Travel Trailer Question -Bearings

[benchmark]

Yes Dexter EZ Lube is suspect, but I am wanting your thoughts on the grease color after "flush". Not needing to know "you should pack your own", etc. I've hand pumped slow and turned wheel per mfg instruction. This is only the 2nd time I've done the maintenance since owned, was new 2018 Flagstaff Microlyte. The 2nd year owned I added grease until I saw the bright red, took about a tube of grease per tire. This time 2 years later I pumped it in thinking it would not need that much, but it took another tube on each wheel. When I pumped the old grease it came out as it's supposed to, but even after a tube it still did not turn bright red. It only reached a reddish maroon color. Note the old grease coming out was jet black. Thoughts? Did I just need to keep flushing a little longer to purge the ez lube more?

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[Pepe-lepew]

Hubs with grease zirks are a bandaid for boat trailer hubs that are submerged in water. The allow you to maybe go a little longer between the frequent repack jobs needed on a boat trailer but do not much for any other hubs. Except tempt people to mix incompatible grease in the hub.

Proper maintenance of hubs is disassembly, cleaning, inspection, packing grease and assemble with a new seal. The most important part is inspection for failing bearings and you can't do that without cleaning the bearings.

 

[kmk1012]

Sound advice by @Pepe-lepew! As far as greasing using only the zerk that will only fill the outside void of the hub and do nothing for the inner bearings. At least until the hub heats up and let's the grease flow through the bearing to the inner ones. Band aid for sure, but I still have them on the boat and travel trailer as well. I'll give them a few pumps midway through the season as a feel good measure but will pack them once a year.

 

[jbett98]

Dexter bearing grease travels through the center of the axle shaft and enter into the rear bearing and then travel forward to the outer bearing.

 

[kmk1012]

Dexter bearing grease travels through the center of the axle shaft and enter into the rear bearing and then travel forward to the outer bearing.

I've never had anything that fancy.

 

[thorborg]

Excessive pressure from indiscriminate use of zirk fittings can permanently ruin seals designed to keep lube in and crap out.
Seals are not a two way swinging door. Really no substitute for due diligence when it comes to bearings. If the zirk fillings don't blow seals from over filling, high speed generated heat can build pressures which may.

 

[P7M13]

Take a bottle of grape Gatorade.
Dump out 3/4.
Fill the remainder with your piss.
Open a new bottle of grape.
Start pouring into that first bottle.
At what point would you drink it?