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  1. #1
    Setting Up Camp Bad_dog's Avatar
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    Grease the bearings?

    I have the Lions head wheels on my Solitude. Does this center cap come off to expose the easy lube hub? I don't want to force it. Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
    Setting Up Camp Bad_dog's Avatar
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    Oh, it's a 2018 with Dexter axles.

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  3. #3
    Rolling Along carnolddsm's Avatar
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    To answer your question yes, however greasing the bearings using these fittings is not recommended.

    Why?

    1. There is a chance of blowing out the seal on the back side of the hub. The result is grease on the brakes.

    2. RV bearings need to be cleaned, inspected and repacked periodically. Pumping more grease in is not a substitute. Both Dexter and Lippert specify repacking every 12 months or 12,000 miles which ever comes first.

    3. Between bearing services there is no need to add more grease.
    Colan and Marilyn Arnold
    Des Moines, IA - kind of, on the road full time.
    Currently in Durango, Colorado
    Momentum 350M originally, now a 397TH

  4. #4
    Setting Up Camp
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    Quote Originally Posted by carnolddsm View Post
    To answer your question yes, however greasing the bearings using these fittings is not recommended.

    Why?

    1. There is a chance of blowing out the seal on the back side of the hub. The result is grease on the brakes.

    2. RV bearings need to be cleaned, inspected and repacked periodically. Pumping more grease in is not a substitute. Both Dexter and Lippert specify repacking every 12 months or 12,000 miles which ever comes first.

    3. Between bearing services there is no need to add more grease.
    Then what’s the point of having an easy lube axle?

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor Gold Country Livin''s Avatar
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    I believe it's a carry over from boat trailers and needing to purge water out.
    2016 GMC 2500 HD Denali Crew Cab 4x4 Duramax
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    B & W turnover ball with Andersen Ultimate
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  6. #6
    Rolling Along carnolddsm's Avatar
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    The question of why have the grease fitting has come up. before. Answer is these same axles are used in a lot of different applications. And like Gold Country Livin suggested a good way for purging water from axles that are regularly immersed in water.

    A while back Grand Design was asked why don’t the order the axles without the grease fittings. Answer was the axle manufacturers wanted to charge more for removing the fittings.
    Colan and Marilyn Arnold
    Des Moines, IA - kind of, on the road full time.
    Currently in Durango, Colorado
    Momentum 350M originally, now a 397TH

  7. #7
    Setting Up Camp
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    I downloaded a copy of the Dexter maintenance manual. It says if you have easy lube axles, you can periodically grease the bearings without pulling the hub. Common sense applies, but if the manual says it’s ok to do, then I’m thinking a few pumps in between the 12k manual re-pack is ok. Like any other easy lube axle, be mindful of the seals and don’t put too much in and it should be ok.

  8. #8
    Long Hauler
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    I will get frowned on but I have used the easy lube for years on our previous TT with no problems and continue to do so on this new unit. I jack up the tire and while spinning the tire I grease the bearings. The old grease will come out the front around the nut. I also do the manual repack.

    Brian

  9. #9
    Rolling Along cookinwitdiesel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Country Campers View Post
    I will get frowned on but I have used the easy lube for years on our previous TT with no problems and continue to do so on this new unit. I jack up the tire and while spinning the tire I grease the bearings. The old grease will come out the front around the nut. I also do the manual repack.

    Brian
    The jacking up and spinning the wheel part is probably a big piece to NOT blowing out the seal if I had to guess, this extra motion and being unloaded helps everything flow in the correct direction vs just pressurizing and blowing out the back seal.
    2019 GMC Sierra 3500HD Denali Diesel DRW (Crew Cab | 8 Ft bed | OEM Puck System | Curt Gooseneck Ball for OEM Puck | Timbrens on rear axle)
    2019 Grand Design Solitude S-Class 3740BH-R Fifth Wheel (Onan 5500W LP Generator | MORryde CRE3000 and HD Shackles/Wet Bolts | 3x MORryde Cross Members | 8k Axles and Disc Brakes | Sailun S637 ST | Reese GooseBox 20k 2nd Gen | Splendide Stackable Washer and Dryer)
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  10. #10
    Site Team Second Chance's Avatar
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    I towed boat trailers for 30 years (including fixed keel sailboats)... used Bearing Buddies on all of the axles. The methods by which the E-Z Lube and Bearing Buddy systems work are very different. The BBs use a spring-loaded piston to maintain positive pressure inside the hub to keep water out. The spring-loaded piston design also helps prevent pushing grease out of the inside seal because the pressure is controlled by the give of the spring. This is NOT the same as purging water by pumping grease into the E-Z lube system. If a bearing gets water in it, it needs to be disassembled, cleaned, inspected, and repacked - but only if there is no corrosion. Since there is no "give" in the E-Z lube system, any squeeze of the grease gun could be the one that fills the hub and pushes grease out of the back seal and lubricates the brakes.

    Now, the technical advisor/writer for the Escapees RV club posits this idea: on modern cars and trucks, how often do we have the wheel bearings packed? The answer is never (though I used to do it to my old VWs' - all seven of them - front wheels every 30K miles). He goes on to make the point that, except for the rear axles of trucks which are oil bath, anyway, the bearings on cars and the front bearings on trucks operate under much lighter loads and stresses than do those of heavy RVs. His conclusion... pick a service interval (12 months/12K miles or 24 months/24K miles), stick to it and do the bearing service the old-fashioned way. Don't use any Zerk fittings if they exist. This is how we maintain the bearings on our rig (spindles, hubs and bearings installed by MOR/ryde with the independent suspension).

    Rob
    U.S. Army Retired
    2012 F350 DRW CC LB Lariat PS 6.7
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes,
    Sailun LRG tires, solar, DP windows, W/D
    (Previously in a Reflection 337RLS)
    Full time since 08/2015

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