I have a 31' 2015 Coachmen Freedom Express travel trailer with EZ Lube Dexter 3500# axles.
I wanted to lube the axles via the zerk fitting next week before our next trip, then in December go ahead and remove and repack the bearings and replace the seals.
What grease do you recommend for this?
I was looking at either Lucas Red N Tacky or Lubrimatic LMX Red Grease.
Your thoughts, opinions and experiences are appreciated.
Thanks!
What grease do you use for your travel trailer axles? 3500# EZ Lube Dexter's
- Thread starter Islandvic
- Start date
Any name quality wheel bearing grease. My truck uses the Moly wheel bearing grease. I put that in my trailer bearings too.
Mystik #2 Hi Temp. Easily found, cheap..works.
Look for GC/LB #2
In my previous travel trailer be I used Valvoline durablend. 15 years and no issues. In my current tt I'm using M1 as it looks like what they used at the factory.
M1 grease used to leak red oil out. But I have not seen that with my current use.
Make sure you pump it in slow as to not blow the seal out. I jack it up and spin my wheel as I inject grease.
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Thanks!
Originally Posted by spasm3
Make sure you pump it in slow as to not blow the seal out. I jack it up and spin my wheel as I inject grease.
4WD
$50 site donor 2023
I use Red N Tacky on my boat trailer (bearings came packed with that) …
Hubs now seem cooler than the JT6 (it was not the version suggested above).
If switching brands … agree to jack up the wheel and turn it a few times to displace old grease.
(I put newspaper on the ground, finally some value in the Houston Chronicle)
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When I repacked my Dexter axles on my boat trailer I used the Mystic blue marine grease. It's calcium based I think. I bought a second grease gun just for that grease and as I get around to it I'm going to change my Jon boat trailer over to it as well. I don't know that it matters but since boat trailers are the only trailers I own that are submerged in water I figure using a specialty grease might actually help and probably can't hurt. Just last week I took my boat on a 10 hour drive to Florida, then dunked the bearings in water several times before taking them on a 10 hour drive back home. Having a grease that won't wash out makes me feel a little batter about the drive back home.
For my other trailers (non-dunking) I'm transitioning them all over to the regular lithium grease I keep in my ‘regular' grease gun that I use for vehicles, tractor, etc. I use the Mystic red lithium high temp grease for that. It's cheap and easily available from Rural King or Tractor Supply so I don't have to worry about finding it.
The main thing I recommend is that you standardize on a grease that's easy to locate because you don't want to just squirt any old grease in there. Certain grease bases are incompatible and will cause the old grease to liquify and run out.
I agree with above. Pick a quality grease and stay with it. I use Lucas marine in my boat trailers because the Vortex hubs I bought requires this grease to maintain the warranty. I use Lucas x-tra heavy duty for everything else. I don't think you can have a grease related bearing failure if you keep the grease fresh.
In my Dexter 7k axles, I had run Chevron Duralith #1 lithium based for a few years. In that time they also got a bit of Mobil red #2 lithium based. When I switched out my backing plates 2 years ago I switched to Amsoil purple #2 lithium polymeric grease. Not because its food grease but because I got a fee free tubes that needed to be used.
In all this time my bearings have been fine. I check the hub temperature after long pulls and they are barely warm to the touch.
Find a grease rated for bearings and run it. Worry more about how the hub is torqued and how the brakes are adjusted.
Agree. Having sufficient fresh grease in the bearings is FAR more important than what particular product you choose. As long as it's rated for bearings it's probably good enough. It's hard to buy a bad grease these days.
I touch my hubs every time I stop for gas and they haven't ever felt even warm to the touch.
4WD
$50 site donor 2023
And one more thing … carry a spare hub assembly and tools to change one out !
I don't own a travel trailer but I do have a 20 foot deckover trailer that has 3500 lb dexter EZ lube axles and I have only used Mystik High Temp Red grease
I use Mystic JT-6 multipurpose in everything I own. I have really been impressed this grease in many ways. No washout. no separation. No wear.
It is a Calcium grease and I know it has a melting point of 290. But I have never had it to melt in anything I own. I actually figure that if the DOT brake fluid boils at 284 then that will be my biggest problem and not the grease melting at 290.
278 polyurea Schaeffer.
dnewton3
Staff member
I am by no means an expert, and would welcome comments from someone like Molakule, but here's what I do know ...
There are soap bases and other chemicals in greases that essentially give the grease it's viscous form and performance effects. Some of these are not compatible with others, and can cause separation of the base ending up in a degradation of the grease to the point where it can loose it's desired properties. I cannot comment past that, because I'm not a chemist.
So if one intends to take the wheel bearing completely apart, wash it all out, and install a new grease, then I'd say you can choose any grease you want. But if you intend to just "top off" the grease with a grease gun, then I'd recommend finding out what's in the bearing now, and only using a compatible lube. (Not needing to be the same brand, but the same soap base).
Where low-load and low-rpm applications exist, the grease differences may not matter (hinge pins, low frequency sliding contact, etc). But in high-load, high rpm (wheel bearings) applications, it could make a big difference; you could end up having a combination of greases that essentially break down and allows bearing failure at an inopportune time while traveling.
If you want to stick with OEM, then you'll have to call and ask what specific lube is being used, and then research it's base and soap properties.
Compatibility chart:
https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1865/grease-compatibility
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I use Lucas Marine (blue) in my boat trailer wheel bearings & also for the gimble bearing & ujoints for the boat & for the front suspension that has grease fittings on our ‘98 Jeep. The Lucas Marine has held up fine.