How many of you grease your own trailer axles?

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Kendog 170 said:
Seals do fail. Keep pumping and you know the rest. Lazy man's maintenance. Disassemble, inspect, reassemble. JMO
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Bearing packer and HUMAN inspection is best u nailed it Bearing buddy's are for the not so active humans anyway u look at it a welded up bearing is a bad day no matter where it happens , I repacked my bearings on new car trailer once it was home & guess what 2 grease caps were missing the center caps covered this up.
 
One of the things I really miss from my millwright days. We had guys in the office that were great and had time to look up any bearing that we needed and ordered it from Bearing Inc in pittsburgh. They dropped it off at our shop door we’re the store room was and we just had to go pay the discount price. Im
Not sure that place is still open.
 
Well, here's what happens when you don't grease your bearings. Had to replace the axle.

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RockinRobin said:
I realized the other day that I haven't greased the axles on my race trailer in 2 years, so I went and bought 5 tubes and got it done today.
I put maybe 5000 miles a year on this trailer. 3 of the 4 were a little loose (you could move the nut by hand) so I tightened them until the brake drum wouldn't spin then backed off 1 flat.
Old grease was light black but didn't look or smell burnt. Took a full tube for each wheel.
I was wondering what guidelines you use for tightening the lock nut on the spindle. Is it different than a car?
Thanks!
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Sure Do. Lol

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I've seen to many trailer axles with the brakes full of grease....Bearing Buddies are a disaster waiting to happen... Take the damn things apart every few years clean & repack... And don't crank the bearings down to tight.... Like the O/P stated, "so I tightened them until the brake drum wouldn't spin"......
 
I repack the bearings once a year, usually around this time of year before the road starts getting really hot with the summer heat.

This time of year is a good time to replace dry rotted tires and give the whole trailer a good inspection.

Summer heat changes a lot of things and really shows where the weak spots are.
 
All of the previous recommendations are good. I was negligent in my trailer maintenance and burned up a bearing on my enclosed trailer last fall on the way to a race. Luckily it happened near my sis in laws house and I was able to limp there. First time it happened in 23 years of owning the trailer , I had to replace an axle and I had all new bearings and brakes done. I now will check the grease several times a year
 
I’ve probably had my hubs off six times in 18 years we’ve had the trailer. Our 5k axles have the EZ lube style grease hubs like most. I’ve pushed grease past a seal on one and made a mess of the brakes. Probably due to not rotating the wheel while greasing it. I’ve noted there are better seals on etrailer that are more robust but I’ve never pursued stepping up to them.
 
RockinRobin said:
I realized the other day that I haven't greased the axles on my race trailer in 2 years, so I went and bought 5 tubes and got it done today.
I put maybe 5000 miles a year on this trailer. 3 of the 4 were a little loose (you could move the nut by hand) so I tightened them until the brake drum wouldn't spin then backed off 1 flat.
Old grease was light black but didn't look or smell burnt. Took a full tube for each wheel.
I was wondering what guidelines you use for tightening the lock nut on the spindle. Is it different than a car?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Did you pull the hubs off to clean and repack the bearings and relace the axle seals, or do you have dust caps with grease fittings? I do not like the grease fittings. If you pumped a full grease tube in each hub, they are totally full. There is a grease well in the center of each hub that holds grease. As the hub warms up driving down the road the grease melts a little and some can flow into the bearing as it requires it.
When you pump it totally full the grease rotates in like layers with friction which heats the grease. Eventually it can get hot enough to be like gear oil. It can get hot enough to be like a torque converter in stall for an extended time, big heat.
Semis trailer bearings run with gear oil. The hub caps have a clear center so you can see the oil level and the center has a rubber bung to add oil. There is an "embossed" area to indicate the full level.
I do not know why there is not an equivalent for car and RV trailers.
 
Demonx2 said:
I've got EZ lube hubs on my enclosed car hauler trailer and just greased them for the 1st time at about 6800 miles. It took quite a bit of grease this 1st time as you're filling up the hub cavity when you do it. And these are 6000# axles so they have the bigger bearings and hubs. Roughly 1 tube of grease for 2 wheels.

As for bearings, I've always just made them hand tight and called it good. I've done this on my flat car hauler trailer that I've owned since 1986. As others have said above, too tight = death!

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2 to 4 pumps should be enough. The grease in the cap that you just pumped in will melt and flow through the outer bearings and top up the grease well in the hub. Grease will flow into the inner bearings.
I personally prefer to remove the hubs, clean and repack the bearings by hand. Fill the grease well level and install new seals. Snug the nut a bit more than zero clearance to make sure everything is seated in place. Then back off to zero clearance. Best to back off from there just enough to get the cotter pin in.
 
bbab3 said:
I have a HQ15 Black Series travel trailer and I am in the process of converting the hubs to an oil bath bearing set up. Due the amount of miles traveled and weight #5200. From what I been advised its good solution to the joys bearing packing.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Bearings-Races-Seals-Caps/Kodiak/XLPROLUBE1980KIT.html
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I'd be worried about failure. Normal styles can tolerate a little misuse as long as you check them at the beginning of the season. If you lose a seal in an oil bath.....You've got nothing. I suspect that we wouldn't get the same quality set up that you'd see on a semi. I'd carry a spare hub and hope that a bad bearing wouldn't take out the spindle.......I do like the idea though.
 
RockinRobin said:
I realized the other day that I haven't greased the axles on my race trailer in 2 years, so I went and bought 5 tubes and got it done today.
I put maybe 5000 miles a year on this trailer. 3 of the 4 were a little loose (you could move the nut by hand) so I tightened them until the brake drum wouldn't spin then backed off 1 flat.
Old grease was light black but didn't look or smell burnt. Took a full tube for each wheel.
I was wondering what guidelines you use for tightening the lock nut on the spindle. Is it different than a car?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Me.....
 
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