How Often to Pack Wheel Bearings

so my never lub bearings should be replaced???
2001 rv, never checked them. but a very low millage coach. lack of money has had it sit unused for a couple years.
dam tires even dry rotted with 80% tread on them.??

Campinfan wrote:
So I have Lippert Axles and there is a rubber cap covering a zerk fitting. I am thinking these are bearing buddies or whatever (Actually EZ Lube)...but do I just squirt a few pumps of grease into this every year or so. Trailer is one year old with 2500-3000 miles on it. Any suggestions?

Bearing buddies and Dexter easy lube axles are 2 different animals. here is how to do your easy lubes. Easy Lube

Bearing buddies are a spring loaded bearing cap that keep your bearing grease pressurized to keep out moisture.

Hannibal wrote:
I think your assumption is good to go. Give the tires a good visual check including the date code. We're loading up for our trip this morning. Y'all have a save and fun trip!

Thanks, you have a great trip as well! Tires are visually good, date code already checked last year and I know from the previous owner that they've got less than 20K on them between his use and ours. They're cheap Chinese original equipment, but I'm planning to let the RV sit on them for another winter and then get new upgraded tires put on before next season starts.

I think your assumption is good to go. Give the tires a good visual check including the date code. We're loading up for our trip this morning. Y'all have a save and fun trip!

bpounds wrote:
Not sure what you mean by a rubber cover over the lugs. That sounds like a hub cap on a truck. Your Cougar wouldn't have that as far as I know. My wheels look exactly like your pic, except that I have removed that chrome center cap.

Sorry for the confusing terminology. I'm referring to the rubber EZ-lube plug that protects the grease fitting at the end of the spindle.

Good to know about those chrome center caps - I'll remove them when I attempt to do a full grease pack after the season.

Just hitched up and took the fiver for a 10 mile local ride. Everything feels as solid as it did last fall and though I noticed a little "wop wop" feeling and noise, which I presume came from flat spots where the tires were parked all winter, it quickly went away. I was also quite pleased to see my tire pressure spot on where I want it at 62 PSI when I checked them all first thing this morning. No air pressure loss all winter surprised the heck out of me.

A few comments...

I think Keystone uses the grey colored grease on everything. I usually assume the grey color means the grease has a good dose of Molybdenum. Mixing greases can be an issue, but it's pretty rare to have that issue. Just stick with a quality high temperature bearing grease. I always pick one that is good for disc brakes, because it is a high temp grease, even though it has drum brakes. My preference is to push out the old grease with the new grease, assuming this is an EZ Lube job. Sounds like your hubs are just fine, and you'll be good to go without adding grease.

That metal cover over the spindle is just cosmetic. First thing I do, first time I have the wheels off, is to take those off and toss them in a dark corner of the storage shed. You don't need them, they are always in the way, and the cheap chrome starts rusting and looking bad soon.

Not sure what you mean by a rubber cover over the lugs. That sounds like a hub cap on a truck. Your Cougar wouldn't have that as far as I know. My wheels look exactly like your pic, except that I have removed that chrome center cap.

Don't sweat the color, it may well have been grey from the get-go.

The dust caps will be much easier to get to when the wheel is off (as it will be when you want to repack anyway).

So I got my first look under one of the rubber caps and the good news is that there is plenty of grease and it's very soft and pliable. Bad news is that it's a dark gray in color, but since I don't know if the previous owner used red grease, I don't know if that's a concern. My assumption is that quantity and texture trumps color, at least for the 1,500 miles we'll put on in this upcoming 2 week vacation. So I am considering waiting to do this when we get back when I have more time available. The other reason I want to wait is so I can pick up some spare rubber caps in case I damage one when removing it or if they're worn.


Here's the other issue which I'm filing under the heading "things are never as easy as you think they're going to be". This is a picture of the hub of my 2012 Keystone XLite 26SAB. Whereas all the videos I've seen about this have large removable dust covers over the lugnuts and the rubber cap, mine have this big metal housing around them and a little round pop-off dust cover (you can see the notch for prying off at 12:00) that's only slightly larger than the cap itself. So while pulling the rubber cap off to inspect the grease was relatively easy, trying to fit my fat fingers into the access hole to put the stupid thing back on was a struggle. It'll be a little easier with the RV jacked up a bit, but it's still going to be more of a pain than it needs to be if the dust covers were like the ones I've seen in the videos. (sigh)

So knowing that the former owner was meticulous about maintenance, and now that I've seen under one rubber cap and know there's plenty of soft grease, albeit dark gray in color, do you guys agree that I'm probably good for this trip a few days from now and can deal with it when we get back? After reading about some problems the EZ-lube hubs have, I'm also thinking about just getting what I need to pull the wheels off and packing the bearings manually anyway so I can also inspect them and the brakes as well. Seems like a good task to tackle in mid-October before the weather gets bad. The husband of one of my co-workers is also a mechanic so I can probably get him to help walk me through the process and get a pro's opinion on the brakes this first time so I know what to look for in the future.

Looks like they're made by the same company. Same exact bag, tire iron and extension rods.

Hannibal wrote:
I don't know what GM uses but, both Ford and Dodge come with a screw type bottle jack that's perfect for this and you'll always have it with you. I put one of my leveling 2X6" boards under it. My axles are under the springs so I put the cup under one of the U-bolts. The long handle is easy to turn with the tire iron standing beside the trailer. Just a thought...

Thanks for the idea, I just found this video for how to lower the spare on a 2014 Silverado so I've got the same setup on my Sierra and can use this if I need to as well. :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM827I6snC8