Urgent need help with bearing grease!

[Deeds]

Hey everyone, I kinda need some urgent help, I have a 2015 keystone laredo 23rb... I bought it last year from my parents who bought it, had it delivered to my place and due to health reasons prevented them from using it even once... I bought it last year from them and had the dealer go over it but looking at my receipt and giving the dealer a call the bearings were overlooked! We leave first thing in the morning and now I've realized that for 4 years the bearings have not been greased granted the trailer has less than 1000 miles on it I'm struggling with what to do! I dont know how to disassemble the the axle to clean and repack, I can add grease to the ez lube fittings though! Curious do you guys think 4 years but less than 1000 miles the preexisting grease is good to run or should i add some? I feel like i know the answer but now I've been told if i dont know what's in there it's bad news to add some because some greases dont mix well. I would add lucas red and tacky if y'all think that's a good thing to do. No dealers were able to squeeze me in! And I was told it was done so normally i wouldn't neglect things like this!

[sourdough]

Deeds, how long of a trip?

Edit: Did you replace the tires? They have probably aged out.

[chuckster57]

I would worry about the tires, I think your good on the grease.

[Deeds]

Not horribly far around 600 miles round trip, I'm kinda nervous now that I went through the receipt and saw it was never done, this is the furthest we've ventured from home its pulled fine on our shorter trips, I just keep hearing about greasing the brakes and mixing grease so I'm confused what's my best way to go about things!

[Deeds]

Lol just put Carlisle hds on it due to the crap trailer kings or whatever they are cracking! No worries with the tires now, it rides so much better with the carlisle

[chuckster57]

Change out the tires. Take your trip and when you get back, we will discuss bearing service.

[sourdough]

You will probably be OK until you get back. Have you pulled the rubber caps off the wheels to look inside? Can you see any kind of "soft" grease or is it just all hard dried and crumbly?

[Deeds]

Haven't pulled them I'll go check now

[chuckster57]

With new tires, I personally wouldn’t be that worried about the bearings.

[wiredgeorge]

If the trailer wasn't used, the bearing grease will still be there and since bearing grease doesn't evaporate, don't worry about it. Just enjoy your trip!

[Deeds]

Alright I just went out and checked, i cant see the bearings due to a seal behind the zerk, but I did notice some red grease around the zerk that appeared to be pretty fresh... so If you guys think just run it i will, I just didn't know if I should try and add any! Thanks for everyones quick responses I will go back to packing up!

[chuckster57]

I say don’t add any grease, doing so may cause grease to get past the seal and contaminate the brakes.

[sourdough]

Sounds like it should be OK. Go for it, have fun and repack when you get back; then you know what you got.

[Deeds]

Alright I'll stop worrying, but I wont forget to deal with them, thanks guys you definetly put me ease on the whole thing! Thank you for your help!

[travelin texans]

I recommend NEVER using the EZ lube system, others swear by it but most swear at it.
As suggested check the tire dates, I'd be more concerned with them as this point. Go enjoy your trip & care of the bearings when you return. There u tube videos with his to pack rv bearings using minimal tools, you will get your hands dirty, but this a maintenance item that's not difficult to perform & would be beneficial to you to know how to do it.

[notanlines]

Deeds, four knowledgeable people (albeit three of them are Texans :eek:) have given you good advice! Almost nobody with any experience recommends using the zerk on the EZ lube system. Believe me, avoid using it. If you are running on original rubber or dated rubber, replace them! Take your trip, enjoy yourself, and we'll get into the bearing some other day.

[Steveo57]

Don't worry about the bearings and the grease. Most of the trailers you'll see on your trip have never touched their bearings! Check the temperatures of the wheels when you stop to see if anything is getting hot.

[flybouy]

Alright I just went out and checked, i cant see the bearings due to a seal behind the zerk, but I did notice some red grease around the zerk that appeared to be pretty fresh... so If you guys think just run it i will, I just didn't know if I should try and add any! Thanks for everyones quick responses I will go back to packing up!

You cannot visualize the bearings unless you remove the hub. As just about everyone has stated don't worry about the bearings now BUT DO WORRY ABOUT THOSE TIRES!

Trailer tires don't wear out they age out. The tires that come on the trailers are known to blow apart in just a few years. A hand grenade might do less damage than a blow out at highway speeds. If it were mine I'd only tow it to a tire dealer. There's many, many posts on this forum about tire choices. Get a drink, pull up a chair, and start reading.

[Hoopy Frood]

Didn't anyone read that he had already changed the tires out?

With a 600 mile trip, I certainly wouldn't worry about the bearings. Although it would be a good idea to check the bearing grease at some point after the trip. Most of the issues with the EZ Lube system is from faulty assembly at the facility where the axles were assembled, IMO anyway. But the EZ Lube system isn't really needed.

The bearings should be checked, and repacked if necessary, when the trailer is first taken into possession. After that every few years if you feel the need, or more often if you put many tens of thousands of miles on your trailer. Every year is a waste of time, material, and effort. And brakes can be checked at the same time you do your bearings, again more often if you travel lots and lots of miles.

[Billod]

I thought I would share my recent experience with bearings, grease, and brakes, etc.

I purchased a lightly used trailer with two axles and found a bad bearing and one tire that had a lot of wear (after purchase). After reviewing Youtube videos, I decided to replace all of the bearings and races, and in my opinion, it was a relatively straight forward task, albeit messy. I am glad I performed the upgrades, and I had peace of mind for the trip, while also protecting the new tires that I had just purchased.

