Regardless of whether you call it a tow ball or towbar they are essentially one and the same thing, or at least part of the same thing. Basically, the towbar, as it’s often known, is in the simplest of models, a 50mm ball of iron that’s fixed to your towing vehicle. This is the link between your towing vehicle and tourer. You connect the caravan hitch to it and hey presto, you’re good to get going on the road!
More complicated towbar and tow ball models consist of the iron ball, as standard, but also electrics that link to the tow. These form a connection not just at the hitch but between your car’s computer and your caravan’s computer so there is communication between the two about everything from parking sensors and braking to stability and the lights.
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Why You Need to Degrease and Clean Your Tow ball
Given its importance in the bigger scheme of things, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that you need to take care of your towbar and tow ball. For anything to work properly, it needs to be properly maintained, this is something that’s true in various areas of life and different products, machines, equipment and yes, vehicles.
Tow balls are incredibly susceptible to collecting dirt, grease and just about anything else that flies up from the ground while you’re on the road. The dirt, dust, grime and greasy muck that collects on the tow ball can affect its ability to function properly.
A greasy tow ball will not stay in place so easily in the caravan hitch and this could cause problems while you’re busy towing your pride and joy. Not exactly something you want to deal with when you’re on the M6, M1 or even M14. To avoid such issues, you need to make sure you give your towball a good clean and/or degrease before each time you set off on the road again.
Best Towball Degreasers and Cleaners
There are not many products specifically designed with the purpose of cleaning the towball. However, we’ve found a couple of great products that will do the job perfectly for you.
The first product we wanted to highlight was this highly regarded degreaser from One Chem. The concentrated formula has been designed to work at removing dirt and grease from the towballs and friction pads on towing stabilisers for all vehicles including caravans, cars, motorhomes and even boat trailers. It comes in a handy to use and dispense 200ml spray can.
There’s not a lot else we need to add. At its incredibly low price, this is an essential piece of caravan maintenance gear you can’t afford to be without and won’t need to break the bank to afford it.
Most caravanners who’ve been touring for a while will be familiar with. They’ve got a long history of developing, designing and producing equipment and accessories for caravan owners. Having been in the business since 1995, no less. People especially love the fact they’re committed to making products that are not toxic or harmful to the environment and will always meet the same standards of excellence. This is just another example of where their expertise and time served comes in handy.
This is, admittedly, a little more expensive than the One Chem product, but as well as removing grease and cleaning the towball, it also promises to improve the damping and towing performance, as well as reduce the amount of squeal caused by the stabiliser pad.
In addition to being used on the towball and towbar and other connected components, Fenwick’s state it can also be used as an alternative dry degreaser on just about any other metallic parts in and on your caravan or motorhome.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, a nice short and sweet look at the best towball degreasers and cleaners on the market. We know cleaning, especially greasy parts that are so close to the ground, are never fun, but if you want to take proper care of your caravan outfit, you need to take care of even the smallest, dirtiest parts. In return, your towbar and towball will give you many years of reliability.
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