Grease gun/ grease recommendations

I think another factor in using the grease zerk (EZ Lube) feature is the temperature of the grease and bearings. If you are doing this on a cold spring day in cold weather to get ready to go on the first trip of the year, the grease is much thicker and harder to work thru the bearings and possibly more likely to push out the axle seal and get into your brakes. Might be better to do it in the middle of the summer on a 90 degree day. Also, make sure the trailer wheel is off the ground and rotating while you do it.

Me, I just do it manually by hand every 2 years or 10k miles. I have had one failure, not sure what caused it but the axle was likely over loaded as well. That is why my 8k lb trailer now has 5200 lb axles instead of 3500 lb axles. The bearings on the bigger axles are HUGE compared to the original bearings. I also monitor my bearings with an infrared heat gun to make sure they are staying cool. No issue the last few years with the bigger axles. Before I just check by hand so it is hard to say. It was also super hot the few days before I had my issue and I was in Arizona near the NM line when I saw smoke from the trailer. Fire extinguisher came in handy!

There are a lot of variables to consider to keep your bearings and brakes happy. Good luck.

I use the EZ Lube feature every year. Never had a problem. I jack up the axle under the "U" bolt. Then I check/adjust the brakes, then I add a few squirts of grease till I see it pushing out of the front, while spinning the tire. Then on to the next axle. All four axles can be done in a half hour easy. I use the grease gun that I inherited from my grandfather. It's probably as old as I am.

Dexter video

Old thread that got bumped but i recently did my truck front tire bearings. Read a lot about greases and settled on the fully synthetic valvoline. Its in the gun i dont have the model number but pretty sure its #4 on the list that was posted above.

I didnt expect to choose that grease. I kinda view Valvoline as midrange, while i view lucas and timkin as high quality. Not sure why maybe the advertisers got me. Have used Lucas products for years.

I forget what the heck i learned, but you need to look into the type of grease. There is lithium, moly, extra virgin olive oil. They all have benefits and negatives. They also dont play nice with each other.

Installed new ball joints and tie rods and also wanted the grease to be compatible with that. I wrote the company (detroit axle...fingers crossed...ive read mixed reviews...sure was cheap in price) and asked what they pumped in there. Again i dont remember what they said. But after all the nonsense i did end up learning the Valvoline fully synthetic would work great for my high speed wheel bearing as well as the low speed ball joints.

Biggest negative was i wanted red grease. Looks clean to me. Not even joking i was bummed that the grease i will never see wasnt red!!!

Grease guns?
Depends how much you use them or what level of convienence you want.
Manual , air powered or cordless electric. From cheap to expensive

Both camps here.
There is merit to “doing it wrong” and blowing out the seals.
There is merit to disassembly and inspection.
And there is nothing wrong with adding some grease thru an easy lube or bearing buddy IF you know what you’re doing and understand.

Grease? I’m not generally a “this oil, grease , lube is the best” fanboy but I typically use Lucas red n tacky for basically all applications. Bearings, u joints, front end parts etc.

Seems to last the longest. But anecdotal evidence only, I only grease our old commercial mowers once a year. They get used weekly for a couple hours from Apr to Oct. Just homeowner use keeping up 5 acres.
If those blade and spindle bearings survive then it’s good grease.

Problem with that ^ theory is that there is a rubber boot built into the hub cover cap that expands to relieve any pressure. On hot runs I see those boots bulged outward and cold they are pulled inward.

My experience and thoughts. I figured I'd try the EZ lube as I can think of nothing much nicer than super easy wheel bearing greasing. Also figured most issues people has was 'cause they did it wrong. I did it right and got grease in my brakes. I think what happens is since the hub is full of grease when it gets hot, pressure builds in the hub and grease is forced past the seal. Say you only do week end camping....30 miles to the beach or hills. I think you could "Dexter" it all you want. I think for those of us who bomb down Hwy 40 in the heat of the summer day at 65 mph the likely hood of getting grease in your brakes is far greater. I will be manually greasing mine from now on as we do a fair amount of 8hr a day towing.

I was an RV service manager for many years. I may be a little old school but I prefer hand or injector packing verses pumping grease through a zerk fitting. I've seen to many hubs over filled with grease, seal blown out and bearings overheated. Just remember it's the path of least resistance. you may be pumping in grease but it might not be going where you want it to. That being said, some grease is better than no grease...lol

My recommendation to my customers is to pull the hub, clean and inspect the spindle, bearings, and brakes if equiped. replace anything that is suspect. If bearings are to be changed. I recommend using Timken or equivalent high quality REM polished bearings. Hand or injector pack the bearings with Daylube or Microlon wheel bearing grease. And ALWAYS replace the seal. Do this yearly. Kits available at negearpolish.com It makes a big difference.

MFL wrote:
As mentioned, a used trailer should be checked/packed soon after purchase.

I have two cargo trailers at the moment. The big one (8.5x20) was is a 2008 model year. I purchased in 2012. The guy I bought it from used it a LOT, for hauling race cars. I asked him if he'd ever repacked the bearings. He said he hadn't, but he pumped grease in the EZ Lube hub periodically.

When I pulled out of his driveway, I manually activated the brakes with my brake controller. I couldn't feel any braking. I kept cranking up the gain setting and ended up all the way at the highest setting where I barely felt any braking action. I knew at that moment there were issues with the brakes.

Once I had time to dig in to the brakes, I found all 4 had blown rear seals. It seems that the "path of least resistance" for the grease it to blow out the rear seal. The place on the axle where the grease exits the spindle when using the zerk, is a small hole partially covered by the inner bearing.

Lynnmor wrote:

trailer_newbe wrote:
I have 1,000 miles on my 2018 trailer with EZ lube Zirks. I think I’ll do it the old fashioned way the first time.

I will always service the brakes and bearings immediately with a new or used trailer. I have seen enough to not trust these things to luck.

Both good thoughts! On a new trailer, from my experience, of many types of new trailers, only one had what I considered to be a good grease pack. As mentioned, a used trailer should be checked/packed soon after purchase.

In either case, disassembly/cleaning, and then packing yourself, you'll know it is done right, and the exact grease used, especially if you plan to use the EZs in the future.

Jerry