Hitch longevity

ford truck guy wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I think most don’t know there is a ZERK under the head.

just like MOST didn't/don't know there are 9 zerks on the Tri-Glide...

EXACTLY!!!

Maybe mine has lasted full timing hauling 23-25k for nearly 4 years cuz I grease ALL 9.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I think most don’t know there is a ZERK under the head.

just like MOST didn't/don't know there are 9 zerks on the Tri-Glide...

You're probably right.

I think most don’t know there is a ZERK under the head.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
For fun remove the shaft from the head on the B&W. If you do so you will see it needs to be greased more often than not!!!

Because you got me thinking I should lube it more often, I did that today. It took 6 grease gun "squeezes" before grease came out on the end at the nut. So thank you! It can't hurt to grease more than I need to but it sure can cause problems by not greasing enough! In my case, I was ok but I did add more than I thought it would take. For what it's worth, I talked with a B&W tech about the grease they use when manufacturing their hitches. He told me they use a Mobil Blue Lithium grease at the factory. I wanted to make sure my Red n Tacky Lithium was compatible before putting it in. I wonder how many people use a non compatible grease because they either don't know you shouldn't do that or they don't know what kind of grease the manufacturer used and they just wing it.

The only issue I've seen with a B&W hitch was one where the owner left it in is truck, for years, without the head in place. The poly pads on the side pieces were just rounded knobs because they'd been sun-rotted so badly. I can't think how long that must've taken. Sad...

Lyle

For fun remove the shaft from the head on the B&W. If you do so you will see it needs to be greased more often than not!!!

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"Sure wish they'd come up with a "lube tube" for king pins; d@mn grease gets messy."

Not sure it's that big of a deal...you don't need a ton of grease on the pin itself and really only on the wear surface. If you have globules of grease hanging off the bottom, that's more than you need.

Honestly, seems to do more to keep rust away than out of any significant lubrication need.

My class 8 truck had over a million miles on it when sold. Just kept hitch clean and lubed well.

Cummins12V98 wrote:

RobWNY wrote:
I don't know if my choices of lubricants are right or wrong but I use Blaster White Lithium Grease on the jaws and pivot points before each use and I have a grease zerk fitting on the underside of my B&W that gets some Red N Tacky grease once a season. On the pin I use a Lube Plate. It keeps things from getting messy because I don't have to grease the plate itself

Overkill on the pivot points and under kill on the supporting shaft with the grease ZERK.

To clarify...I only grease the support shaft zerk once a year because B&W recommends once every six months for the amount of use my hitch gets. Here in the Northeast, 6 months is all we get for camping so it is a once a year deal for me. I lube the polyurethane bushings every time because they are always dry when I check them. You're probably right about the jaws though. I just spray the lithium grease because it's already in my hand after doing the bushings.