My father in law just sent me an article about greasing the ball on your trailer hitch. I have never once greased the ball on any of my trailers. Curious to see who actually does this?
For a few miles to and from the ramp, meh… for long-distance haulers like RV’s etc. yea I’d do it.
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i tow about 15,000 miles a year . and my stainless ball is 20 years old . no grease and no issues.
but i do spray a bit of pb blaster in locking mechanism just to keep it free of corrosion.
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Greasing the ball seems like a great way to stain the crap out of your wife’s nice white pants when she walks by! Yeah - that’ll cost you more than money!
Having said that, I have found that a little lanolin spray inside the hitch goes a long way towards eliminating squeaking. Still leaves a little on the ball, but it is minimal.
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I’m almost out of my INOX lanolin spray. I’ve got to find another source. Good stuff.
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Thanks fellas.
I got talked into doing that – once – many years ago. Major mess…
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Nope
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I have not greased it in at least a decade.
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Boat trailers, especially our skiffs, don’t tend to carry much tounge weight so it’s not generally a big deal. However heavy trailers like dump trailers,goose neck, RVs ect.. Absolutely.
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Never did but if I did I know where it would wind up, all over my legs.
. For me it would also be dangerous, I use my ball as a step to climb into my bed.
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Same here lol. That’s something you only do once.
Some people believe that greasing the ball helps ground the trailer to the truck…another internet myth
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Definitely does not help grounding.
It does help prevent wear on both the ball and receiver on heavier trailers that see a lot of miles though. Also eliminates noise at that junction and allows easy the trailer to more easily come off the ball.
Personal experience with My Dump trailer.
It weights 4000lbs and is rated to haul 10k payload. In order to get it off the ball, before I greased it, you’d have to hit it with hammer. It would literally pick the rear of truck up. (Not wheels off the ground but there’d be inches between the ball and receiver after disconnect) Going on, it would slam as the weight of the trailer forced the truck down. Now that I’ve greased it, it’s smooth as butter. Both on and off.
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As @MikeCockman said, it can be advantageous for heavy loads >10k imo but just makes a mess on lightweight stuff like our little skiffs.
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Fluid Film works, and is readily available
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I grease my balls.
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@SomaliPirate I prefer moisturizer, it’s not as sticky..
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