Greasing. When and how often.

[Domtherrien]

Hi all. Been working on ,in and around vehicles and heavy equipment for the last 18 years but I'm new to the travel trailer scene.
We got ours last year brand new and put maybe at most 1200 kms on it. I'm just wondering how often or at what intervals the bearing should be cleaned and repacked.
I assume I should be good for the better part of the summer. There is a 1500 km trip planned in July and I'll be going over the unit and truck a few weeks prior. Other than that we only have maybe 250 km of travel planned until then.


2011 F-150 Supercrew Ecoboost.

2015 Salem 27 DBud.

[Teamfour]

I check the play every year when I check and adjust brakes. Inspect and pack bearings by hand every two years. New seals as well. We tow about 5000 miles a year.

[clr]

X2 same as team4. I have the flowthru grease system so I grease them each spring for the summer and every two years I pull the wheels and drums check every thing and replace all the old grease. By the way use the type of grease that Dexter axle recommends and you should have no problems. Specific NLGI 2 lithium complex, drop point 215c (419f), with EP, corrosion & Oxidation inhibitors, viscosity indew of 80 minimum. A little harder to find then general grease but well worth it.

[Domtherrien]

Awesome. Thanks for the advice and point to the right direction gentlemen. Will have look when I get home. Also, I don't have the EZ lube setup.


2011 F-150 Supercrew Ecoboost.

2015 Salem 27 DBud.

[zuterbru]

Good to know CLR on the EZ lube axles, I was wondering about that myself! Thank you very much!
Domtherrien I had a trailer I bought new for 14 seasons so I can tell you how to deal with those axles. I pulled the tires/ drums every other season, cleaned, lubed, inspected, adjusted the shoes and put it back together. I never replaced anything and never had a problem. Went through 1 set of tires and had about half tread on the new set when I sold it last fall.
If there is any hint of water infiltration when you pull the wheel, replace the bearings/ races and seal on that wheel. I would also install bearing buddies, you can keep an eye on the seal this way, which you cant see without pulling the wheel. Bearing buddies put pressure on the system, which will keep water from getting in. And, if the bearing buddy loses its pressure, you will have an idea you might have lost a seal, you can pull that wheal and fix it before damage occurs.
First thing I do when I get a trailer is pull the wheels, especially on boats! They are always neglected, granted boats are unique but water is the enemy of bearings.

[Domtherrien]

Great info. I plan on popping off the covers soon as I'm home from work.


2011 F-150 Supercrew Ecoboost.

2015 Salem 27 DBud.

[Filterman]

Been trailering 30 years plus. My rule of thumb is 12000KM or every second year...whichever comes first. Gives me a chance to look at the brakes and check all the bearings at the same time. Just did ours and found one magnet wire the wires broken off.

[Filterman]

Originally Posted by clr

X2 same as team4. I have the flowthru grease system so I grease them each spring for the summer and every two years I pull the wheels and drums check every thing and replace all the old grease. By the way use the type of grease that Dexter axle recommends and you should have no problems. Specific NLGI 2 lithium complex, drop point 215c (419f), with EP, corrosion & Oxidation inhibitors, viscosity indew of 80 minimum. A little harder to find then general grease but well worth it.

I have been using Lucas Heavy Duty WB Grease (green) since the trailer was new. I called Lucas tech line last week and they were emphatic not to mix types of week. I was thinking of upgrading to their Red Hi Tack Hi temp grease and they advised against it unless I completely washed all the bearing out with solvent.

[Archicamper]

I have aluminum wheels on my new RV and to get to the EZ Lube grease fittings I have to pull the wheels to remove the chrome cap over the fitting. I guess I need to spin the wheels anyway but my old RV with steel wheels the grease fittings were easier to get to.

[Domtherrien]

Thanks all for every bit of info tons of help guys. Appreciated


2011 F-150 Supercrew Ecoboost.

2015 Salem 27 DBud.

[SARDogDad]

I looked up bearing buddies, but I'm not sure how they work. It's probably a dumb question, but what do they do?

[leefl]

Originally Posted by Archicamper

I have aluminum wheels on my new RV and to get to the EZ Lube grease fittings I have to pull the wheels to remove the chrome cap over the fitting. I guess I need to spin the wheels anyway but my old RV with steel wheels the grease fittings were easier to get to.

If they're anything like mine, there should be a little insert cap in the chrome cap (and that insert cap is removable without removing the entire chrome domed cap). You'll notice a little slot in the insert cap, at one point on the edge of it, which allows you to pry it off with a screwdriver.

The problem is that if you just pump grease through the EZ-lube fittings then all the old grease will just fill up that chrome cap.
At jheacox1's suggestion I used a cut paper-towel tube (and then some rolled-up cardboard as a replacement for it), to channel the old grease out of the hub, through the small removable cap, without filling up the domed chrome cap with old grease. That way we were able to replace the grease without removing the wheels.
Hopefully yours are the same.

[clr]

Archicamper you have the wrong hubs if you have to pull the wheel to be able to get to the grease zirk. My hubs have a rubber center portion that you remove to access the grease fitting. If I was you I would replace the hubs the next time with the proper hubs so that you did not have to mess with removing the wheels.

[D_B Travelers]

Okay...so let's see 1 mile = 1.60934 KM and if I traveled 11,000 miles last year it was...wait...wait...Hey! I went 17,702.74 KM last year.
Question. Why are we talking in KM? Just asking
And I have the same thing as Bearing Buddies on my Dexter axles and I lube them at the start of the year each year. I do need to pull the wheels and look at the brakes, so thanks for the reminder guys.

[Domtherrien]

Hahaha. Kms here. Canadian east coaster.


2011 F-150 Supercrew Ecoboost.

2015 Salem 27 DBud.

[B and B]

When I checked for the grease for my Dexter axles it had specifications for grease. I matched this to Motomaster wheel bearing grease from CDN Tire. That's what I am using.

I know of a regular poster here on the forum that never pulled a wheel on either of his trailers. Just used zerks and pumped new crease in every year.

I find it more helpful to keep track of temperatures. I shoot the hubs and tires every stop to see what is going on. If I jack it up and everything is moving freely then pump som new grease in and leave it for another year. If I traveled more I would worry about a full repack. Only 10000 km on the trailer most 2 hr trips.

[D_B Travelers]

[QUOTE=Domtherrien;1197570]Hahaha. Kms here. Canadian east coaster.
No problem, we just don't use them "kilometers" here in Texas and I was a bit confused! I had to do some math, so now I have to go rest for a while...

[Teamfour]

Just to mention something related to bearing health - get an IR temp gun. I towed over 1k this past weekend and took hub temps at every stop. Temps avg. 107 and were even across all hubs. A higher temp at one hub would warn me of an issue.

[Auscon]

Originally Posted by D_B Travelers

Okay...so let's see 1 mile = 1.60934 KM and if I traveled 11,000 miles last year it was...wait...wait...Hey! I went 17,702.74 KM last year.
Question. Why are we talking in KM? Just asking

In Canada we use the metric system. Just like 98% of the World.

[Skisandi]

Well said. Metric is for IQ's above 80