Greasing the bearings and other wheel issues

We have had our trailer sit for a while (over a year) but it is time to go camping again.  I thought it would be a good idea to grease the bearings (along with some other equipment checks).  Our unit (a little popup from Forest River...not the mini toyhauler in our avatar) has the usual Dexter axles.  I started greasing them with a little 3 oz. canister gun using Supertech lithium based grease.  I knew I would run out of grease (those axles are rather thursty) so I tried to buy more but there was no more of the same thing at Walmart.  I also a little research about axle/ bearing grease and found out that there can be compatability issues with different grease types.  I dug deep into my pockets and purchased a 14 oz grease gun and some Lucas Red and Tacky grease.  I pumped unitl I thought it was pure red grease coming back out again.  So my questions are as follow.

1.  Has anyone ever encoutered any grease issues when their is residual of an old grease still in wheel?  If so what happened?

2.  I was spinning the wheel as I greased (of course) and I noticed that one of the wheels made a little grinding sound and had a hesitation in one point.  Not very badly and I think I may have went each direction about 50 times.  I know the wheel was jacked up high enough to clear the ground by a full inch.  I could spin the wheel using one finger but sitll had a hesitation and grinding sound in one spot.  I'm guessing something in the brakes, maybe rust on a rotor and I think it might be better, now or maybe my hopes are just too high.  Thoughts? 

For starters, Disassemble that bearing and inspect it. The time to do it is now and not when it fails and you?re in the middle of nowhere. How old is the trailer and are you the 1st owner?  If the trailer is many years old, I would probably replace them all.

When you grease the bearing it's also time to adjust the brakes.  But that grinding you heard is most likely the drum dragging just a little bit on the shoe.  Perfectly normal.

I adjusted the brakes on lots of cars back before disc brakes became standard.  That's how we knew they were right, at some point in the rotation there was just a little bit of scraping.  Trailer & fifth wheel brakes are the same.

My experience is that even self adjusting drum brakes sometime require a manual adjustment.  Maybe I didn't back up and slam on the brakes often enough?

Electric brakes get the leverage to push the brake shoes from an electromagnet that rides against the inside face of the brake drum.  When you apply current it grabs onto the rotating drum and the linkage pushes the brake shoes out.

The electromagnet is probably what you hear lightly scraping against the brake drum.  Perfectly normal.

biggersm said:

  I pumped unitl I thought it was pure red grease coming back out again.  So my questions are as follow.

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If you did this you might as well pull the drums as you have more than likely pushed the wheel seals out of the drums. Not the way to repack wheel bearings, take them apart, clean the bearings and inside of drum, use your hand or bearing packer to re grease the bearings, put back together with new cotter pins and adjust the brakes. Filling the drums up completely with grease is a disaster waiting to happen.

Although I would not have pumped all the old grease out past the seals it is perfectly normal for a bearing with a zirc fitting to fill it until a slight amount of grease squeezes out past the seals.

I doubt I would ever use lithium grease on wheel bearings, though.  When changing grease compounds it is good practice to remove the bearings, clean them, inspect them and reinstall. 

Unless you are sure it is a bearing drag (super unlikely) the dragging is a red herring. Brakes or some other cause.

Sounds like the TT doesn't get a lot of use/miles. Unless I was planning on 20,000 miles this year I would call it done and enjoy the summer. Put it on the to do list for next summer to repack the bearings and inspect them.

84southwind said:

If you did this you might as well pull the drums as you have more than likely pushed the wheel seals out of the drums. Not the way to repack wheel bearings, tae them apart, clean the bearings and inside of drum, use your hand or bearing packer to re grease the bearings, put back together with new cotter pins and adjust the brakes. Filling the drums up completely with grease is a disaster waiting to happen.

