And I know the tire shops just jack under the axle with a floor jack. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In this case, in order to grease or service your bearings you may need to remove the hub completely. Those seals cant hold any kind of pressure.

I had read dozens of posts online from folks warning others not to do it. Please call or arrive in-store to have the debit price applied. The owner proceeds to say that I have false expectations about the service and that they got me back on the road. Your email address will not be published. Expedition and Overland Trailers: Retail Models. Working on my trailer now and found that two of the seals were blown on the drivers side allowing grease to get to the brake shoes. I will likely try it again since I may have very well done something wrong. Amen. Some folks add grease via grease zerk, keep driving and NEVER inspect their brakes. He just added a lot of maintenance work for me to do. Well, fast forward just a few weeks and we are near Crestview, Florida getting our domicile situation squared away and decided to stay longer so we could get our brakes looked at too. I think I just over greased but then again, the rear seal should have held up and not blown out. If you call Dexter and ask them in tech support if you need to repack bearings or if EZ-Lube is adequate you will find they tell you that EZ-Lube does not replace repacking. Grease Flow Yes, they got my brakes fixed. use a hand grease gun (not air powered), you've got to know if it gets hard to pump. Curious why Dexter uses them on some trailers and not others? disassemble). Friends say they always use the EZ Lube setup with zero issues and are often confused by my issue. Heres how I did it and what I learned. See steps 3 & 4 as points needingclarification. Our Little Trip to Mexico A Day Visit to Algodones, Best Portable Air Compressors and Tire Inflators for RVs, How to Cook Perfect Fluffy Rice in a Thermos. The trailer pictures on this site may not match your vehicle exactly; however, it will match as closely as possible. Please see the dealer for details. Axles not equipped with E-Z Lube are not designed for immersion and bearings should be repacked after each immersion. Sale price reflects the price when paying with credit. Of course a day early is good but a heads up would have been nice. They only inspect their brakes AFTER they have no brakes at all. Some people suggest using a Trailer Aid or Andersen Rapid Jack. It really does pay to just do work on your own with no short cuts. Hubs/Drums/Bearings, 4. I followed these directions for lubricating my wheel bears and had the grease push out through the rear seals and contaminate my brakes. While rotating the hub, pump grease slowly into the fitting. I cannot tell you how to prevent this from happening, but it is better to clean and hand pack your bearings annually!!! Trailer dimensions, weights and measurements will vary due to manufacturing and production changes. I told him that I wanted to make sure I didnt pay for parts that werent installed and that I was really upset we didnt get self-adjusting brakes.

