WD Hitch Lubricants

[Lee Gordon]

I know this was addressed at a relatively high level in the past, but I have a more specific question regarding the Reese WD hitch bars. I've tried white lithium grease on the trailer ball and the contact points on the bars, but that doesn't seem to 1) do a good job and 2) last. It works well on the ball, but not the bars. Any suggestions regarding greases or oils that have worked well for you folks?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

For some models of hitch, Reese recommends a few drops of a heavy towing OIL on ball and trunnions at the beginning of each towing day. Of course, they like their own brand, "Reese On The Ball" or "Reese Towpower white grease", but there are others.  On some other types of WD, they recommend lubing only the ball, so be sure to follow the instructions for exactly what you have.

See the Reese trunnion hitch instructions at:  https://www.carid.com/images/reese/pdf/reese-66006-installation-instructions.pdf

Hitches with built-in anti-sway such as the Reese Dual Cam do not use any lubricant on the spring bar pivots. They rely on friction to do the anti-sway action.

http://triadtrailers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/reese.dual_.cam_.sway_.control.pdf

 

[lynnmor]

I have tried white lithium grease but it quickly turned into thick, black mud.  Currently I use wheel bearing grease and wipe it clean, then reapply every time before hitching.

 

[Lee Gordon]

Thanks folks!! I have the same issue with White Lithium. I inherited the hitch with the camper so I didn't get any instruction other than how to use it. I'll definitely be reading what Gary sent.

Lynnmore, when you say wipe it clean, what do you mean?

 

[Frank B]

Lee:


Yeah, the dual cam Reese trunnion style hitches are very dirty. I use coveralls and gloves when I hook mine up. :-(


I too use a bit of bearing grease. However, the cams are out in the air flow, and therefore in the dirt. I wipe them off with a rag every so often, and then put a small amount of bearing grease on them. I have a very heavy trailer with just over 1200 pounds on the ball, so I fit within the Reese guidelines of a small amount of grease on the cam surfaces. On my unit if ever they get a bit dry, they make a horrendous racket when making a tight turn. :-(


With the information in this thread, I may try a bit of heavy gear oil instead of grease. Maybe less messy?