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Old 09-19-2016, 12:37 AM   #21
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Why wouldn't it be the same with a Travel trailer? I watched the YouTube video on the EZ lube system and I think I will wait a little while longer to do the full pump lube. On second thought I may just pull all the bearings and repack by hand. That way I know it will be all new grease. Does any one know how much to repack a double axial travel trailer?
My opinion is that the smaller wheels have to turn more often and faster than car tires to keep up. Glad you saw the video. When I pump them through each year, it takes 1 1/2 standard-sized tubes of grease (the kind that fit in a caulk gun). That is for a double axle, i.e. four wheels. The first time I did it, it took a long time for any to come out the front, because the bearings were only hand-packed at the factory, and no grease was in the middle. Now, as I pump, each stroke after the first one or two produces output.
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Old 09-19-2016, 12:43 AM   #22
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The bearings and spindles on trailers are cheaply made, especially the RV's want to guess where a lot of axles and bearings are sourced from? China.

I used to do my RV axles every two years on average. One problem is RV's don't get used as much as a car or truck so the grease will get warm then sit and deteriorate.

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Old 09-19-2016, 04:28 PM   #23
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Where should I look for some of the magical "303" stuff? TIA.
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Old 09-19-2016, 04:32 PM   #24
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I bought a gallon on line thru Amazon. Don't remember the price. Not cheap but good. I've seen it at camping and boat stores also.
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Old 09-19-2016, 06:29 PM   #25
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Where should I look for some of the magical "303" stuff? TIA.
Amazon is probably the best place. Buy a spray bottle and then a gallon refill.

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Old 09-19-2016, 07:02 PM   #26
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Unless you're backing your trailer into a lake, there is no need to fill the hub with grease. Those EZ Lube axles are primarily made for boats to keep the water out. I just repacked my bearings, after 2 1/2 years of owning the trailer since new, and the content and quality of the grease was still good.
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Old 09-19-2016, 07:37 PM   #27
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EZ lube Cheap tires

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Unless you're backing your trailer into a lake, there is no need to fill the hub with grease. Those EZ Lube axles are primarily made for boats to keep the water out. I just repacked my bearings, after 2 1/2 years of owning the trailer since new, and the content and quality of the grease was still good.
Thanks for telling me your experience with your bearing repack. I kinda thought that there was no need to repack trailer bearings after a few years. I have gone 50,000+ miles on my trucks with out repacking bearings and never had a problem. I think alot of people jump the gun on maintenance on Travel trailers. The tires I got are made in China and I have already put 2,000+ miles on them. I got 2 because they were 6+ years old the other 2 are dated 2014, 2015 both different kinds. I just went to a big shop in Fort Pierce FL that does alot of semi trucks and they had trailers all over the lot. The guy pumped some grease into the EZ lube hubs and had the tires on in like 15 min. I asked about balancing them and he said you do not have to balance travel trailer tires. The final bill was like $175.00+tax. I think he kinda of knew what was up so I just paid him and left happy. Its good to do the recommended maintenance but for me I do not want to spend unneeded time and money that I don't have to.
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Old 09-20-2016, 12:06 AM   #28
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he said you do not have to balance travel trailer tires. .
WRONG! I help out at a tire shop, and mounted my own Carlisle ST tires. You should have seen them shake and wobble when I put them on the spin balancer! My mechanic agreed that people are told they don't need balancing, but they actually do! My personal belief is that unbalanced tires are part of the many stories we hear about tire, hub, and axle failures.
There's a big difference between a Lowes trailer hauling a lawn mower, and the TT we're talking about!
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Old 09-20-2016, 12:09 AM   #29
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Those EZ Lube axles are primarily made for boats to keep the water out. .
WRONG! You're confused with Bearing Buddies, which look the same on the outside, but use an internal spring to provide outward pressure to keep water out. EZ Lube are designed for Travel Trailers.
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Old 09-20-2016, 12:55 AM   #30
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blance a TT tire and EZ lube

Why would a tire shop tell me not to balance the tires if they could make money on the service? EZ lube says to pump grease into the fittings and stop when you see grease pump out a little which they did. I think the tire shop was honest with me and did not do unnecessary work. The You Tube video guy kept pumping grease in way after a little came out. I think alot of these guys think they know everything and over do maintenance just to prove some point. I listen to other peoples advice and experience and make a decision to try it that way if they sound right and they had a positive out put..
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Old 09-20-2016, 01:20 AM   #31
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Why would a tire shop tell me not to balance the tires if they could make money on the service? EZ lube says to pump grease into the fittings and stop when you see grease pump out a little which they did. I think the tire shop was honest with me and did not do unnecessary work. The You Tube video guy kept pumping grease in way after a little came out. I think alot of these guys think they know everything and over do maintenance just to prove some point. I listen to other peoples advice and experience and make a decision to try it that way if they sound right and they had a positive out put..
Most people have not viewed the EZ Lube video, and believe things based on other things that look the same. You saw the video. The grease fitting DOES NOT feed both bearings simultaneously, it feeds the back, which pushes to the front, then out the front opening. So if you only pump a little, you feed only the back bearing. The excess goes in the middle. The front bearing, if it gets any grease, gets the old stuff from the back bearing. You do not grease both bearings until you pump enough to see new grease coming out the front.
As for tire balancing, perhaps this tech gets paid by the hour, not on sales, and he has a lot to get out of the door before he goes home. Don't take my word for it. Bring your spare in, and just ask him to put it on the spin balancer. It takes about one minute. Tell him you're just curious. Tell him if it wobbles, you'll pay for a balancing. If not, you'll pay him $10 for one minute's work. I know what I saw! I am speaking from real, live, experience, and he's going by old wive's tales. Why on earth would you NOT want a wheel/tire assembly to spin smoothly?
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Old 09-20-2016, 10:39 AM   #32
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So one of my adventures during my years of employment was predictive maintenance, Vibration Analysis, Level I certified. Vibration is the enemy of a bearing. Small amounts of vibration will shorten the lifespan of the bearing and larger amounts will drastically shorten it. Not to mention the beating the suspension takes from it. It is always good to balance wheels and tires. I too have had to “convince” the tire guy to balance them. Go figure…
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