I'm about to tow my 24 ft I/O (5,000+ lbs) from NY to Florida with a
newly purchased trailer. In the process of shaking everything down in
advance, I've noticed that the hitch ball is getting scratched up
quite a bit. Question 1, is this normal or should I be concerned?
Question 2, would it make sense to pre-lube the hitch ball with a
light coat of grease or is that a bad idea?

Scratches are common. Grease will just make for a mess when you remove it.
Everytime you pull the trailer you will have to clean the ball or get grease
all over you everytime you bump it.

--
Tony
My boats and autos - http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com



"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
I'm about to tow my 24 ft I/O (5,000+ lbs) from NY to Florida with a
newly purchased trailer. In the process of shaking everything down in
advance, I've noticed that the hitch ball is getting scratched up
quite a bit. Question 1, is this normal or should I be concerned?
Question 2, would it make sense to pre-lube the hitch ball with a
light coat of grease or is that a bad idea?

Tony's right. No grease. It's not going to fall apart and new balls are cheap when you need a replacement after 20 years.

You should be more concerned that you:

-Have the right tow vehicle
-The boat is in the proper position on the trailer and well supported
-You have a spare tire (and hub)
-Existing hubs are full of grease
-You have transom tie downs
-Safety chains are all in place
-Trailer brakes are working properly
-Lights are all working
-Etc....


Dan


Wayne.B wrote:
I'm about to tow my 24 ft I/O (5,000+ lbs) from NY to Florida with a
newly purchased trailer. In the process of shaking everything down in
advance, I've noticed that the hitch ball is getting scratched up
quite a bit. Question 1, is this normal or should I be concerned?
Question 2, would it make sense to pre-lube the hitch ball with a
light coat of grease or is that a bad idea?

Tony's right. No grease. It's not going to fall apart and new balls are
cheap when you need a replacement after 20 years.

Grease won't hurt anything, use it if you want to. I do.
You should be more concerned that you:

-Have the right tow vehicle
If you don't read youe ins. policy and see if they will cover you if you
overload your vehicle, most won't.
-The boat is in the proper position on the trailer and well supported
-You have a spare tire (and hub)
-Existing hubs are full of grease
And you check them after the first 100 miles and then every fill up. Just touch
them they should be warm but not too hot to hold on to.
-You have transom tie downs
-Safety chains are all in place
And not dragging. You can drag through a chain in under 200 miles. They should
cross under the trailer tongue.
-Trailer brakes are working properly
-Lights are all working
-Etc....


Dan


Wayne.B wrote:
I'm about to tow my 24 ft I/O (5,000+ lbs) from NY to Florida with a
newly purchased trailer. In the process of shaking everything down in
advance, I've noticed that the hitch ball is getting scratched up
quite a bit. Question 1, is this normal or should I be concerned?
Question 2, would it make sense to pre-lube the hitch ball with a
light coat of grease or is that a bad idea?

Towing that far I would grease the ball to prevent wear and friction.
Remember as you drive along the your truck bounces the coupler move up and
down.


"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
I'm about to tow my 24 ft I/O (5,000+ lbs) from NY to Florida with a
newly purchased trailer. In the process of shaking everything down in
advance, I've noticed that the hitch ball is getting scratched up
quite a bit. Question 1, is this normal or should I be concerned?
Question 2, would it make sense to pre-lube the hitch ball with a
light coat of grease or is that a bad idea?

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 01:31:56 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:
You should be more concerned that you:

-Have the right tow vehicle
-The boat is in the proper position on the trailer and well supported
-You have a spare tire (and hub)
-Existing hubs are full of grease
-You have transom tie downs
-Safety chains are all in place
-Trailer brakes are working properly
-Lights are all working
================================
Yes, I've done that, now looking for other things possibly overlooked.
One thing remaining is to take a run at interstate highway speed (60
to 65) and see if everything handles OK.

Lighting question: the trailer lights are relatively low to the
ground and tucked under the stern and swim platform. Do you think a
second set of temporary lights on the back of the swim platform would
be legal and/or a good idea?

Look at it from where a car is behind you. Can you see the lights ok and
would they catch your eye. If not, then consider adding lights (like a
third brake light) on the transom.

--
Tony
My boats and autos - http://t.thomas.home.mchsi.com



"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 01:31:56 GMT, Dan Krueger
wrote:
You should be more concerned that you:

-Have the right tow vehicle
-The boat is in the proper position on the trailer and well supported
-You have a spare tire (and hub)
-Existing hubs are full of grease
-You have transom tie downs
-Safety chains are all in place
-Trailer brakes are working properly
-Lights are all working
================================
Yes, I've done that, now looking for other things possibly overlooked.
One thing remaining is to take a run at interstate highway speed (60
to 65) and see if everything handles OK.

Lighting question: the trailer lights are relatively low to the
ground and tucked under the stern and swim platform. Do you think a
second set of temporary lights on the back of the swim platform would
be legal and/or a good idea?

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 14:40:54 GMT, "Tony Thomas"
wrote:
Look at it from where a car is behind you. Can you see the lights ok and
would they catch your eye. If not, then consider adding lights (like a
third brake light) on the transom.
================================================== ==
That's what I was thinking but I was more concerned about a truck not
being able to see the lights since there tucked under the boat.

It is almost as easy to just add a second set of lights on the transom
which gives me brake lights and turn signals, but I'm not sure about
the legality of twin tail lights. I'm going to try and avoid driving
at night but I can definitrly see some value to extra brake lights.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message

It is almost as easy to just add a second set of lights on the transom
which gives me brake lights and turn signals, but I'm not sure about
the legality of twin tail lights. I'm going to try and avoid driving
at night but I can definitrly see some value to extra brake lights.


If you add a second set that works in concert with the trailer lights, I
don't think there'd be a problem. Seems lots of cars have pairs of tail
lights, plus the cyclops.

JG

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 01:17:20 GMT, "Tony Thomas"
wrote:

Scratches are common. Grease will just make for a mess when you remove it.
Everytime you pull the trailer you will have to clean the ball or get grease
all over you everytime you bump it.

When I was towing long distances, I used grease on the ball. When I
unhitched I'd put a ball cover on to prevent grease from getting on
things if you bump the ball. I've towed a popup camper trailer over
13,000 miles in one trip with no problems, and have towed a hobie cat
all over the east coast with no problems.

Steve