Greasing Balls

I grease the gooseneck ball on my truck, I'm not saying it's the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do (nobody's ever told me a reason not to) but in my mind I would think there would be accelerated wear to both the ball and hitch if ran dry all the time, more so if you have a load that puts a lot of down pressure on the hitch.

Mike,

I wonder when "they often itch without oil" will enter this conversation? Oh, maybe it just did!

Jan (😊)

Mike,

I wonder when "they often itch without oil" will enter this conversation? Oh, maybe it just did!

Jan (😊)

I grease my gooseneck ball too. it keep's it quieter if you ask me plus it slides on and off a little easier. it help's when you are doing a hi speed back up to get a piece of old iron too. lol
i bet the guy that told you that like too keep his stuff too clean or he would never have to worry about wear because he really dose not do much with it.

Glad I'm not the only one who overthinks stuff!!!! I had the same thought. Here we go, your KW 5th wheel has grease, your low bed king pin & plate has grease. What's the difference with the ball hitch set up? None that I can see. Thanks ROY

I've never greased mine. It's anodized and has a nice shine to it. I don't know anyone that greases the 2 inch bumper hitch balls either, just sayin...

Lol actually I grease the bumper hitch and receiver balls too, so that makes one person you've ran across that does. Mog mentioned the potential mess of having grease on a gooseneck ball hitch being an inconvenience - I solved that problem by cutting the top half of a plastic 20oz Coke bottle off and using the bottom half of it to grab the ball with; the contour of the plastic bottle slides down over the hitch ball and fits nicely, keeps the grease off your hands/gloves, and slides back off easily after reinstalling the ball into the hitch. I also keep it on the ball when it's out of the hitch and in the small storage box I made for it, keeps the inside of the box clean and I don't have to worry about it getting grease all over the back seat of the truck. Can you tell I'm a little OCD about it all? Haha.

I've always kept my balls, uh, greased. Both the bumper hitches and the goosenecks. It may be a small inconvenience to have grease on them sometimes, but I think it pays off in the long run. I've actually had a ball work itself loose on a bumper hitch before, because the friction was so great it worked against the nut. That may be a freak incident, but I've never had another problem since by keeping them lubed.

but what about the dust it accumulates and acts like grinding paste!

Balls should be kept dry:tsk: