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  1. #11
    Seasoned Camper
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    Yeah dont use the zerk on the axel for this, it will first fill the cavity between the inner bearing and the seal, then it will begin to force it thru the bearings, filling the hub cavity completely full before it comes out the outer bearing. You dont want that, now there is no room for expansion and its very likely the grease will force out past the seal. That is if it didnt already while you were pumping it full.

  2. #12
    Site Sponsor Richter's Avatar
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    Is there a way, short of taking the bearings and seals loose, to check for a greaser? I noticed some petroleum-looking staining on the inside edge of my rims. More apparent on one than on the rest. I took the tire and wheel off, but don’t see anything on the outside of the drum, or around the inspection/adjustment hole on the back-side.

    I’ve attached photos of what I can see. The first is the wheel that I am questioning (curb side, front). The second is the wheel next to it (curb side rear). I included a picture of the brake drum. The last photo is a wheel from the other side of the trailer.

    As many others, I’m not smart enough to figure out how to rotate the pictures (or maybe the system isn’t intuitive enough for many of us to “get it”.)

    Thanks, in advance.
    Tom and Janice (known as Tom in PGH on the “other” forum)

    First came the 18' Comfort bumper-pull, was great for 20 years.
    Now a 2019 Reflection 303RLS, second air, double glass, table and chairs
    2019 F350 Lariat (Diesel) 4x4 Crewcab with lots of goodies
    Andersen aluminum with the puck system holding it all together
    Cranberry Twp. PA, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh

  3. #13
    New Member
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    A question... What good are the zerks? Seems likely to pump out the seals well before filling the hub and effectively lubing the outer bearing. Maybe use the zerks for greasing the inner bearing and pop the outer bearing out and hand repack it?

  4. #14
    Seasoned Camper Da Breeze's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tim2542 View Post
    Yeah dont use the zerk on the axel for this, it will first fill the cavity between the inner bearing and the seal, then it will begin to force it thru the bearings, filling the hub cavity completely full before it comes out the outer bearing. .
    If you look at Dexter's own video on their website, this procedure is exactly what is DESIGNED to occur.
    Pumping in new grease pushes ALL the old grease out.
    I would think the manufacturer and their design engineers know more about their product than an end user.
    I do agree inspection of the bearings and races at 12K -15K miles is required to ascertain wear and function.

    Michael

    Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
    Previously known as mikgala

    F-250 7.3 PSD Lariat Super Cab LB wt 152K - 25 row Ford tranny cooler, A&E Air Intake system, TS-6 high performance Super Chip, Air Ride airbags, Bilstein shocks

    2017 Reflection 307 MKS 9,875 UVW / 12,995 GVWR / 1,605 Pin

    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  5. #15
    Seasoned Camper
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    Next time you pack your bearings, take a look at the grease port location, its right where I said, between the seal and inner bearing. The seals often wont take the pressure, but pressure is what it takes to push the thick grease between the roller bearings. Ive seen the seals actually pushed out of the hub from the pressure. But go ahead and pump ‘em full if you like.

  6. #16
    Fireside Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by F350TK351M View Post
    First a little background, we took delivery of our new 2020 Reflection 311BHS on August 16th. It was towed 87 miles to the seasonal site we have. Factoring in the distance from the Grand Design factory to the dealership, and then to our campsite, this trailer has traveled about 570 miles. We are preparing to take it to Nashville for a week later this month when our campground closes for the season. That will add about 1600 miles to the rig and hopefully give it a decent shakedown to uncover any potential warranty issues.

    One of the preparation tasks I decided to do was remove each of the wheels to visually inspect the brakes and condition of the bearings. It was a bit of work but I’m glad I did. Both wheel locations on the rear axle were fine as was the front driver side location. Everything looked good to go. When I did the passenger side wheel location on the front axle, I found the brakes were completely greased. I cleaned things up with copious amounts of Brakleen and looked for something that would have caused the seal to fail. What I found was about 1/3rd of the rubber seal circumference had what looked like a crease or a defect. I removed the old seal and replaced it. Luckily I had ordered a spare set of seals in preparation for this inspection in case packing was needed.

    I’ll follow up with Grand Design to let them know of the issue I found.

    Here are a couple pictures of the greased brakes and brake drum.
    Attachment 22967
    Attachment 22968
    Some more food for thought.... Last Monday my brother and his wife were towing their 2250RK to meet us at the coast and almost lost one of the wheels on the trailer. After waiting three hours on the side of the highway and a $1300.00 tow bill to a repair facility, they found out that the castle nut that keeps the wheel on the axle spindle had almost completely backed off the spindle, the retaining clip that goes over the castle nut to keep it in place was nowhere to be found. The trailer has less than three thousand miles on it and he had warranty work performed earlier in the year where the Dealer was supposed to have checked and inspected the brakes so, did the Tech forget to install the retaining clip and did he actually remove the wheels and hubs or, if not did the axle come from the factory that way? I have done my own maintenance on the axles and have had the work done by others, either way it is always good to get a set of eyes on the bearings and brakes. We all have to trust that any work we pay to have done is done correctly but this event lessens makes my comfort level a little bit. Coop
    Steve & Cindy
    2018 Imagine 2250RK
    2019 GMC Sierra 3500 Duramax Denali

  7. #17
    Long Hauler
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    There's one reason the axles are being injected with a thin axle grease through zerk fittings. It's cheaper on labor to inject the grease, and the grease being used is cheaper than sticky old style axle grease. The engineers are there to figure out how much cheaper it is to do the job that way versus hand packing the bearings with thick axle grease.

    But why can they not spend an extra $1 and use a decent U.S. brand of seals versus $3 Chinese grease seals that fail so often?

  8. #18
    Fireside Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by Da Breeze View Post
    Hey F350,

    STILL ??? I thought this issue had been resolved with the switch to Dexter axles ??

    Michael

    Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
    I had Dexter on my last TT and 3 out of 4 seals were leaking after a year of light travel.
    Replaced with SKF bearings ans made in USA seals (not sure of brand)
    The bearings were OK but showed signs of light wear, the rollers were wearing uneven IE showed more on one end verses the other, like the angle was slightly off.
    Tim

  9. #19
    Site Sponsor
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    There’s only one way to be 100% positive your seals are intact, brakes aren’t greased, magnets aren’t worn and bearings haven’t been overheated; that’s to pull the hubs, clean the bearings and inspect the components.
    2022 Imagine XLS 22MLE
    Sold: 2015 27RL
    2016 Ram 3500 Crewcab Cummins SRW

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