Advice in Trailer Life's RV Clinic

[_tiredTeacher]

In the ”RV Clinic” section of the September Trailer Life, a reader asks about his E-Z-Lube Dexter hubs. In his response, Jeff Johnson replies, “…there is no manufacturer recommendation for adding grease to those hubs between regular maintenance intervals. According to a Dexter spokesman, those hubs were designed for the marine industry….The Zerk fitting allows the bearing maintenance technician, following the regular 12-month or 12,000-mile inspection and repack, to pump in enough grease to fill the entire void inside the hub with grease. This feature is, of course, not needed for RV trailers, (my emphasis)….” Johnson and the Dexter rep are not discussing “Bearing Buddies.” The article (page 126) is clearly about E-Z Lube hubs.
According to the manufacturer, as of September 2015, they were designed for boat trailers and are not needed on RV trailers. The take-away from this is, according to the Dexter spokesman, bearings should be inspected and repacked 12-mo./12,000 mi. The E-Z Lube fitting is for a bearing packer’s one-time use if servicing a boat trailer.
Now does this jibe with the Dexter manual you got with your trailer? Or is Dexter sending a confusing message?
(Please note: This isn’t a poll asking what you do or why you do it. That topic is a dead horse, several times over.. I want us to share what our understanding of the hub’s use is based on the written evidence in hand.)

Teach

[jmtandem]

True, but Trailer Life was quoting a Dexter spokesman.

Teach

Since Dexter is a major supplier of trailer and fifth wheel axles you would think Trailer Life would verify and check any differences in what is on the Dexter web pages and in the owners manuals with what a Dexter tech says. This is Trailer Life not doing their due diligence. Once clarity on this issue was reached then they could print the article.

[broark01]

FlatBroke wrote:
EZ lube = nice greasy bearings AND brakes.

Not necessarily.

If your hub seal is in good condition and the grease in the hub is hot (as in you have been on the road for a while) and grease in the pump is hot (as in it has laid in the sun for a while)and the grease is manually and slowly pumped into the hub with no more than a couple of pumps then you will see the grease slowly emerge into the cap.

Problem is no one does this. Learned this approach over the years with a different type of hub flow through grease system (Reliable Sure Lube System) on a large boat trailer.

[dougrainer]

EZ Lube and Bearing Buddies are designed to allow the owner to pack grease into the outer void of the wheel hub to prevent the Lake Water from getting into the bearing hub assbly. They are NOT to be used to "clean/PACK" the actual bearings. When you PACK a bearing you are forcing the OLD grease out and pushing in new grease. That cannot happen with an EZ lube or Bearing Buddy. If you try, it will bulge out/blow out the axle seals. Then you will have one heck of a greasy mess all over and on the brake shoes. Doug

[FlatBroke]

EZ lube = nice greasy bearings AND brakes.

[_tiredTeacher]

jmtandem wrote:
Dexter makes the axles, not Trailer Life.

True, but Trailer Life was quoting a Dexter spokesman.

Teach

[jmtandem]

In the ”RV Clinic” section of the September Trailer Life, a reader asks about his E-Z-Lube Dexter hubs. In his response, Jeff Johnson replies, “…there is no manufacturer recommendation for adding grease to those hubs between regular maintenance intervals. According to a Dexter spokesman, those hubs were designed for the marine industry….The Zerk fitting allows the bearing maintenance technician, following the regular 12-month or 12,000-mile inspection and repack, to pump in enough grease to fill the entire void inside the hub with grease. This feature is, of course, not needed for RV trailers, (my emphasis)….” Johnson and the Dexter rep are not discussing “Bearing Buddies.” The article (page 126) is clearly about E-Z Lube hubs.
According to the manufacturer, as of September 2015, they were designed for boat trailers and are not needed on RV trailers. The take-away from this is, according to the Dexter spokesman, bearings should be inspected and repacked 12-mo./12,000 mi. The E-Z Lube fitting is for a bearing packer’s one-time use if servicing a boat trailer.
Now does this jibe with the Dexter manual you got with your trailer? Or is Dexter sending a confusing message?
(Please note: This isn’t a poll asking what you do or why you do it. That topic is a dead horse, several times over.. I want us to share what our understanding of the hub’s use is based on the written evidence in hand.)

Teach

Dexter makes the axles, not Trailer Life. I certainly would follow the manufacturer's recommendations not a magazines. And how many travel more than 12,000 miles in a year that would be beyond the Dexter recommended repack/inspect mileage? And if you do travel more than 12,000 miles in a year do a supplemental repack.

[BB_TX]

I think the Dexter manual has always recommended inspecting the bearings every 12 mo or 12,000 miles. But it also described the process of pumping in grease to push out the old grease until new grease has displaced all the old grease and new grease can be seen coming out the front. But they have rewritten their on-line manual. It no longer describes pumping in grease, letting it push out the old grease, until you see new grease appear out the front. Now it describes inspecting the bearings (which assumes cleaning out the old grease) and after doing a bearing inspection, it does still say to pump in grease until you see new grease appear out the front. As opposed to hand packing the bearings.

But there are often things in the Trailer Life RV clinic that seems to go against conventional wisdom.