Towbar lubrication

[Pete Masterson]

The only thing the owner's manual for my Blue Ox tow bar suggests to
"clean and lubricate" is the extendable arms "once a year." (You need
to remove the rubber boots to perform this task and use nylon
electrical ties to re-attach the boots.) My bar has a spherical joint
(it does not use a ball-hitch) that the manual explicitly says "do
not lubricate."

I did use some light oil on the 'hinges' at the RV end of the arms
because the then new tow bar was so stiff that it was near-impossible
to spread them to change from the storage position to the towing
position.

I have not lubricated the pins that go through the couplings on the
toad end. I will probably use WD-40 or some penetrating oil if the
pop-outs that hold the pins in place should even fail to operate
smoothly. Oil or grease on the pins are likely to simply attract road
dust and other dirt --- making their lubrication probably a negative
instead of a plus.

===============================================
Pete Masterson, Author of
Book Design and Production: A Guide for Authors and Publishers
Aeonix1@...
Aeonix Publishing Group http://www.aeonix.com
===============================================


On Jul 12, 2007, at 6:45 PM, Gardner Yeaw wrote:

> I have a Blue Ox towbar to haul my 1995 Jeep Cherokee Sport around.
> What is the proper lubrication to use on the pins at the toad end? I
> looked on the Blue Ox site, but they seem to avoid that area.
>
> Gardner
> 78FC33
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]