Can I grease bearings without lifting?

[Stormrider151]

Originally Posted by denandra2

Why is it a Nono to jack the axle to raise the tire? I have watched my dealer jack all four wheels using a floor jack, same at RV dealer in Meridian Ms last Oct. I have seen road service change a tire and use the axle to jack it up. Just doesn't seem logical to me. Some body explain?

I'm curious about that myself. My 3.5 ton floor jack has a sticker on it that says "not for raising travel trailers".

[Crusadernoob]

You can use the axle as a jack point but it has to be under the spring, NOT in the center. It is actually easier to just jack one wheel at a time under the spring, with an equalizer the load is still distributed EQUALLY between the jack and the tire on the ground. If you pull one tire onto blocks to get the other tire off of the ground you apply all the load on one tire, you will be stressing the one tire, one spring. It is easier on the equipment to share the load.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by KyDan

Probably. Just remove one of the rubber caps and check to see if you
have either a grease zerk (little nipple thingie that a grease gun fits on) or
a threaded hole for a grease zerk. My last 2 trailers had the threaded hole
but no fitting. I had to supply my own. They were the tiny 1/16-27 threads.
I just took one fitting and moved it wheel to wheel as I turned and greased
them.
Pump slowly- pump turn-pump turn. When you see any movement of grease
around the outside of the end you are looking at you are done.
IMO once hubs are filled you never need to add grease again at least until
you do a tear down and inspect/replace of bearings and seals.
Good Luck!

Why would you not buy 3 grease fittings? They are not expensive.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Crusadernoob

You can use the axle as a jack point but it has to be under the spring, NOT in the center. It is actually easier to just jack one wheel at a time under the spring, with an equalizer the load is still distributed EQUALLY between the jack and the tire on the ground. If you pull one tire onto blocks to get the other tire off of the ground you apply all the load on one tire, you will be stressing the one tire, one spring. It is easier on the equipment to share the load.

A large amount of campers have torsion axles and you cannot jack on the axles and the torsion axles have no place to jack on except between the axles on the frame itself.

[Bowhnter]

This is enlightening. As a first timer and don't even have it home yet, i would have thought that these days all wheels would be fully enclosed and no grease would need to be added.

[kohai]

Does the ez lube make manually packing the bearings unnecessary?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by kohai

Does the ez lube make manually packing the bearings unnecessary?

In a manner yes, BUT, you should remove the hub periodically just to inspect the seals, cups (bearings), cones (races) and re-torque the spindle nut to set the bearing clearances. When you do the above, you should hand pack the bearings.

After that and you fill the hub cavity, you should be good for at least a couple of years by just giving them a shot of grease ever 3-5k miles. IMO

[kohai]

For the curious, I found this....

Dexter list of approved grease

My trailer doesn't have many miles on it, so maybe I'll try adding some grease.

[Brother Les]

Originally Posted by Bowhnter

This is enlightening. As a first timer and don't even have it home yet, i would have thought that these days all wheels would be fully enclosed and no grease would need to be added.

You not only need to grease your spindle bearings, also,after about 500 miles, jack each tire off the ground and see if the spindle nut needs to be tightened. It WILL be loose and cause your bearings to heat up.

[Brother Les]

Originally Posted by denandra2

Why is it a Nono to jack the axle to raise the tire? I have watched my dealer jack all four wheels using a floor jack, same at RV dealer in Meridian Ms last Oct. I have seen road service change a tire and use the axle to jack it up. Just doesn't seem logical to me. Some body explain?

The 'axle' is a slightly bowed pipe. If you put a jack in the center of the axle/pipe.... you are lifting the majority of the weight of the whole camper and will bow the axle/pipe even more and spring your tires in a angle even more. Causing tire wear or tracking off on one tire or both on that axle/pipe. If the Dealer jacked up each tire, it may have been very close to each leaf spring by the certain tire to where the axle/pipe is less likely to bend and only the weight of that tire (verses the majority of the camper from lifting 2-4 tires at once) and the camper above that one tire. Do not jack up your unit by the middle of the pipe.....

[kohai]

Why is it ok to jack on the frame between the tires? Is it because the frame is used to being held up from that area (e.g. the tires hold it there, so therefore the jack can as well)?

[kohai]

Originally Posted by Brother Les

You not only need to grease your spindle bearings, also,after about 500 miles, jack each tire off the ground and see if the spindle nut needs to be tightened. It WILL be loose and cause your bearings to heat up.

You have to remove the tires to do that, right?

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by kohai

You have to remove the tires to do that, right?

Not necessarily. Just get the load off......as a matter of fact, leaving the tire on gives you better leverage to check for "wobble" if the bearing is loose. But, if you are going that far, you might as well pull everything, inspect brakes etc. and repack.

[Brother Les]

Originally Posted by kohai

Why is it ok to jack on the frame between the tires? Is it because the frame is used to being held up from that area (e.g. the tires hold it there, so therefore the jack can as well)?

By putting the jack inbetween the tires and jack them (both tires) up by the frame, you better have a jack to lift all of the weight that goes on both of those tires. In my case, I would need a 4 ton jack in one place (could be unsafe ). Lift only one tire off the ground and use the other to hold most of the weight and stabilize the unit. Drive up on several boards that are set like a pyramid to almost lift the tire being worked on off the ground, then use a jack under the tire being worked on at the U-bolts. Think safety always when working around a unit with a tire up in the air. Some one can get hurt very quickly if you are not careful and never get under any part of the unit where you can get pinned or crushed.

[lbrjet]

Many people like me don't have U bolts. We have torsion axles.


2010 F250 5.4L 3.73
2011 Flagstaff 831FKBSS
Equal-i-zer 4pt 12K

[ColoradoRick]

Yep, these are on mine...


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[Jimsue]

Nobody has mentioned the real possibility ( happened to me) of pressure on the real seal causing grease to break the seal and corrupt the brake system. A reputable local mechanic advocates removing all zirk fittings for that very reason. He feels that it is too easy to fall to the temptation of pumping too much grease in to the system thus causing the seal to rupture and the brake system to be ruined. He also says a properly packed system is good for 10,000 miles under normal conditions. For us, that means a yearly trip to the mechanic to have the pros repack or replace bearings and inspect and adjust electronic brake system. It is well worth the $200 I pay for the safety of having properly functioning bearings and electronic brakes.



Jim
2009 Roo 21 RS
2013 GMC Sierra 1500

[Filthy Beast]

Originally Posted by B and B

I pumped some in last year with out lifting, this year I lifted it with a 8 ton jack, need a 12 ton minimum. They are about $45 bucks.

Not wanting to hijack the thread but why is it you need a 12 ton jack to lift a trailer with a max weight under 10,000. Is there some type of hyper gravity up there in Canada?

[denandra2]

I can't imagine anyone trying to jack up a wheel from the center of the axle tube. It only seems logical to me that you would place the jack as near the wheel you want to raise. Have done it this way on vehicles and trailers as long as I can remember and have never had an problems doing it this way.

[ColoradoRick]

Originally Posted by Filthy Beast

Not wanting to hijack the thread but why is it you need a 12 ton jack to lift a trailer with a max weight under 10,000. Is there some type of hyper gravity up there in Canada?

Are you know what the rules are in here...you need a 3/4 diesel to pull a 1,200 pound pop-up...nothing less or your life is in mortal danger!!!!!