Yes, I agree you need to pull the wheels off and inspect/hand pack the bearing periodically. I pull each hub off - the "old school" way. Dexter recommends lubricating these axles every 12 months or 12,000 miles. The tech takes down our axle info so they could order everything needed, we pay a deposit on the order, and they say theyll be back on Thursday (we were originally leaving on the following Friday). Now Im really getting upset. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); New Domicile State Mail Forwarding for RVers, Dexter EZ-Lube Axles Expensive Mistake. the whole reason to pull your wheels and hubs off are not to just hand pack your wheel bearing but to make sure your bearings are in good shape if you ever had a bearing come a part you would be pulling your wheels off. Note: The E-Z Lube feature is designed to allow immersion in water. Actually per Dexter, who has made more than 45 million trailer axles over the yearsincluding the EZ-Lube systemthat while originally conceived for submersable trailer axles for boats, says "Ideal for most towable trailer axles". The hubs should be removed every 12 months or 12,000 miles to inspect the bearings and it is imperative to replace the seal at this time to assure that the grease does not leak out the back onto the brake linings rendering the brakes non-functional.". Annoyed again. Annoyed again. Also, over tightening is common with self adjusting brakes. Dont blame the EZ Lubes. If you blew out the rear seal, you put way too much grease in it. If hubs are removed from an axle with the E-Z Lube feature, it is imperative that the seals be replaced BEFORE bearing lubrication. Our rig as the torsion axles and so far weve had zero issues with zero maintenance. Chamber now full of grease. Next wheel checked was drivers front. When we left I noticed the brakes on the trailer werent working as well and that two of the drums were getting very hot after we had been driving for a time. Following Dexters recommendation, I used a lithium-based grease from Valvoline that I found at Autozone. A lot of 5th wheel and travel trailer RVs come with Dexter axles and use the Dexter EZ Lube system. The dealer warned us not to over lube them, but didn't tell us how much is good enough. Thanks for this post, Jason. ">, "The E-Z Lube option was designed specifically for the marine application where the axles are constantly being immersed in water. The first time you use the EZ Lube feature to fill the axle, it will take a lot of grease. He gets to work and I quickly realize that the parts he is placing on our RV are not made by Dexter. With more than 76 locations across the country and over 7600 trailers available nationwide, we are the largest independent trailer dealership in the USA. Copyright 2022 TrailersPlus All Rights Reserved. In the center of the dust caps reservoir wall is a zerk fitting that lets grease be added to the reservoir. What I got out of your post was DO NOT rely on the EZ lube system to grease your bearings. Rotate hub or drum while adding grease. FiveInA5th.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Hopefully with the outer cap removed, grease gun pressure will be unrestricted and force the old grease out front bearing area. None of the five hotshot drivers I know run an oil bath setup, EZ lube axles, or self adjusting brakes. Spring Loaded Double Lip Seal. In practice, the frame on my 5th wheel is 25 inches high and I would likely have to raise it another 10-12 inches to get the tire to come off the ground. So throw off the bowlines. Ajustment is easy and follows the standard procedure for manually adjusting drum brakes. I proceed to tell him that thats not his call and that I should have been given the choice of what to put on my RV. What is the difference between E-Z Lube and Buddy Bearings? Explore. I want to make sure I understand this, as Im shopping for a flatbed gooseneck trailer. MUST rotate the wheel while adding grease SLOWLY. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Seeing that I was still asleep he says, they didnt call you did they?. Now Im pissed. -58- The premise is simple, instead of needing to take the wheels off, remove the brake drum, pull out the bearings manually and repack, you use the grease zerk to pump new grease through the spindle while turning the wheel. I wonder if the seals weaken after they get older. Some trailers shown with optional equipment. Our trailer, being new, comes with EZ-Lube axles made by Dexter. 1. I wouldnt put torsion axles on a flatbed gooseneck. Your email address will not be published. Wow that sucks! Not responsible for pricing or typographical errors. BTW: I DO agree with btd35. I guess I am old school, but you can pump all the grease you want into the cavity between the bearings, that does not mean any of it will ever get to the bearing surface. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! I think that is overkill and the grease in my case always look excellent. These cookies do not store any personal information. We are surprised by the amount of folks who either dont know or think it isnt necessary but every few years or so. Less maintenance time? To me, grease zerks should be illegal because they are stopping people from doing it the proper way. Fast forward to Monday morning when we get a knock on the RV door at 9am. E-Z Lube Lubrication Blame the guy who does not know how to maintain them,. Typically, axles with E-Z Lube Bearings come equipped with a metal dust cap that protects your bearings from dirt, water, and other elements. The trailer manufacturer says to always lift it by the frame and never raise it by placing a jack under the axle. It builds up pressure inside and leaks past the seal. Not to over lube? Rather pack the bearings yourself (I.e.

After some checking he does admit that the brakes he installed werent self-adjusting but that I paid retail prices for them and thats what they charge. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.

He tells me they are a sister company to Dexter but Im fairly certain that is not the case. Check the brakes each year, and pack the bearings then. then you need to tear it down and see what's going on. TruRyde in China. Yeap, its the RV tech.