What I further discovered while replacing the bearings was the electric brake shoe pads were very thick and thought I was all right. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed the brake magnet contact point to the brake drum was worn past its wear indicator holes at a surprising angle, causing limited braking when the brakes applied (I had adjusted the brakes). I was further surprised to discover the brake drum were also worn at the same angle and had limited contact between the new magnet, and drum surface. As a result, I had to replace the drums.

In the end, I replaced the entire electric brake assembly ($65 each) because just the magnet were $20 itself. I installed new drums (~$65 each), and bearings and races ($25 each). New Lucas Red and Tacky wheel bearing grease (3 tubes about $5 each) and a bearing packing tool "Performance Tool Universal Bearing Packer" for about $8. It was well worth the time and investment to ensure the best that I could that we did not have a breakdown on the side of the road with the family. It took me a weekend to complete the maintenance for our 3K mile round trip that I just finished this week. The tools I needed to replace the bearing races were a brass punch and bearing race driver that totaled ~$40.

I hope this helps. Also, I am have not performed bearing and brake replacements on a trailer before. Youtube has terrific repair videos, IMHO.

p.s. My trailer has the Dexter Ez-Lube axles and I was able to see the concern of others greasing bearings using the grease zerk fittings and overfilling with grease. In a pinch, I would use it very sparingly. I will probably never use them, and grease the bearings the old fashion method.

Best,
Bill

[Upland111]

Buy an infrared thermometer. Harbor Freight has one for a few dollars. I always chec the trailer wheels/tires & truck at each stop just for piece of mind.

[LewisB]

A TPMS (Tire pressure monitoring system) is a great investment to go along with new tires. The TPMS will monitor both the pressure and the temperature of your tires and provide you an early warning of any high temperature or pressure issues. I recommend: https://www.technorv.com/tst-tire-pressure-monitoring-systems/#

[Billod]

Thanks, I purchased a cheap one for the trip costing about $40 dollars, and it was not even close to being accurate. Thanks for the recommendation and I'll check it out.

[sourdough]

I thought I would share my recent experience with bearings, grease, and brakes, etc.

I purchased a lightly used trailer with two axles and found a bad bearing and one tire that had a lot of wear (after purchase). After reviewing Youtube videos, I decided to replace all of the bearings and races, and in my opinion, it was a relatively straight forward task, albeit messy. I am glad I performed the upgrades, and I had peace of mind for the trip, while also protecting the new tires that I had just purchased.

What I further discovered while replacing the bearings was the electric brake shoe pads were very thick and thought I was all right. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed the brake magnet contact point to the brake drum was worn past its wear indicator holes at a surprising angle, causing limited braking when the brakes applied (I had adjusted the brakes). I was further surprised to discover the brake drum were also worn at the same angle and had limited contact between the new magnet, and drum surface. As a result, I had to replace the drums.

In the end, I replaced the entire electric brake assembly ($65 each) because just the magnet were $20 itself. I installed new drums (~$65 each), and bearings and races ($25 each). New Lucas Red and Tacky wheel bearing grease (3 tubes about $5 each) and a bearing packing tool "Performance Tool Universal Bearing Packer" for about $8. It was well worth the time and investment to ensure the best that I could that we did not have a breakdown on the side of the road with the family. It took me a weekend to complete the maintenance for our 3K mile round trip that I just finished this week. The tools I needed to replace the bearing races were a brass punch and bearing race driver that totaled ~$40.

I hope this helps. Also, I am have not performed bearing and brake replacements on a trailer before. Youtube has terrific repair videos, IMHO.

p.s. My trailer has the Dexter Ez-Lube axles and I was able to see the concern of others greasing bearings using the grease zerk fittings and overfilling with grease. In a pinch, I would use it very sparingly. I will probably never use them, and grease the bearings the old fashion method.

Best,
Bill


Billod - thanks for that post. I think many either don't do bearing/brake maintenance because it seems daunting or something. Other than getting a bit dirty not much too it. Thanks for your perspective on your experience. I expect that will put others at ease to just "jump in" and give it a whirl.

[NMRandy]

I doubt seriously you will ever see temp from a bearing. Brakes and tires create much more heat.

[sourdough]

I doubt seriously you will ever see temp from a bearing. Brakes and tires create much more heat.


If one is not maintained (greased) you can and will. Pulled a pop up once and the bearings were not greased. They seized and literally cut the spindle off. I can assure you when they finally cut that spindle off it was definitely "smoking".:D

[NMRandy]

Well ... if you let them go that far. My rigs hubs always have some temp in them due to the heat from the brakes. On trailer axles without brakes, you may be able to detect a bearing starting to go bad, due to a temp difference from one hub to the other.

[Upland111]

The grease in a bearing doesn't allow metal to metal contact in the bearing. Loose the grease and i will guarantee there will be plenty of heat. Be sure to aim (most have a laser dot) your infra-red thermometer at the center most part of the wheel/drum and compare to the other wheels. Whether it is a bearing or brakes, you have a problem if the temp is significantly higher than the others.

[flybouy]

Thanks, I purchased a cheap one for the trip costing about $40 dollars, and it was not even close to being accurate. Thanks for the recommendation and I'll check it out.

I wouldn't expect to get the same performance for 1/10 the cost.

[NMRandy]

I had a brake dragging a little, and it caused the drum/hub to be hot. I had another, that the brake magnet wire was not secured at the factory, rubbed through, and the brake stop working, and the drum/hub was cold. I am just saying that by the time a bearing starts to heat, the damage is done, and with the heat from brakes and tires, I doubt seriously, you could tell the difference. Best to check them, by cleaning and packing, and not try to see if they are ok by using a temp gun.

[Upland111]

Not saying to forego maintenance. Just offering a “going down the road” safety check. I would rather maybe catch “something” before it happens as opposed to finding out with a bang!