Lets talk about Bearing Buddies

I wonder if some use an incompatible grease?

Me Again wrote:
I do not how this switched to brakes, however rewiring the axles in a star configuration with heavier wire and installing a Maxbrake controller greatly improved my braking. Chris

I'm terribly sorry, that was my fault. I got carried away. :) I'll try to keep things on track.

That may be stretching things a bit.

Unless you can show that there is an overwhelming number of failures, that in fact the failures outnumber the non-failures, your assertion that "Easy lube zerts on a spindle, are an incident waiting to happen" is also an opinion.

Personally I'm reserving judgement for a few more years/miles. I'll have about 10,000 miles this spring so I'm going to check brakes, so we'll see how things look at that time.

90,000 miles on EZ-Lubes without a single bearing problem.

Just follow the instructions. Dexter MAY know what they are talking about.

I do not how this switched to brakes, however rewiring the axles in a star configuration with heavier wire and installing a Maxbrake controller greatly improved my braking. Chris

azjeffh wrote:

popeyemth wrote:


Thousands of owners have no problem using theirs.

Care to share your data? I'm also an E-Z Lube owner and wouldn't consider using them.

Just because Dexter has sold thousands of axles, doesn't mean thousands of people actually use the feature.

There's a saying... "With out Data, Your conclusion is just another opinon" Frist time I pulled the hubs on my trailer, found that two of the seals had leaked and greased the brake shoes. Easy lube zerts on a spindle, are an incident waiting to happen.

Yes, I know about the air system and how it interacts with the brakes on a semi. My point was that you don't see disc brakes on a semi trailer, but they seem to be able to lock up their brakes at will. So obviously it can be done, albeit with the assistance of air.

So why can't something be done to drum trailer brakes to make them work as strongly as semi-trailer brakes?

I don't know that I would say my TV brakes are all that complex. :) No ABS so it's a straight line between the brake pedal/master cylinder and caliper. Even with engine dead and battery gone, I still have brakes on the TV. More than you can say for trailer brakes regardless of type. :)

Disc Brakes on an RV aren't as complex as the brake system on your TV. And once you've had the Disc you'll never go back to drums.
As for the Semi brakes, they are all pretty much Air Operated and actually operate the opposite you would think. It's the air pressure that keeps the shoes from contacting the drums. If you've ever seen a semi pop an air line, those brakes lock right up. That's part of the reason a Semi that's been sitting for a while has to build up air pressure before the brakes will release, same goes for DPs with Air Brakes.

I love disc brakes and wouldn't be without them, but I've never seen disc brakes on a semi-trailer and they have no issues locking those up when necessary.

I think the issue with drum brakes on an RV trailer/5th wheel is the actuation system as much as the drum brakes themselves. The magnetic system seems to be a pretty poor setup IMO. A good drum brake should have no problem locking up the wheel, but that seems to be a real issue with magnetic actuated trailer brakes. I've heard that increasing the wire size can help with the issue, but am not positive, in that I have not done it myself.

I've never heard if there is an add-on actuation system that would work decently. I guess if a person would go to that expense then disc brakes wouldn't be that much more. I think I would just as soon avoid the extra complexity of the hydraulic system, not to mention the huge expense, but I would like something that could take my brakes right up to the maximum.

mobilcastle wrote:
Many RV owners complain about poor braking-I would have the dealer pull your hubs before you buy.Sometimes the seals have been blown from the factory.

Bingo! We have a winner!

The brakes on our 2011 Cameo were marginal from day one. Since Carriage went tango uniform shortly thereafter, we were orphaned, so no help there. We ultimately discovered that with little more than factory delivery miles on the trailer, 3 of 4 drums were full of grease everywhere, and at least one of the wheels had the wiring ripped apart inside the drum from faulty wire routing. The truck was absorbing most braking duties - not a happy situation.

I decided to avoid electric drum brakes altogether - drums may be fine for a farm trailer, but the automotive industry switched to discs over 40 years ago for obvious reasons. I had electric over hydraulic disc brakes installed, and the trailer now has brakes that work - what a concept!