Just completed replacing my bearings and seals, along with putting on new brake assemblies on all axles. My axles are E-Z Lube, but I have never used the system and preferred just removing and repacking the bearings in the normal manner.During the process of putting the tires back on and cleaning the interior of my aluminium rims and tires, I noticed the left rear tire had a small blister on the interior side of the tread. I did not notice it when I removed the tire, as I was eager to move forward with the work. Must have hit something in the road. So I ordered a new tire, just to safe.Yes, it was a greasy, dirty, and truthfully, a harder job for this old boomer than I remembered. And it took me longer than it did it a couple of years ago. But I got it done. Peace of mind is priceless.

That is the way I do it, I have never used the EZ Lube feature. :)

Proves once again that the hand on inspection is SO much better than over lubing using the zerks. :)

TECMike wrote:Just completed replacing my bearings and seals, along with putting on new brake assemblies on all axles. My axles are E-Z Lube, but I have never used the system and preferred just removing and repacking the bearings in the normal manner.During the process of putting the tires back on and cleaning the interior of my aluminium rims and tires, I noticed the left rear tire had a small blister on the interior side of the tread. I did not notice it when I removed the tire, as I was eager to move forward with the work. Must have hit something in the road. So I ordered a new tire, just to safe.Yes, it was a greasy, dirty, and truthfully, a harder job for this old boomer than I remembered. And it took me longer than it did it a couple of years ago. But I got it done. Peace of mind is priceless.Yep and doing the job yourself you know how it was done. Chances are good that a repair shop wouldn't have noticed the damaged tire. Yes it does take longer when older, but I will be doing my own work as long as I can. 71 and counting.

skipnchar wrote:Proves once again that the hand on inspection is SO much better than over lubing using the zerks. :)Skip, please explain how you over lube with an EZ-lube axle?Could see it with bearing buddies but not EZ-lube.

Yep, I am closing in on 70 myself. And it was easy and temping, I might add, to blame my age and/or physical condition as the reason to have the job done by a shop or a dealer.However, if done by an outside shop, you never know if the mechanic or technician had a rough night prior and proceed to work without a clear head or just does care about good work. You have to stay focused and take your time to properly torque a new bearing set, make good wire connections on new brake assemblies, and properly adjust brakes.However, there are some good shops out there with good qualified technicians who do good work. You just have to look for them. They are costly but you get what you pay for.

Added Value of Bearing Repacking | Good Sam Community

15 Replies

BossCamper
Explorer
Jun 15, 2013
MackinawMan wrote:
BillB800si wrote:
Just traded in a 2007 Jayco Eagle 322FKS trailer (on a 2014 Cougar HC 321RES trailer) had way over 25,000 miles on it. Greased the axles each year (EZ lube zerk fittings) and never had a problem..

Happy trails,

Good to hear...I've always used the EZ lube zerk fittings too...didn't realize I was doing something wrong.;)

You're not doing anything wrong. Some folks get EZ lube axles and Bearing Buddies confused. With Bearing Buddies, it`s really easy to over lube! EZ lube is a great way to make sure your grease is topped up.

Of course.... manually repacking bearings is better than just depending on EZ lube alone, because you get to inspect the brakes, bearings, and axle.
MackinawMan
Explorer
Jun 15, 2013
BillB800si wrote:
Just traded in a 2007 Jayco Eagle 322FKS trailer (on a 2014 Cougar HC 321RES trailer) had way over 25,000 miles on it. Greased the axles each year (EZ lube zerk fittings) and never had a problem..

Happy trails,

Good to hear...I've always used the EZ lube zerk fittings too...didn't realize I was doing something wrong.;)
BillB800si
Explorer
Jun 15, 2013
Just traded in a 2007 Jayco Eagle 322FKS trailer (on a 2014 Cougar HC 321RES trailer) had way over 25,000 miles on it. Greased the axles each year (EZ lube zerk fittings) and never had a problem..

Happy trails,
TECMike
Explorer
Jun 15, 2013
Sorry, Goingnorth, I missed your question. I try to replace the entire brake assemblies at about four years. We bought our trailer new in November of 2009.
TECMike
Explorer
May 12, 2013
Our trailer will be four years old this fall, but we have made a several trips to the Gulf Coast. And we have used it a lot over the years on many long, happy trips.

From brake assemblies I have replaced over the last twenty years or so, rust and/or corrosion is always a present danger to some degree and is the biggest enemy. Non-use also plays a big part. Plus lubrication starts to fail at some point over the years. And when it does, brake assemblies do not function correctly.

So I chose to replace mine during the mid-point of the bearing sets and seals replacement. And as I am not getting any younger, the time just seemed right to move forward with replacing all of the assemblies as I had everything already torn apart.

The entire brake assemblies these days are available at a very attractive prices. In some cases, much cheaper than replacing shoes, springs, magnets and other brake components for a brake overhaul.
goingnorth
Explorer
May 12, 2013
How often do you replace the whole assembly?

I am going on my 5th year with my TT probobly 2k miles a year so I know the brakes are not worn but rust and heat is the biggest enemy. On my prevoius TH I had 2 pads seperate from the holder and were loose in the brake drum, that happened the first year I had it.

I have the easy lube and I did check the bearings and grease them by hand when I first brought my Passport home and 2 years later. When I add grease with the zert fitting I always jack up the wheels and spin them while adding grease, it does take allot of grease to fill the first time though. I was thinking of changing out the whole assembly as well.

Also check you spring bolts, I had one fall out while back it into my barn when I brought it home for the first time, none of the bolts on one side were tightened down, I couldn't imagine what would happen if the axle came loose while towing down the road. I look at those bolts every trip, never trust your dealer, they did a spring flip before delivery because I go off road dry camping allot and wanted extra clearence.
WDP
Explorer
May 12, 2013
belairbrian wrote:
skipnchar wrote:
Proves once again that the hand on inspection is SO much better than over lubing using the zerks. :)

Skip, please explain how you over lube with an EZ-lube axle?

Could see it with bearing buddies but not EZ-lube.

Over lube includes, bearings, brake shoes and drums. I consider myself a very meticulous mechanic, read and followed instructions and still for whatever reason greased the brakes on one wheel. From now on the manual method for me.

WDP
TECMike
Explorer
May 12, 2013
A lot of folks do not think you have to check the bearings in a new trailer. As I have written in other posts, our current trailer four year old trailer was less than a year old when I decided to repack to check the amount of factory grease.

What I found was one of the castle nuts on an axle had about 300 lbs of torque on it. So much, in fact, that it took me and my adult son with a long extension and a cheater bar to break it loose.

Without doubt it would have led to a bearing failure at some point had I decided not to repack. Luckily we had not made a lot of trips in the trailer before I found it.

Yep, rubber gloves for me, too.
69_Avion
Explorer
May 11, 2013
smkettner wrote:
Using latex gloves makes it so much cleaner. Use half a box if needed.

That is what I do. It sure makes the clean up easier.
I always repack a trailer if I buy it used. That way I know I have the proper grease in them. Once I know it is packed right and I know the type of grease in them, I don't mind using the Easy Lube with a minimal addition of grease for the peace of mind. I've never had a problem doing it that way.
time2roll
Nomad
May 11, 2013
Using latex gloves makes it so much cleaner. Use half a box if needed.