No way Im going through this again! They highly recommended packing the bearings by hand. Nope, had no clue. Ive heard of TruRyde and realize they are drop in replacements, but they arent Dexter. We were at our mileage (and just over a year) so it was time for me to do this job. I was upset. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Im a pretty laid back guy who doesnt get upset easily. For all Oregon stores, debit price and sale price are equal; paying with debit card or credit will receive the same price discounts. A short time ago I purchased an 8.5' x 20' Haulmark Race trailer, to haul my Jeep in and become my roadtrip / show trailer. Ouch! Seems to be a good system, just quirky. Enter your email address to receive notifications of new entries and updates to FiveInA5th.com. Not a fan of the EZ-Lube feature but for those who use the feature it is better than doing nothing. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. First of all, you don't know how much grease there is in the hub, and one or two pumps may do next to nothing. Another thing is most people buy the cheaper seals. Required fields are marked *. If you were to grease it the old way and check the temperature of the hub, you would find that it is cooler than when you have it full of grease. Really appreciated it. All you need to do is thread in a greased zerk to the end of the spindle and add dust caps. All specifications and measurements are subject to change. Thank you for your support. Enter your email address and we'll notify you by email whenever we write a new post. I get it. It has the easy lube spindles so I think I just have to give it a pump or two in each bearing. If it worked, that is. What If You Dont Have Buddy Bearings or E-Z Lube Bearings? Im actually on my phone at this point and quickly find the TruRyde parts he is putting on our RV and see we paid twice as much. This content is provided as is and is subject to change or removal at any time. Ouch! if it does, that means that the grease is not flowing through like it should and you could blow out a seal, that's what you don't want. The trailer photo displayed may be an example only. The old displaced grease will begin to flow back out the cap around the grease gun nozzle. Sail away from the safe harbor. We've had our 2010 Jayco for a year and a half and have towed it around 10,000 miles. He said we only had a week so he ordered the parts he could get in within that time frame. Ive never had problems with my rear seals blowing out with the EZ lube axles. You must log in or register to reply here. i just talked to a Dexter rep and he said if you pushed out your rear seal you DO NOT have EZ lube axles..They do make an axle with a zerk to grease bearings but you have to be careful and not blow rear seals out.My axle is on a 2003 5th wheel and i have serviced them all these year without blowing out rear seals and the grease does come back out to the front around the zerk thus eliminating blowing out rear seals. Please review & confirm procedure. Buddy Bearings typically have a similar looking dust cap to an E-Z Lube system. The ones I cleaned, I removed the dust cap with rubber seal and greased again following Dexters process. This one was full of grease! Yes. This seemed a lot safer because I was only raising the tire and not the whole trailer. I applied the grease exactly like the Dexter video indicated. Owner attitudes are changing from "I should have checked my tire pressure" to "The car should have told me the tire pressure was low".

He gets everything installed and Im asking him if the brakes need adjusting and he tells me no, they are self adjusting. After all it's FREE! If you ever need help or have questions pertaining to bearings or would like to schedule service, please give a trailer expert a call today. Makes the job much simpler and quicker. Copied from dexter manual for bearing maintenance.

