Ball - to grease or not to grease

whatme

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2019
Messages
24
I've been hearing from both sides, those that say to grease the ball and those that say do not grease the ball. One old timer told me do not grease as ball/hitch act as ground(?) to trailer and tow vehicle. So what's the best practise? Lightly grease or leave bare?
 
Lube the hitch slightly to reduce wear and add to it's safety and working life.
Wire in a solid ground connection thru the electrical connector OR install a separate ground wire.

My2cents
 
The hitch ball is a movable link between the TV and camper. Lightly grease to prevent wear as as greasing the movable parts in your vehicle. A light coat of grease will have zero impact on an electrical ground feature. Remember your tow chains, breakaway switch cable and EQ hitch bars/chains also provide a path for a ground.
 
A light coating of grease on the ball is what I do also! Since the grease can collect road grime and become an abrasive paste, it might be prudent to occasionally wipe the old accumulated grease out of TT's socket and off the TV's ball before adding new grease. I prolly don't do this as often as I should ;-(.
 
Mechanical items that pivot/move require a light coat of lubricant to prevent wear.

You or your mechanic applies grease to your wheel bearings ... ball joints ... king pins and they all must move.

Pretty simple to realize the hitch ball requires a light coat of lubricant.
 
If you didn't grease the metal to metal joint it would gall the metal and not move freely which could be dangerous and lead to stress failure.
 

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