Lube the ball coupler?!?

[gorgerax]

Gosh, this seems like such a newbie concern, but should one lube the upper workings of the TT ball coupling? After taking forever to re-engage the coupler-ball (while at the CAT scales!) and later while on a slight incline...it *seemed* like the "stick-tion" was more often felt in the coupler mechanism vs. any front to back, friction/pressure. It was like "Ggrrr...it SHOULD go!" LOL

Thoughts?!? TIA

[Reverse_snowbird]

We used grease on the ball of our TT. We have a ball cover and we put some grease inside the ball cover. That way it self greases itself in between tows.

[67L48]

Yes. Grease. My new trailer also had a coupler that didn't want to engage, release, seat, or unseat. Grease has helped tremendously, as has repeated use of the trailer. I use all-purpose red axle grease.

Good luck.

[Moparman1230]

Same. For me that’s approx. 900 lbs sitting on the ball coupler, so I grease it.

[Scrapper]

It actually tells you to grease the ball in the manual for your weight distribution manual. Any time you have metal on metal surfaces that move against each other there should be some type of lubrication involved.

[deepseadan]

Yes on the grease, just be sure it’s “extreme pressure “ type. Extreme pressure will resist pound out so it will last a lot longer. Wheel bearing or marine grease isn’t the right kind.

[asquared]

I always greased the top half of my ball using bearing grease. A lot of times if the coupling is jamming you may need to adjust the tv a bit to take pressure off when the hitch went down or from parking. Many couples can also be adjusted slightly if need be.

[jd50i]

Not only grease the ball but don't forget the coupler also

[TheWolfPaq82]

I still have...and use...an old can of Quakerstate grease that my dad used on the ball and coupler of our old Apache pop up we camped in, in the late 60's and early 70's. Put it on....6 years later...it's still there.
I'll dig it out and get a pic of it later.

[CedarCreekWoody]

Grease the ball and occasionally squirt some light oil on the latching mechanism.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

Grease the ball and occasionally squirt some light oil on the latching mechanism.

I like to use a dry lube on the latch, as it doesn't collect as much dirt that way.

[itat]

I use Vaseline on the ball.

[youroo]

I still use Vaseline on the Ball,have used it for over 40 years on the Same Reese 2" Ball,Before units went to 2-5/16 balls! I have always used Vaseline on the 2-5/16 ball I now use also! Youroo!!

[old40ford]

My car hauler had been sitting for the past 3 years and I needed to go on a long trip with it, so I did the usual maintenance to it and noticed the coupler had really dried up and rusty inside. I put some grease on the ball and went on the trip. When I unhooked I had the nicest shade of brown mud/grease on the ball, so it is important to keep things lubed. Imagine if I had not put any on it and just went for 1500 miles dry.

[thebrakeman]

I would only lube the mechanism if the mechanism seem difficult to move (without the ball in place).


If the coupler does not want to slip over the ball, greasing will not help that. For that, you need to loosen the mechanism's adjuster every so slightly, until it will slip over the ball properly.


And remember, you always want the coupler to be "reaching" for the ball before lowering. If the ball is right on center, or slightly behind the coupler's center, the ball will likely jamb the latch in place.

[5picker]

This has been discussed here MANY times with about a 60/40 split saying they do.

Here's a fact... every major ball manufacturer sells their own brand of ball lube. (stop laughing!) That says something.

There is one manufacturer that sells a ball with a Teflon type coating and it is recommended NOT to use lube on it.

There was also several threads a few years back where it seemed the coupler manufacturer undersized the stamping of the ball socket. People were sledging them off the ball once unlatched.

[elchilero53]

It's metal on metal with one half weighing 650 to 950 lbs, isn't it? Of course you put lubricant on the ball!

[ishwashgus]

Well, it appears several folks posting here do run around camp with grease on their calves, jeans legs, or worse yet, their wives, kids or friends...smile...and maybe some new folks too will who never did before...you will need that ball cover real bad, folks...now where did I put the dang thing when I hooked up?

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by gorgerax

Gosh, this seems like such a newbie concern, but should one lube the upper workings of the TT ball coupling? After taking forever to re-engage the coupler-ball (while at the CAT scales!) and later while on a slight incline...it *seemed* like the "stick-tion" was more often felt in the coupler mechanism vs. any front to back, friction/pressure. It was like "Ggrrr...it SHOULD go!" LOL

Thoughts?!? TIA

Don't forget to put grease (of your choice) on the trunnions of the Weight-Distribution Hitch arms, too. (These are the pins and sockets where the arms connect to the hitch.

Larry

[elchilero53]

Originally Posted by ishwashgus

Well, it appears several folks posting here do run around camp with grease on their calves, jeans legs, or worse yet, their wives, kids or friends...smile...and maybe some new folks too will who never did before...you will need that ball cover real bad, folks...now where did I put the dang thing when I hooked up?

I don't know about others, but I clean the ball and the tongue socket out with a paper shop towel and stow the hitch in a storage box locked inside the bed covered with a lockable hard tonneau cover. No greasy legs or nasty knees!