Rusty hitch ball vs stainless -- worthwhile?

[profdant139]

I have a chrome two inch ball -- despite much care, the chrome has worn off and the ball is rusty. I assume that this means more friction inside the coupler on the trailer, and I assume that is a bad thing.

I happened to see a stainless ball on etrailer for about $28, which does not seem outrageous. Is it worthwhile to get stainless? Is there going to be less friction?

Thanks in advance for your expert advice!

[JimBollman]

Light grease as needed. As soon as I uncouple the trailer I put a plastic bag over the ball and pull the hitch. It gets dropped into a denim bag and put behind the seat or in the trailer. No greasy pants, no banged shins, no ugly ball.

[RinconVTR]

CJW8 wrote:
I never lubed a hitch ball in my life, never wore one out, never broke one and never got grease on my pants despite several skinned shins.

You're either blind or not towing any weight.

Chrome plating wears off pretty easy with WDH systems, as they apply significant vertical load to the ball and greased or not will wear the chrome plate layers off within 1-3 years if towing any sort of mileage.

Every hitch ball should have a least a thin film of lube, even if its KY or Vaseline. Seriously. Anything is better than nothing...and that's no joke. Dry balls are no good! 😉

Steel vs SST (Stainless Steel). They both wear the same but its the visual aspect of plating wearing off that you wont see, this stainless might appear better. One is not stronger than the other if you only know "steel vs stainless" as you don't know the grade of either one to ever calculate which is "stronger". And the odds of breaking a hitch ball using within its rating are likely as good as being hit by lightening.

[profdant139]

Nope. This is not about looks. It is only about function. Sounds like even if the chrome wears out and the ball looks rusty, it is no big deal.

[CJW8]

I never lubed a hitch ball in my life, never wore one out, never broke one and never got grease on my pants despite several skinned shins. If you want it to look pretty get one of those chrome ball covers.

[mike-s]

profdant139 wrote:
I assume that this means more friction inside the coupler on the trailer, and I assume that is a bad thing.

People pay good money for that. It's called anti-sway. 😉

[rhagfo]

Set way to solve the issue of getting grease on pants is to pull the stinger when not in use!

[Dave_H_M]

My main usage hitch ball has been rusty for years. Once hitched up, who sees it. I take it out of the receptacle when not in use. Who sees it then.

Aren't we pole vaulting over ,mouse poo here? My hitch ball has never been greased.

For the price I think you should switch to stainless because I am assuming you like the looks. You have to do what suits you.

[Kayteg1]

My balls don't rust since I moved to CA and then NV.
I am big fan of stainless steel and would I be able to find 20,000lb rated SS ball for my truck, I would all go for it even with higher price.
I quit greasing the balls about 20 years ago after junking couple of church pants on them.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Them AC/DC Balls ain't hitched sonny 🙂 Why is the adjacent "You Boob link" that Three Stooges short?

[gotsmart]

...if only there were other experts on hitch balls.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The only grade of stainless steel worth snot anyway is "316" It contains molybdenum and is significantly stronger than 304 or 18-8. It is still weaker than grade 2 carbon steel and the price of 316 grade anything will make a person weep.

[LOFAT36]

Stainless will rust when in contact with mild steel. Stick with what you have.

[profdant139]

To answer a question, it is rusty because the chrome plating has been worn away. The ball is structurally in fine shape. The lube wears off while towing --lots of towing -- and there is moisture from rain while towing. Hence the thin film of rust.

What I am gathering from the comments is that this is no big deal, and there is no reason to run out and buy a new ball, stainless or otherwise.

[Ralph_Cramden]

My balls are rusty, they still work as designed.