greasing my balls .......

[Wyomingcowboy]

Actually, the slant in my profile is just my weekend deal to camp in. I haul the high dollar horses in this stock trailer :-laf



I have thin teflon strips on all of the cut gate, slider gate and escape door metal/metal contact points. I also put dabs of silicone in the plexiglass track to keep them from rattling. So, when my ball starts squeeking and creaking, it's noticeable and irritating.



It may sound anal, but these woman pay big bucks to have their horses hauled in a box stall, and a stock trailer doesn't have to sound like one coming down the road.



In fact, I'll make 2, maybe 3 more trips this year, and should end up close to $150,000 gross -$25,000 for fuel -$25,000 for equipment maintenance and depreciation -$15,000 for taxes, insurance, broker site subscriptions, office supplies and equipment = ~$85,000 cash for what doesn't really even seem like a job.

No kidding! How did you get started doing this? Hiring?!?!

 

[bmoeller]

I'd stay away from those goose style couplers if hauling commercial. I tried everything on a goose ball... nothing worked.

I use this red high temp Mystic grease. Get mine at Blain's Farm and Fleet. CITGO.com, Product Information Sheets Mystic JT6 Grease It is very tacky, and lasts much longer than the cheap non-EP grease my boss likes to buy. Cost not much more than the crap he wants to buy, but I use less than he does, since it lasts so much longer. How well it will last than others with a g/n ball, I can't say. At least with the 5er hitch on the big truck, I have to grease maybe 30-50% less than using the cheap crap.

The 5er hitch still needs to be greased on the left and right side outer edges more often than the rest of the plate if you are on uneven ground a lot. One advantage, though, is that if you find a spot that will put a little bit of a twist on the hitch, you can use a long needle style end on the gun, and shoot it between the truck and trailer hitches, and not have to unhook. There is also a poly piece that could be used in place of grease on the plate, but I've never used one. From what I've heard on the ones that fit a big truck, the drivers I talked to liked grease better. Took less effort to steer.

Just stumbled across this stuff. Curious how it would hold up. Reese® Teflon® Ball Lube - Camping World

I have heard of people getting wax paper, and putting on several layers on the hitch ball, in place of grease.

 

[steved]

The 5er hitch still needs to be greased on the left and right side outer edges more often than the rest of the plate if you are on uneven ground a lot.

Or you could buy a teflon plate that fits between the saddle and hitch... a common "grease-less" alternative...



steved

 

[JHardwick]

Yeah Steve, the paint is a little bubbly looking around the coil base, LOL.



I just kinda fell into this deal after I closed the machine shop in '05. I figured I'd take the summer off to ride horses, drink beer and haul a few horses local to keep me out of my savings. This "summer break" was supposed to give me time to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I came out of HS making more as a 1st year machinist than a decent 5 year machinists make these days. Machine rates are half of what they were 20 years ago, but the machine prices have doubled.



Anyway, I stumbled into a market created by the internet ... ..... the world is getting smaller and horses are very well traveled creatures these days. So, I took something that I enjoy, and figured out how to make money doing it. So far this is giving me the opportunity to expand my barn and I don't figure on ever having a real job again, LOL.



Anyway, the grease I bought in IA aint gettin it. I got to NC and I'm headed north through PA to ME right now and it's creaking again. Thats about half the miles of the grease I have at home.



I figure at the end of the day, Ragain is probably right. There is just not enough surface area for that kind of weight. If I was only hooking up on the weekends, and only traveling a few miles, I could probably make it all summer on one greasing.



I'm going to look into the 5'er conversion, I just can't loose my goose ability due to flat beds etc.

 

[MEby]

Or you could buy a teflon plate that fits between the saddle and hitch... a common "grease-less" alternative...



steved

teflon is definately the way to go.

 

[steved]

Y I got to NC and I'm headed north through PA to ME right now and it's creaking again.

Don't forget to wave as you pass through PA!



steved

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

We used to have premature wear problems on our printing press with some open running gears - I mixed up some EP grease with STP and graphite powder, and that problem totally disappeared.

 

[JHardwick]

Don't forget to wave as you pass through PA!



steved

LOL, Wavin a hand!!!



Just came up through Harrisburg and State College headed to a the little town of Ridgeway. Then out 80 and up through Scranton heading to ME. I'll be returning down 78 headed to Frederick, MD.