Dry Powder On Hitch Ball

[LeeB]

We just got done driving 3000 miles from California to New Hampshire in 8 days pulling our 24ft Trailer. I never had to disconnect because I got pull threw sites and we stayed at Flying J's and Cracker Barrel's etc...

Anyway when I finally did disconnect I noticed a fine Black Power on top of the Ball. It almost looked like Graphite..... I did grease the ball before we left, did I not use enough grease? or what?

Thanks LeeB

[1bigmess]

Grease on the hitch ball not needed. The black powder could be the paint from inside the hitch.

I've got 11K miles pulling my TT. The dealer put grease on it when I picked it up at towards the beginning of 2015, and I asked why it was there. I was told it was because some folks think the hitch makes noise. That was the first time I'd ever heard that load of junk, and when I got home I cleaned it off. Not a problem since.

[NDIrish]

I always grease my ball. It's metal on metal contact which means there will be wear over time.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by NDIrish

I always grease my ball. It's metal on metal contact which means there will be wear over time.

Agree 100%. ^^^^^ Any metal to metal contact that has movement will result in wear of the items. It isn't now and it's never been a good idea to not grease a metal to metal point of contact if there is movement.

[charliez]

You can use a dry lube. It wont attract dirt and make more grinding grit. Some people put a small square of wax paper over the ball before they set it on. It will lube it and keep things clean.

[consolenut]

The only downside is the electrical ground from truck to trailer in many cases is in the trailer ball. Not always but some

[TonyMac]

Originally Posted by consolenut

The only downside is the electrical ground from truck to trailer in many cases is in the trailer ball. Not always but some

Actually, you do not want the ball to be your electrical ground, you need a ground wire thru the plug. Even the little 4pin flat is 3 lights and a ground.

Grease the ball?? I look at it this way: What do the professionals do? When I learned to drive a semi, the owner told me to grease the plate. So I grease the ball as well. What could it hurt? If the ball is tough enough to stand up to the friction of pulling without grease, the dirt captured by the grease isn't gonna hurt it either. And the dirt still gets in there without the grease; grease doesn't attract the dirt, it just captures the dirt. I just hate metal on metal.

[ScoobyDoo]

Originally Posted by consolenut

The only downside is the electrical ground from truck to trailer in many cases is in the trailer ball. Not always but some

NO! NO! NO! The ball should NEVER be the ground path. It sometimes will be, but this can lead to lights acting wrong, and the E-brakes to fail. And many times the driver pulling the trailer does not know anything is wrong. It is up to other drivers to prevent accidents.

[Loydmeeks]

You can use a dry lube. It wont attract dirt and make more grinding grit. Some people put a small square of wax paper over the ball before they set it on. It will lube it and keep things clean.


Please tell me you were joking

[charliez]

No not joking. It works well

[consolenut]

I use 7 pin plugs and the ground is always in the plug. But some still use the ball as the ground. Therefore if you grease the ball....check where the ground is first.

[ScoobyDoo]

Originally Posted by consolenut

I use 7 pin plugs and the ground is always in the plug. But some still use the ball as the ground. Therefore if you grease the ball....check where the ground is first.

Anytime there is a light problem with a trailer, the first step in repair should be unhook everything but the cord. Otherwise, the random ground can make you think it is fixed, only to have more trouble out on the road. Also the little arcs between ball and coupler can cause more wear on the surfaces...
BTW, by about the mid '80s the manufacturers of some CMV trailers, knowing that wire to frame/body connections caused trouble, so needed to run wire for ground. And if running ground wire, it is better if the frame/body is isolated from all electricity...

[xrated]

Originally Posted by charliez

No not joking. It works well

I'd like to believe you're joking also, but apparently you aren't. If you think that wax paper works well, you'll be really impressed if you ever try the proper method of using grease on a metal to metal moving connection.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by consolenut

I use 7 pin plugs and the ground is always in the plug. But some still use the ball as the ground. Therefore if you grease the ball....check where the ground is first.

Silly me! I thought using the ball/coupler connection for the ground went out in the 1950's.