Wheel bearing zerks. (a.k.a.factory equipment " bearing buddies")

[Motographer]

Newbie getting to know my 2021 Imagine 2600RB: I Just discovered the "bearing buddy" like grease zerks in the axles(under the removable hub cap and rubber boot .What are the recommendations on "frequency"? A couple of pumps before every trip? I read somewhere "over doing" this effectively ruins the seals and gets grease inside the brake hubs?? What does every body else do??

[Country Campers]

I do not use the grease zerk on the end of the spindle. I did use it a few times on my previous TT and found out the hard way that although grease should come out the front it will also push out past the rear seal and get on the brakes , not good. So from then on I do not use the zerk. About every 2 years I remove the hubs and clean and inspect the bearings , brakes , and spindle. Then repack the bearings , add a new rear seal and reinstall the hub. I have not had brake issues since. Not that this is the best solution but it is what I do. Others have added grease by the zerk and have had success , I did not one time and I do not want to go thru that again , no brakes traveling down the road is not fun.

Brian

[Motographer]

ThanksBrian, Just Found this under "dexter axle e-z lube system". https://youtu.be/nzKZ7hjExtk But I'll take your experience under advisement as I asked, and you took the time to answer, thank you very much.

[Country Campers]

ThanksBrian, Just Found this under "dexter axle e-z lube system". https://youtu.be/nzKZ7hjExtk But I'll take your experience under advisement as I asked, and you took the time to answer, thank you very much.

If you notice in that video it is for "submersible axels" stated right in the beginning. They do not state at any time that the video is for RV trailer axels.

Brian

[Jkwilson]

Bearing Buddies are a different product. They are sealed and maintain positive pressure inside the hub of a boat trailer so water isn’t drawn in by rapidly cooling air when a boat trailer is backed into the water after the hub is warm.

There isn’t a clear answer, and I’ll bet you’ll find people on this forum who argue to do one thing because the people who designed the axle know best, and also argue that you shouldn’t use the zerk that the very same people designed It could be me! It’s possible to add grease via the zerk and keep rolling, but it’s something where you really need to understand what it does and not just blindly keep filling it.

[familytruckster4]

The EZ lube system is not a replacement for a bearing service. They are primarily designed (as mentioned above) for boat trailers but for some reason RV builders keep specing them on their axles. My last 3 trailers had the seals blown out prior to my possession of the trailer, the most recent one this spring on my 2021 cost Dexter over $500 in parts to fix plus the labor
A properly serviced set of bearings should not require additional grease between repacks.
I have never seen any document from Dexter that states simply putting grease into the hubs via the EZ lube system is a replacement for a "bearing service/repack"

[Cate&Rob]

Motographer

See this parallel thread. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/gdrv4li...wheel-bearings
Wheel bearing grease does not “go way” unless there is a bearing or seal problem that needs to be addressed. There is absolutely no need to “add a couple pumps of grease” before every trip. As noted in the other thread, repacking the bearings by hand is more about inspecting the brakes and bearings and replacing the rear seal. None of this will be accomplished by using the zerk fitting to inject more grease.

Rob

[colan]

For all of the reasons stated above; potential for blowing out seals, need to periodically inspect brakes and bearing, and grease doesn’t go away I am not a fan of adding grease through the grease fittings.

Another thing or two to consider:

Is the grease in the grease gun compatible with the grease used by the axle manufacturer? Is the grease in the gun suitable for bearings, typical chassis grease may not be suitable.

If you do decide to pump in some grease the first time it will take a LOT of grease to get new grease to the outer bearing. Grease travels through the hollow axle to the back of the inner bearing, through the inner bearing, then fills the large cavity in the hub and finally to the outer bearing. The last few years hub and axle manufacturers put little if any grease in the big open center cavity.

I service the axles on a fair number of fifth wheels and travel trailers, have yet to see an axle that had seen at least semi regular maintenance that a little more grease would have saved a bearing.

[Guest]

I'll get on board and agree that the zerks are not needed where a properly packed bearing would be fine during its recommended in-service interval. However, the seal should not push out if greased with a hand held grease gun and applied per the instructions of spinning the wheel. Grease will escape out the front and will prevent any adverse pressure that would be high enough to push out the seal. I've never seen a seal pushed out on a marine trailer with a hand held grease gun and we do not spin any wheels. Also, marine trailers as stated above are greased to prevent the intrusion of water due to submersion. Something we do not see on a travel trailer.

Jim

[familytruckster4]

Something else to think about when considering the EZ lube system, in order for the grease to exit the outer bearing it must first fill the cavity between the bearings. There are hazards to overfilling a bearing housing as shown here: https://www.machinerylubrication.com...nent%20failure.

A company I worked for back in my youth built machinery, one of the components required regular maintenance that included grease. Virtually all of the bearing failures on that part were due to overgreasing. The cavity was packed full all the time causing it to run hot and the premature bearings failure. Sometime too much is too much.

[Guest]

A different type of application where in a semi open slow rotating system like the EZ lube, the expanding grease has to go somewhere to your point. It would either push out the rubber plug in excessive cases or fill any void left in the cap. The rubber cap also expands for increased volume.

Not trying to defend using the EZ lube on campers but is must work for marine applications. For Bearing buddies, they leak grease (even into bearing buddy bras which provide some volume) and my marine trailer uses a passage on the back of the spindle to let grease escape (big blob on axle) where the passage is long enough to prevent water intrusion. For a marine application, I would not be fond of the EZ Lube system where there needs to be a space for the expanding grease to escape. But it must work for them or it would not be around long.

Jim