Greasing wheel bearings

[Rich Biebel]

I don't want to jinx myself.....but I have a Classic Terminator trailer and it has Nev-r-lube Dexter bearings. Sealed bearings just like modern vehicles with sealed front wheel bearings. I never heard of them before I bought this trailer.

I replaced the cartridges once not long after I bought the trailer just because I felt better putting new ones on it, and never touched them since....Just check them with the wheels off the ground for side play and any roughness or noise...

I carry the old ones as spares but if one goes bad on the road....well the axle stub is probably going to be toast just like any regular bearing failure on the road....

Trailer is a 2003 and I had since 2007.......

Need to pull the drums and check the brakes and bearings before 2015 racing starts.....

The best grease I have used was always synthetic red hit temp waterproof grease and once I used that on my old trailer I never had a bearing go bad again...it had 3500lb axles and used to eat bearings pretty regularly.....

[Eman]

First of all do you have bearing buddys or EZ lube axles? Bearing buddys are caps with a zerk fittings, EZ lube axles have a zerk fitting in the end of the axle. With the EZ lube axle you jack the wheel off of the ground and rotate it while pumping grease into it. There are Youtube videos. The grease has to be forced thru the bearing to do any good and the EZ lube axle forces the grease back towards the outer bearing. The bearing buddy pushes the grease back and will force it past the seal and on the brakes, that's why you find them on boat trailers that don't have brakes.

[GTX JOHN]

My boy builds and sells all kinds of trailers and you are right on lube techniques.

However, All boat trailers must comply with state regulations on
being equipped with functional brakes. In Nevada any trailer over 1500
GVW and in California any trailer GVW 2999. Your state will vary but
all states and Canada that he has sold in have a number on weight (usually very low)!

[Run to Rund]

Dexter has a list of acceptable greases in their instruction manual which you can download from their website. Don't mix greases of different base stocks as they might not be compatible. As above, too much grease doesn't help. Loose bearings don't help--preload per mfg. recommendations. If the seals are good, there is no reason to keep adding grease.