camper axle lube question ?

[maxwell11]

rig maintenance question:

I know its off topic for this section, but most of you guys are in charge of lube and maintenance of your rigs.

new jayco 27 foot bumper pull trailer last year, pulled it about 1000 miles or less.

this year I was going to pull the rubber grease zerk covers off each hub and shoot a few pumps of axle grease in each hub.
per manual: grease flows from end of axle through and up into the cavity of the hub.

would 4 or 5 shots of grease from a manual grease gun be sufficient?

Thanks,
Fred

I plan to carry my grease gun with me and check the hubs at each stop.
but, I know if over lubed grease could get onto the brakes.

[spoon059]

CND SuperCrew wrote:
was able to put my bear hand on the hub without being burnt. So I will continue this practice....

Got a picture of that? Are they just really hairy, or are you actually part bear?

[Sport45]

BIBBEY wrote:
I BOUGHT A 2009 WILDCAT FIFTH WHEEL GOT IT HOME AND GETTING READY TO USE IT I FOUND IT HAD A BAD WHEEL BEARING NOW COMES A PROBLEM WHERE DO ONE FIND ONE IT HAS AXLETEK AXLES THEY ARE A SEALED BEARINGS NAPA HAS NO CLUE BEEN ON THE PHONE AND THE NET WITH NO LUCK AT THIS POINT I NEED HELP

No need to shout. 🙂

Do in interweb search for a bearing supplier in your area. I used to go to Bearings Inc. in East Texas. Take the old bearings in and they'll set you up with new ones along with a seal. Probably cheaper than an auto parts store too.

[Hannibal]

I'm surprised our resident genius hasn't piped up yet. Wheel bearings actually require very little grease. The amount that they come with from the factory is the correct amount even though it looks a little sparse. Our 5th wheel is 7 years old. About time to take 'em apart and grease 'em up. Or I might give the easy lubes a try and see what happens. Then take 'em apart after a short trip and see what it looks like.

[CND_SuperCrew]

I have had our TT since new in 2008, I have followed the video at the start of the new season. After four years I pulled everything apart for inspection and saw no visible wear after ~ 20k kms. Re-assembled everything and added new grease per the video after hand rubbing some grease into the (chase bearing ?) Last year I stopped on several occasion towing in CO late July and was able to put my bear hand on the hub without being burnt. So I will continue this practice....

[Perrysburg_Dodg]

maxwell11 wrote:
rig maintenance question:

I know its off topic for this section, but most of you guys are in charge of lube and maintenance of your rigs.

new jayco 27 foot bumper pull trailer last year, pulled it about 1000 miles or less.

this year I was going to pull the rubber grease zerk covers off each hub and shoot a few pumps of axle grease in each hub.
per manual: grease flows from end of axle through and up into the cavity of the hub.

would 4 or 5 shots of grease from a manual grease gun be sufficient?

Thanks,
Fred

I plan to carry my grease gun with me and check the hubs at each stop.
but, I know if over lubed grease could get onto the brakes.

DON'T DO IT!!!!! I added 4-5 pumps with a small grease gun and ended up with grease in the brakes! The only way to correctly grease a wheel bearing is to remove the wheels, hubs, clean the bearing (I use brake clean) and hand pack them! I have never had great luck with the wheel bearing packer tools myself. But other like them, if you don't want to hand pack then you could try one of them.

Please do yourself a favor and do not use the "easy lube" garbage.

Don

[BIBBEY]

thank you i went there and did not find my bearing numbers i sent a message but have heard nothing back

[ib516]

mooky stinks wrote:
My Dexter manual that came with my trailer also states the wheel doesn't need to be spun to grease it. Not sure if this is true for all though. Our neighbor lost a tire and axle on the 2nd trip out with a brand new trailer. The shop said the bearings had very little grease and they see it a lot.

With the build quality of most RVs, I'm surprised a few of them don't leave the factory with one wheel missing...

[AH64ID]

Call them?

http://www.axletech.com/na_en/index.php

[BIBBEY]

I BOUGHT A 2009 WILDCAT FIFTH WHEEL GOT IT HOME AND GETTING READY TO USE IT I FOUND IT HAD A BAD WHEEL BEARING NOW COMES A PROBLEM WHERE DO ONE FIND ONE IT HAS AXLETEK AXLES THEY ARE A SEALED BEARINGS NAPA HAS NO CLUE BEEN ON THE PHONE AND THE NET WITH NO LUCK AT THIS POINT I NEED HELP

[B_O__Plenty]

If you look at how the EZ-Lube system works you will see that a few pumps of grease initially won't do much. The grease flows through a channel and comes out between the rear of the rear bearing and the grease seal at the back of the hub. The first time you fill them they will take about a half tube of grease. The grease will flow through the rear bearing and come out the front of it. It will then fill the void in the hub between the front and rear bearings and then go through the front bearing and out through the vent hole on the front near the Zerk fitting to indicate it's full. You need to have the wheel off the ground and rotate it while greasing with a hand grease gun. A pnuematic gun will have too much pressure and will easily blow grease around the rear seal and onto the brakes. Once they have been greased in this manner you can then pump 3-4 shots into them but you still need to rotate the wheel while doing this. I prefer to grease mine the old fashioned way by taking the hubs off and repacking the bearings by hand..

B.O.

[Hybridhunter]

Having seen first and second hand the effects of OCD greasing of trailer axle bearings, I'd say take a peek, and maybe add a couple pumps, at most.
If it's low / leaking, a bunch won't fix it. If it's fine, a bunch of grease won't help it, and may CAUSE issues.
Basically, without taking it apart, I'd say odds are stacked in favour of blindly greasing being a problem.

[RAS43]

Dave H M wrote:
I think we should not mix boats and Campers.

Back when I was a middle aged kid, A gizmo was sold for the boat trailer hubs that did not have brakes on the trailer. It was called bearing buddies. They lubed from the outside toward the inside and were spring loaded.

Do boat trailers come with the EZ lube system now?

Mine doesn't, just the Bearing Buddies like you said. Many people confuse the two systems which are very different but the common thread is the grease gun!

[Dave_H_M]

I think we should not mix boats and Campers.

Back when I was a middle aged kid, A gizmo was sold for the boat trailer hubs that did not have brakes on the trailer. It was called bearing buddies. They lubed from the outside toward the inside and were spring loaded.

Do boat trailers come with the EZ lube system now?

[time2roll]

Dave H M wrote:
In my opinion, the double pump folks that do not initially insure that the inner cavity between the two bearings are full, are running that outer bearing without a repack for as long as it will take for the inner cavity to be filled - two pumps at as time.

I have to admit that some of the posts here, I agree with, but how does someone who asks the question sort out the wheat from the chaff?

I think the double pump folks are also repacking by hand. I think it is a false economy to think you can just keep pumping and not disassemble, clean, inspect, hand pack the bearings.

The pump thing filling the hub is to protect the unit from submersion when launching a boat.