OT trailering question

s19438

Well-known Member
those of who do pull trailers. do you make it a practice to grease the ball or the tongue mechanism that attaches to the ball ?

thanks.
 
I try to always keep my trailer ball plus the coupler on the trailer tongue clean of dirt , dust & rust as much as possible . Too many times you can loose a good grd. if not , I then smear a good coating of grease on those areas which avoid premature wear & helps also with the grd . I also keep a ball cover on the ball . Also the wire plugs should be freuquently cleaned to a shiny appearance & lubricated with an bit of Dielectric grease occassionally .HTH ! God bless, Ken
 
Sometimes I spray the moving points of my hitches with spray graphite.

Lubes the moving points, but will not collect dirt and dust.
 
The only time I lubricate the ball is when I expect to leave everything hitched up for a few days. I will spray some lithium grease into the locking mechanism before hitching. I like the idea of dielectric grease for the connectors...
 
I always have greased the ball for my gooseneck hitches. The trailer manufacturer who installed my first gooseneck hitch recommended I grease the ball and I have ever since.
 
Many years ago, when I was a sweet innocent little boy, my father put grease on the hitch. Then my mother walked too close wearing something white. he never greased it again. The weight is enough it would take decades to rust something tight, and within a couple miles the rust is gone with wear, and a good ground will return anyway. Like already said by others here, a little on the trailer side, the hinge and latch that grasps the bottom of the ball should do, even just once a year.
 
Steve, in the first section of the forums list on this site is 'tractor transporting', questions and answers about subjects like this. A #14 wire devoted to ground (earth) is a nice start- sometimes. But directionals, 4 ways, trailer brakes, all work much better once the ball cleans itself off and acts as a GOOD ground. We drove ourselves nuts for years trying to get lights to work before leaving the yard, now ya drive the trailer around town a few minutes, then come home and then see what works and lights up. Sometimes everything, with no further detective work.
 
All of my trailers are setup (from the factory) with the ground wire from all the lights and brakes going directly to the ground pin on the truck. Lights all work perfectly without the trailer ball even being attached.
 
That is not important 1943... at one time 5 and a half tractors, still known as 2 tractors, was once 'grasshopper'. but with skills and knowledge he has gained...is now 'ninja tractor 2.0'.... but then after looking at that blood squiring squished thumb... maybe back to 1.9....
 
Shouldn't be getting your ground through the ball. If you are, you've got a wiring problem, and in a desperate attempt to find ground, the circuit is finding a path through the ball.
 
Trailers in Australia must have one of two types of trailer plug:

Seven pin round plug:
7PinTrailerSocket.gif


or

Seven pin flat plug:
7-pin-connector.jpg


Double axle trailers under 2,000 kg load must have electric brakes on one axle operated from inside the towing vehicle.

An embarrassing moment with my double axle car trailer......



Travelling at speeds up to 115 KPH (72 MPH) and I didn't feel the missing wheel. The trailer continued to track normally!

Bob in Oz
'53 TEA20
 
Bob - that's the best part of a tandem axle.. it doesn't flip over when the only wheel on that side blows and digs into the pavement...

Here in NY any trailer that weights more than 1000lb empty or 3000lb loaded must have "adequate" brakes. Which allows for hydraulic surge brakes. Quite possibly the worst thing ever invented, but what you find on most smaller trailers.
 
My trailer meets the previous requirements regarding brakes - i.e. electric brakes on one axle, with in cabin controller.

However new trailers must meet the latest requirement for "break away" brakes which is a device that locks up the brakes if the trailer becomes disconnected from the towing vehicle.
 

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