I just bought a 3 car wedge trailer, and am getting pretty damn tired of grease on everything. Would a lube plate be a good substitute for a 21k trailer, or just keep slathering grease on it LOL?

 

Clean all the grease off the plate and get a Teflon Plate, The only thing I grease is the pin itself just where it contacts the hitch jaws.

Denny

 

Even then, I only lube the hitch jaws, NOT the pin. It stills gets all over a lot......I've recently taken to using "Fluid Film". It is really great stuff. They are also a site sponsor, or was anyway.

 

I kept getting the teflon plate messed up so I just grease now.

 

I'm not sure how you can get grease all over the place when just lubing the pin or jaws, after changing to a lube plate in the late 80s I have never had that problem. My guess is your using to much grease. I just use a small amount of white grease and cover the pin with a piece of 2.5" pvc pipe when not in use.

Denny

 

There are usually 2 different sized plates for sale. I found that the larger one didn't tear as much (for ME). But even if I had to replace it annually, it wound be better than messing with the grease. So I use the teflon plate and use the Fluid Film on the jaws and other moving parts of the hitch.

 

If I could get a season out of the teflon that would have been great. But I was only getting a couple of hitch up and then it was getting messed up and bunching up.

Maybe i will try again ...I already have reservations for April

 

................... Where?.................

 

I'm still using the same teflon plate that was on the trailer 8 years ago when it was new, maybe it's the way you are hitching up that causes the problem. I always raise the trailer high enough so that it's just about the same height as the hitch before I back under it.

Denny

 

We have a spot in of all places a yogi bear in Williamsport MD. They have an early bird thing where you can just leave it parked for a month and come and go.

 

It probably is. I was always taught that you want the pin box to just be even with the angled part of the plate if that makes sense. ...top part.

 

I always try and have the height set so the truck will only go down about 1/4" to 1/2", if I'm of flat ground the pin will miss the V trial gate by 1/4". Because of my tool boxes I can't see the hitch so I get out and check it a lot when hooking up.

Denny

 

The guy I bought the trailer and hitch from I think was a little crazy with the grease LOL. When I hitch up, I always wind up picking the trailer up with the hitch. Just like I do when I hook up a tractor trailer, but maybe that doesn't work as well for smaller trailers and / or teflon plates. I'm just tired of getting that one small spot of grease on my damn clothes when I pull the hitch out of the truck. I'll try a lube plate, worse cae scenario is I go back to grease. Thanks!

 

I use the teflon plate, works well, never binds. Also when I take the hitch out, I use suran wrap and cover the top part of the hitch as I do have grease in the jaws. That keeps critters, (wife, daughters, snoopy people) from getting grease on them while stored in the garage. Also my hitch is a 2 piece so I have 1 gigantic pin for the head of the hitch that is greasey.

 

I don't use grease or the teflon plate. Just hitch up dry and go. Of course I use a pullrite superglide. That makes a bit of a difference. I do use slip plate on my way tubes. Sure is a lot less of a mess than white lithium.

Is a graphite lube an acceptable solution for a standard 5th wheel hitch instead of grease? It may not be...