I may do it by hand the next time around though. Personally I like to check end-play, spindle, bearings and races for wear. ;o), Unless you see signs of them loosing grease I'd stick to about 40,000 miles or two years. No grease inside the drum but the pads were worn on the outer edges indicating that the pads were adjusted too tightly (on self adjusting brakes no less). For my many trailers, I "pull their hubs", do a full brake inspections and grease their axles "every other year". My trailer is 2 years old and this method has worked fine for me. He didnt seem to understand my point and just stood firm that he got the job done and thats that. Any RVer or person with a trailer (boat, hauler or any other) knows that axle bearings require regular maintenance. 2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. The axles come from the factory with just a little bit of grease in the bearings. That sucks! Google Courtsara EZ Lube Spindles. The process is supposed to be pretty simple. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -, 2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles), US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population, My posts shouldn't be taken for factual data, and are purely fictional, for entertainment purposes, should not be constituted as related to scientific, technical, engineering, legal, religious, spiritual, or practical advice. Wow, 100% markup. Remember that these different types of axle systems are meant to make servicing your trailer bearings easier. Good to know. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. I closely watched him so that I can just do the job myself next time. I found a local RV repair place that comes to you and had them come out and inspect the brakes. None of that was in dispute. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Since everything is new now, maybe it will work properly. These are meant for tandem or triple axle trailers and let you raise a tire off the ground without using a jack at all. Damn. Since Dexter themselves say it is safe, I bought a grease gun and did the job myself. Wednesday has come and no word from the tech so I call to see if they are coming out on Thursday. We decide to not even look at the passenger side since they both were going to need replacing at this point as well. This feature provides a convenient method for purging the water from the hub cavity without having to pull the hub every time. They proceed to tell me they only ordered parts for one axle by mistake and the other parts will be here on Monday. Centrifugal force and heat cause the grease to move within the hub and it has no place to go. Catch the trade winds in your sails. 3. First wheel checked was the driver rear. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Please verify the actual measurements of any unit prior to purchasing it. With todays brake shoe technology the 3,000 mile adjustments are serious overkill. This design has an inlet and a pressure relief outlet. Inner Bearing I had to change the shoes, and redo everything. This is also a good time to adjust the brakes if necessary. Using this method, I only had to move the jack up a few inches before the tire came off the ground. (Disclaimer: Anything you do to your vehicle or trailer is your decision and I do not accept any responsibility for accidents, mishaps, or damage that may occur if you follow the procedures Ive listed here.). TrailersPlus is your one-stop destination for trailer sales, parts, and service. As one tire goes up the ramp, the other tire on the same side of the trailer is lifted off the ground. This is a pet peeve of mine so Im already annoyed. Doesn't anyone check their brakes via visual inspections? Thats why your brakes look like they do. But Im seeing a 100% markup here. Dexter parts are made in the USA. I would not worry about blowing them out when using the EZ lube method to add more grease. When new grease starts to come out, you can stop pumping. Discover. -- Attributed to Mark Twain. The reason the seal gave out is because of too much grease and no where for it to go. I finally just had to hand the phone back to the tech and wish them a good evening. Using the easy lube hubs causes more problems than you think they will fix. Until, that is, he had left and Im reading the instructions included with our brakes. Since I had never needed to jack up my trailer before, I wasnt sure of the best way to do it. Home RV Tips How to Lubricate Dexter EZ Lube Axles. Wipe away excess. I wasnt overcharged. Dream. First, remove plastic cap on the end of the axle: Then remove the rubber cap. Second, you will most likely blow grease out the rear seals. Almost all trailer manufacturers say once a year or a certain mileage (ours is 12k). Ive also handpacked the bearings recently and replaced all the rear seals. This system makes it easy to lubricate the bearings without removing the whole hub assembly and repacking them by hand. Ouch! There is another design out there that are being used on 4wd trucks but will work on anything. Outer Bearing re: I pull each hub for brake inspection and where needed, replace the item. This allows you to lubricate the inner and outer bearings by having a pathway from the zerk on the end of the axle to the inner bearing. Place a standard manual grease gun onto the grease fitting located in the end of the spindle. This whole idea just seemed dangerouse and unnecessary. I hope next time you need any trailer maintenance you turn to YouTube first. Stay Up to Date With the Latest and Greatest. It is helping. The tech that did the work to the RV actually came back later in the afternoon to see what I was upset about (which I appreciated instead of just a call). Photographer, nature lover and geek. I was pissed because he took that very important decision from me. The only time you need to gease your wheel bearings are when you check the brake linings. As I write this Ive called and left a message asking just that so well see what they say. When grease is pumped in the zerk, it is pushed through the inner pathway of the spindle to reach the inner bearing first. The procedure is as follows: However, the design is different in that the Buddy Bearings dust cap sticks out more than that in the E-Z Lube system because of a larger grease reservoir within the dust cap. See the actual trailer for complete accuracy of features, options & pricing. I think Jayco might be a little more "high end" than Nomad.

Make sure the grease gun nozzle is fully engaged on the fitting. So obviously something wasnt right and I feared the worse. If so, why not do proper greasing then? I would also need some massive jack stands to safely raise it this high and feel safe working around and under it. They will advise against just relying on EZ-Lube and to inspect and repack annual. So with an ez lube hub, which I have no experience with, will a pump of grease every 6 months or so do that?! If your trailer sits for an extended period of time, youll want to repack your bearings before rolling down the road. This allows new grease to be added to the hubs where the outer bearings is, all without having to remove the hub. Continue pumping until grease starts to come out the front around the grease gun. Great threadthanks to all for the info. Two wheels were fine while two were not. Actually, now Im moving from annoyed to angry. If they couldnt get the Dexter parts in time, then that would be a decision Id need to make (like staying even longer, getting the work done elsewhere along our travels, or just going with the Chinese parts from TruRyde).