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Over kill for non boat trailers but they work.

https://www.amazon.com/1-980-Acero-Inoxidable-Remolque-Rodamientos-protecci%C3%B3n/dp/B074JFSX3P/ref=asc_df_B074JFSX3P/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312169646056&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13479640012168427124&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9015642&hvtargid=pla-646398424201&psc=1

  Actually the ?Buddy Bearing? only maintains a positive pressure on the grease (assuming that the hub/ cap is full)....so that when a warm/hot bearing is submerged, the near instant cooling will not draw water past the seals.  The ?Buddy Bearing? will not supply grease to the bearings, and can?t do the same job as the Dexter E-Z Lube type system!  memtb

This debate occurs here every few months. The purists don't trust the EZ Lube system and always want the bearings removed and hand-packed. The rest are satisfied that the EZ Lube system will do what it is advertised to do and just squirt in the grease.  Yes, like any mechanical system, the EZ Lube can fail or maybe not lubricate as well as a good mechanic might.  On the other hand, it may do better than the average trailer owner? The skill level and workmanship can vary a lot!  I'll leave it to the trailer owner as to whether he wants the best (and has the patience to do it) or whether average is "good enough".


Memtb is right about the Bearing Buddy and similar bearing cap products. It's a protection against water intrusion into the bearing assembly but doesn't actually lubricate the bearings. It is not at all equivalent to the EZ Lube system.  Bearing Buddy is for axles that routinely get submerged in water, primarily boat trailers.

Thanks to all for the replies.  I feel better.  I think we will pack up and enjoy the trip and not worry.  However just in case we will be driving by a couple of RV centers if things go real bad.  Our next trip is in state less than a 100 miles away.  Yes it is a Dexter EZ Lube Axle and I followed these two videos.

https://youtu.be/oeIJzoLJ2Go

https://youtu.be/aYJlO-fNNWw

Fortunatly the two videos agree with each other.  Thanks again, mlb

We all love a happy ending.

My Jon boat / motorcycle trailer is one of those fold up trailers you store upright in your garage. I only spent $200 for it but had to assemble it. It's only rated for 1200 pounds. I did add bearing buddies and upgraded the tires to Michelin. The trailer is over twenty years old. I don't know how many miles are on it but it has to over 10K. I always thought bearing buddies were the top of the line. Since it's a fold up trailer, its easy to inspect the bearings and tires before each use. Never had a problem with either and it pulls straight.

Customer complaint: no brakes after greasing axle using the buddy system. All 4 wheels were blown out with grease. We see this a few times a year. I always recommend pulling the wheel clean and check bearings and replace the seals.

whiteva said:

Customer complaint: no brakes after greasing axle using the buddy system. All 4 wheels were blown out with grease. We see this a few times a year. I always recommend pulling the wheel clean and check bearings and replace the seals.

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The grease fitting nonsense was invented for those that just won't do real maintenance.

lynnmor said:

The grease fitting nonsense was invented for those that just won't do real maintenance.

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  The “Buddy Bearing” system and the “Dexter E-Z Lube” system are vastly different designs, for vastly different purposes! Each works just fine when used for it’s designed purpose! 

  A brief internet search can show the different designs, their different purposes, and the proper way to utilize both!  memtb

Memtb said:

  The ?Buddy Bearing? system and the ?Dexter E-Z Lube? system are vastly different designs, for vastly different purposes! Each works just fine when used for it?s designed purpose! 

  A brief internet search can show the different designs, their different purposes, and the proper way to utilize both!  memtb

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Having used both systems on multiple trailers I am well aware of how they are supposed to work.  I also replaced bearings and brakes that were grease and water damaged on Bearing Buddy equipped trailers.  Nothing beats visual inspection and manual greasing.

lynnmor said:

The grease fitting nonsense was invented for those that just won't do real maintenance.

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I'm sure you mean for wheel bearings and I agree. Zirc fittings are invaluable for other applications.

Here's a good video for those who never performed maintenance using bearing buddies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoxZnpDyl6U

Tom55555 said:

Here's a good video for those who never performed maintenance using bearing buddies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoxZnpDyl6U

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Unbelievable poor workmanship!

Lynnmor, why would you say poor workmanship? Can you be more specific?