Greasing Jaws of B&W Companion?

**clange** · 12-25-2022, 11:59 AM

I was surfing through online videos regarding the B&W hitch and found one that recommended using grease on the jaws of the hitch. This was something I hadn't thought about before and it makes sense, but at the same time defeats some of the purpose of using a teflon plate rather than grease - it's just a lot cleaner without grease. So what does the collective knowledge of this group say? Do you grease the jaws? I can't find that recommendation in my assembly instructions.

Thanks!

**FT4NOW** · 12-25-2022, 12:10 PM

There is a zerk fitting on the bottom of the jaws, it's easy to access if you remove the head, and for the top of the head, use a lube plate. You can also grease the pin of the 5th wheel as well.

**CoChris** · 12-25-2022, 12:41 PM

Originally Posted by clange

I was surfing through online videos regarding the B&W hitch and found one that recommended using grease on the jaws of the hitch. This was something I hadn't thought about before and it makes sense, but at the same time defeats some of the purpose of using a teflon plate rather than grease - it's just a lot cleaner without grease. So what does the collective knowledge of this group say? Do you grease the jaws? I can't find that recommendation in my assembly instructions.

Thanks!

As @FT4NOW said, there is a grease zerk under the head for the side-to-side pivot. I also grease the inside of the jaws (jaws only) (the inside circular portion that rides in the grove of the trailer king pin). I use a lube plate and do NOT grease the hitch plates (hitch nor on the trailer).

Chris

**Hoopy Frood** · 12-25-2022, 03:40 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^What he said.

**huntindog** · 12-25-2022, 05:12 PM

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What they said.

**Steven@147** · 12-26-2022, 07:15 AM

I complete regular maintenance on our B&W Companion RVK 3600 for our Ram truck. Yes I squirt some grease on the king pin where the hitch jaws close around the pin. Also grease the zerk fitting about every quarter or semi-annual. We do use a plastic lube plate. Our hitch is always covered when not in use.

However, one problem you may encounter, the locking handle may get stiff to move over time, and the handle may not close fully when you lock on to the king pin, a little penetrating oil on the large lock handle pivot shaft takes care of that and loosens up the locking handle so it moves freely. Then the lock handle always fully closes so you can just drop the locking pin in (we use a padlock instead of the pin). You wont find a lot of mention about the locking handle stiff moving on the standard B&W Companion hitch videos.
In some cases people that have had their hitch for a long time, with this issue, have had to get B&W to press the locking handle shaft out, clean the shaft and the bore, then reassembled. Moisture gets in the head locking lever pivot shaft bore and the handle wont move freely.

**clange** · 12-27-2022, 06:06 PM

Thanks for the insight! My assembly instructions said nothing about greasing the jaws, but I stumbled across a B&W YouTube video that said that you should. It makes sense to me to do so, although I loathe the thought of me or one of my family members rubbing against the kingpin when we're disconnected and ruining a shirt or something else as a result. It seems like kids only need to be within 5' of something greasy and they are guaranteed to end up with grease on them or their clothes...

**Hoopy Frood** · 12-27-2022, 06:14 PM

Well, you're more likely to get that grease on your head since it will just be on the kingpin, and it would take some serious acrobatics to get the grease on your shirt or some such. Some people hang a rag or tag from the kingpin so they won't conk their heads on it.