a two finger dab on a GN hookup. I wipe it off with a paper towel when I unhook and clean out the socket every other time or so. I used to use wheel bearing grease but tried the vaseline when on the road without anything and have used it ever since. (10k or so towing miles) It's not the most high tech approach but it seems to be working fine so far.
I almost bought a good looking GN cattle trailer at an auction until I checked the socket and found a dime sized hole worn into the upper area. I hope to avoid this on my stuff.
Let the jokes begin..... [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/warmsmile.gif[/img]

T_Bone · 05-10-2006, 11:12 AM

[ QUOTE ]
When was the last time someone here "wore out" a hitch ball or reciever ?
Who here actually knows someone that did ?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Leader,

Now you can say you met someone who has worn out both, non-commerical usage.

On my 8k TT with grease I've been thru two balls.

On my 28ft flatbed equipment trailer I've worn out 3 balls and if I was going to put the trailer on the road again, I'd need to change the coupler before doing so. This one has been ran dry alot of it's life.

Without a dab of grease a ball will gaull the first time out at about 15kGVW plus. That wears both the ball and coupler out.

I just accquired a 97 32ft 5'r RV where the previous owner didn't grease the king pin, about 25k road miles. The back side of the pin is gaulled up pretty bad where the pin rides against the lock jaws. I'll need to change it with-in the next couple years. The only reason why I don't have to change this year is my lock jaws are new and still tight.

[img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smokin.gif[/img]