EZ lube spindle and bearing repack question

Although we have the same option on our axles I still do them the old fashion way, I feel better that I had a chance to see the wear and tear for myself. Good news is that if they are properly done, wheel bearing service will last several years before a full cleaning and repacking is required. Nothing wrong with doing it yearly but with top notch, high-temp grease I find it isn't required annually for our heavily used TT. They are rarely exposed to harsh elements where we RV most.

Every Spring after de-winterizing our rig I take all wheels off and inspect brakes and bearings, I'm on our 4th camping season since the last wheel bearing service and all still looks great. Although I never tried, I would believe the Easy lube option works for many but there have been a plethora of reports where seals were blown out allowing grease to reach brakes. It's good that your are checking bearings as sometimes they leave factory improperly greased.

plasticmaster wrote:
My TT axles have the EZ lube spindles with the grease fitting on the end. It's time for me to repack the bearings. Is it safe to hand pump new grease through the fitting while slowly turning the wheel, or do I need to remove, clean, and repack the bearings by hand? If so, what's the purpose of the grease fitting on the spindle? I bought my camper brand new a little over a year ago. Thanks.

IMHO, the bearing grease fittings are a waste of money, useless in actually properly greasing your bearings, and in fact, could cause a major problem inside the brake drum should the grease get pushed out past the seal.

The "bearing buddy" type of bearing greaser is more designed for trailers that do not have braking systems and are subject to being submerged in water (i.e. boat or jetski trailers). When the trailer is run into the water, water can seep in past the wheel seal and get into the bearing area. This will cause rusting and possible bearing failure. These greasing systems were designed to allow the owner to inject grease into the bearings and hub to possibly flush out the water. If there is no air space inside the bearing/hub area then no water can get inside.

On a travel trailer, you do not have the problem with water intrusion (or if you do, you need to stop parking your trailer in a lake, stream or river). They put these greasing systems on travel trailers because basically (and by mo means am I accusing you of this) people are lazy and don't want to have to either take the trailer in for service or spend the couple of hours needed to do bearing maintenance. They are told to just pump a few shots of grease into the grease zerk, and away you go.

Problem, the grease does not fill the cavity inside the hub, so only the outer bearing gets some of the grease. The inner bearing gets little or nothing. Another problem to look at is that some think that if a few squirts of grease are good, then a LOT of them should be great! Eventually, you will reach the point where the entire cavity is full of grease. Then the grease has no place to go. As it doesn't compress (at least not under the pressures you are subjecting it to) it has to go someplace. Out the back through the space between the Spindle and the grease seal is the weak link.

Once the grease gets past the seal, it is now inside the brake drum. And as that grease gets slung around the inside of the drum, it makes your brakes ineffective and possibly cause a fire due to the grease getting too hot from the friction inside.

So, after that dissertation on greasing your bearings...Short answer, pull the bearings, clean and inspect them, regrease with good grease, and put them back together. Your peace of mind in knowing that everything is good to go will take one less worry off your mind as you are heading down the road.

My take: every one says to repack the bearings by hand but, I have had two trailers (each one seven years), with the easy lube bearings.
I did it once a year using a grease gun. I would jack the wheel and as I was pumping the grease, I would turn the wheel. Once I saw the old grease coming out, and saw the new stuff right behind it I would stop.
I never had a problem and put thousands of miles on both trailers.
On the second one, I had them repacked by a shop in it's sixth year, and the mechanic said that the bearings were in good shape.

Jack l