Tow hitch receiver

[Zedhed]

Hi folks,whats the best way to clean surface rust from inside the receiver.received tow bar today but wont lock in properly.

[X5Sport]

Very fine Emery would be my choice.  Wrap it round a thin bit of wood.  Once cleaned off then use a bit of grease to protect it.  Depending upon brand, Some come with a plastic bung to go into the receiver when not in use.  The Westphalia OEM one on my X6 has one and there was one on my E53 (OEM towbar) too.

[Horizon]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Very fine Emery would be my choice.  Wrap it round a thin bit of wood.  Once cleaned off then use a bit of grease to protect it.  Depending upon brand, Some come with a plastic bung to go into the receiver when not in use.  The Westphalia OEM one on my X6 has one.
[/quote]
Is it a trailer or caravan, if it's a caravan with a Alco type stabiliser hitch that has the pull down handle that goes over the hitch itself, these have friction pads in them and you can't use grease.

[X5Sport]

Receiver, not towball.  Isn’t that the bit the swan neck locks into?  No you never grease the ball.

[henrym3]

While on the subject of tow hitches and not having used mine yet, do you leave the ball as it came ie painted black or should this be rubbed off

[Horizon]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Receiver, not towball.  Isn’t that the bit the swan neck locks into?  No you never grease the ball.
[/quote]

[henrym3]

As a newby to having a towbar, please explain what is the difference between greasing the hitch on the trailer/caravan and you saying you should never grease the ball. The ball is going to fit in the hitch and get covered in grease?? Am I missing something here,

[Horizon]

[quote="henrym3"]
As a newby to having a towbar, please explain what is the difference between greasing the hitch on the trailer/caravan and you saying you should never grease the ball. The ball is going to fit in the hitch and get covered in grease?? Am I missing something here,
[/quote]

Years ago you used to grease the tow  ball and hitch, and you used to have a separate spring steel stabiliser bar to
Prevent snaking when the caravan used to be passed by trucks, or in cross winds.
Now a days the tow hitch ( Al- Co ) has friction pads that grip the ball to reduce the chance of snaking, so grease would prevent the friction pads doing their job, also the ball needs to be roughened up.
The OP was referring to the coupling of the detachable tow hitch to the towbar, not the ball.
I got that mixed up too

[X5Sport]

[quote="henrym3"]
While on the subject of tow hitches and not having used mine yet, do you leave the ball as it came ie painted black or should this be rubbed off
[/quote]

From what I have seen you remove any paint or it clogs the friction pads (on an AL-KO) hitch.  Bare metal is always best and must be grease free on that type of hitch.

[henrym3]

Thank you gents.