Probably a stupid questions (balls)

None, but I have an Andersen hitch. The ball moves with the trailer. I spray the coupler with WD40 periodically.

Grease

Lack of lube probably reduces ball life, greasing definitely increases dirty clothes.

If you grease your TT ball you can most likely tow 5,600,000 miles before you have worn your ball diameter significantly. (rough guess). However, if you do not grease your TT ball you will probably get 1/3 less ball life.

These numbers are of course my rough estimates based on the imaginary facts folk like to toss out on the board.

Lot of folks grease, lots of folk do not; so obviously it makes little difference in the overall TT world. I am from the old school, so if it is metal on metal I lube. I also have a number of grease stained pants. :)

Grit dog wrote:
Never used ball grease...... On trailers, lol.
And in going on 30 years of towing or being around probably 50-100 different bumper pull trailers I've rarely seen it used.
Although when I was a kid turning wrenches there was one guy who would grease the hitch balls on all the trucks (or trailers). Never fail, I'd grab the hitch pulling myself out from under a truck and have a nice dirty splotch of gritty grease on my hand.
Not sure how,long it takes to wear out a hitch or coupler, but it's definitely a long time. Never seen one wore out or appreciable wear.

It certainly can't do any harm though.

Isn't that true about getting a surprise with a handful of grease? The crazy thing is that when that happened to me, I was covered in petroleum, anyway.

I've gone both ways on the greasing. Wear points like a trailer ball get wiped now and then. Chains get a little oil (stored pulling chain). The latch on all my vehicle hoods operate excellently because, if I have oil on my hands, any extra goes on the latch. I lubricate things less, now, than before but swatting the hitch ball and hitch arms with a little grease (or other) sure can't hurt. I'm down to about two chin vs hitch events/yr and I wear old clothes so a little grease on my pants leg is just a badge of worthiness. I try to cover the WDH if it stays on the truck for any length of time.

^ And keep your hands away from other guys' balls....

Always keep your distance from any trailer being towed. As you can see in all of the discussions about ball grease, there are plenty of people that abuse their equipment.

falconbrother wrote:
Do you use any kind of a lubricant on the hitch ball?

Nope.

I've seen construction trailers where the coupler has ground through and left a silver dollar size disc at the top that flaps back and forth.
In my early days of towing, I left it dry and it squeaked like crazy.
So two good reasons to lube.

They make lube specifically for balls (says with poker face). I use the Reese white grease posted above on ours. Still have the little container of it I bought 5+ years ago. Lasts a long time.

Good point on grease attracting dirt and causing wear but I'd rather lubricate the metal parts that rub together like they do. You can always replace a ball but replacing a worn out coupler isn't easy. Our truck is used primarily for towing so the ball mostly sits exposed at a CG or at home. Any cases out there of balls/couplers being worn out from using or not using grease?

I always leave our Reese DC shank/hitch head in place because it bolted down with a Blue Ox immobilizer. I periodically check the sockets for dirt & debris and clean as needed.

Used to have a stainless steel ball but had to replace it with a ball with 1" rise which has ordinary plating. Not sure if s/s creates more or less friction or maybe galls?

proxim2020 wrote:
Grease tends to encapsulate grit which grids away at the ball. Try a dry lube like motorcycle chain wax. Unlike grease it's designed to repel dirt. It's also repels water so it doesn't wash away easily.

If you must grease your nutz, I mean balls, do this^.