Dexter Axles

ferndaleflyer wrote:
I have a 1999 tri axel trailer outside that has well over 100,000mi on it and just went on an 1100mi trip. It weighs around 10,000lbs loaded and the Dexters have NEVER been greased or failed.

Your trailer was built before the bottom of the barrel Chinese bearings were used. I have had the cheap junk bearings fail in less than 8,000 miles and actually were beginning to fail at the first revolution because of defects. I hope that others ignore your lack of maintenance and do the right thing.

I have them on my 5er - and annually pull and inspect them.
the rubber plug on them routinely breaks down and I have to replace it.

A couple of years ago, i had checked the plugs and they were ok, but when I arrive at my destination, two had broken and that meant dirt could have contaminated the bearings.

Off came the tires, repacked the bearings after a good cleaning to be sure no dirt got inside of them.

I like the idea, but in reality the old school checking and packing annually reduces the amount of excess grease the will expand with heat to a minimum. And, as others have said, it'll foul your drum brakes if it expands too much.

I was originally really please to see EZ-Lube set up. Seems really nice to just jack up the axle spin the wheel and gently grease up. But the reality is the hub is full of grease causing it to heat up as you bomb down the road. There are "in my opinion" a couple factors that can cause fouled brakes due to grease. 1. Hot day, all day driving. That hub gets hot and the pressure causes the grease to force out at the path of least resistance. 2. If you have a lot of miles on your grease seals, then go on a long drive on a hot day, I think it increases your odds of fouling the brakes. 3. I hear the little rubber plug in the dust cap is suppose to be the pressure relief, but.......I think that's a pipe dream. I lost three of four sets of brakes to this and I will be packing my wheels by hand. For all you guys that have never had an issue.....great for you. Glad it works for you but it just costs me money I'd rather spend on something fun.

I have a 1999 tri axel trailer outside that has well over 100,000mi on it and just went on an 1100mi trip. It weighs around 10,000lbs loaded and the Dexters have NEVER been greased or failed.

5 years is simply pumping in new grease and when converting to oil bath the bearings looked new along with the races. This is full timing and using AMZ/OIL grease. I have disk brakes so no worry about contaminating my pads. I won't own drums so a non issue for me.

I don't see anything wrong with them, but they are pretty unnecessary. How often do you repack the bearings in your other vehicle wheel bearings? If bearings are well packed, and the mis-named "preload" set, they don't really need any maintenance for quite some time. If I did 10,000 miles per year I'd probably do mine every two years, but I don't do that many miles so it's usually four years or so. The mandate for annual bearing repack is a CYA by the builders.

I do my trailer bearings every few years, and have never had any issues with that timetable. YMMV.

Mike134 wrote:
before the thread grows jump to one of these.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/search/parms/sw%7Bez%20lube%20axles%7D%7Ckm%7Bexact%7D%7Ckl%7Bm%7D%7Cfm%7B%7D%7Cpd%7B365%7D%7Cma%7B%7D/sr/1.cfm

Clicky: Link

Rob

It is only a sales gimmick.

before the thread grows jump to one of these.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/search/parms/sw%7Bez%20lube%20axles%7D%7Ckm%7Bexact%7D%7Ckl%7Bm%7D%7Cfm%7B%7D%7Cpd%7B365%7D%7Cma%7B%7D/sr/1.cfm

I..."fail to see any advantage to say there is an improvement in servicing."

You are not alone! lol