Hi folks, I've got a Wells Cargo 5X8 enclosed trailer I tow with our 2000 E-350. I've had the trailer for a while, and noticed some side to side movement in the tires when going over bumps. Went to the Dexter YouTube channel and a few other channels to learn about getting the tension right on the main spindle bolt. This is a torsion axel with EZ Lube hubs.

first thing, pulled the cap, the nuts were way loose. Took channel locks and got the nut tight while turning the hub, then backing the nut off, then tightening it finger tight. Put the spider thing back on. Also lube was old and watery looking, so I pumped in Valvoline Hi Temp red grease while turning the hub and pumping at the same time. I did this until no old grease came out, only the new red grease.

Put everything back together and took it for about a 20 mile drive, stopping at 10 miles to check tire lug nut torque. When I stopped, I put my hand on the hub and it was warm. Not hot, not too hot to touch, but warm. Trailer was empty on this run, I averaged about 60mph.

All that background info is to ask this- how warm should the hub be? It was in the low 60's for this run. The nut is finger tight, and if I needed to get the spider cage thing over the nut, I would back the nut off just enough to get it to click into position.

Thoughts? Am I worrying over nothing?

Thanks, I have a run from Nashville to Eastern Shore of MD starting Thurs.

Cheers,

Ben

 

The hubs on my camper typically run 100-130 degrees, depending on outside temperature. I get concerned when 1 hub runs 20 degrees more than the others.

 

I would guess hub temp is impacted more by brake use or drag. I'm like mtnguy, I carry a cheap ir gun, check at stops with my travel trailer, looking for inconsistencies. In summer travel, light braking, I run in low 100s F. Edit, and stay away from those easy lube fittings. Easy to trash your whole braking system.

 

What you need to do is remove the hubs and clean out all the grease and inspect the bearings for damage from being run to loose or better replace the bearings. When you get everything cleaned up hand pack the bearings instead of using the easy lube. If your bearings were that loose that you could see it going down the road I'm thinking they are damaged and should be replaced.
Denny

 

Everyone, thank you, this is most helpful. And I'm wondering if Harbor Freight has a cheap IR gun, that sounds like fun.

This trailer doesn't have brakes. And after this run I'll pull the bearings and have a look, it will be easier now that I've been in there and know what I'm looking at.

I did get all the old grease out, only red hi temp valvoline is in there now, and I hear you about the EZ Lube, I see a lot of folks who are not fans. And I'll hand pack them before reassembly.

Ben

 

X2 on the comments for not using the EZ lube (if you had brakes). Also, I kinda doubt you could see the wheels move side to side while driving...holy cow would something be wrong.

Also X2 on cleaning the bearings and inspecting. Since the spindle nuts were loose, were there no cotter pins to keep the nuts from backing off?

As a side note, I prefer to use a proper size socket to tighten the spindle nut. There are usually torque specs around 50-ish lbft for the size hubs you have to seat the bearings, then loosen them, and then tighten to roughly finger tight.

 

The amount of side to side was small, but grabbing the tire at 9 and 3 and checking for play- there was some there for sure.

I don't have a socket on hand big enough to tighten the nut, but channel locks got it down pretty tight, then I backed it off loose, then tightened it finger tight again. I'll get a socket, just need to get the size and buy one.

There is no cotter pin, this uses a thing others call a "spider", a little cage kinda thing that clips over the end of the spindle and the nut, locking them together.

Thanks!

Ben

 

something this simple will be repeatable.

 

When checking hub temps, I look for an outlier. I don't have direct access to the hub itself due to the hub cap, so I check the wheel studs. If one wheel is hotter than the other three (on a dual axle trailer) then that's a red flag. The rear axle hubs on the truck are always hotter than the trailer hubs, FWIW.

I have an IR camera but haven't used it to check the axles. The pressure reported by the TPMS system can also be used to as an indicator of temperature problems in the hub/brake/tire.

 

OP; The EZ lube hubs get a lot of hate because you can mess up stuff using them , but if you have half a brain (which it sounds like you do), they are fine and have been working great for many years for many , many non-enthusiast owners (like some family members of mine that own boats, they just blindly pump some grease in them every now and then, and have been doing that for decades without issue).

The ones that get in trouble with EZ lubes are generally those that use electric or pneumatic powered grease guns that force a lot of grease in quickly. If you use a hand pump grease gun and have the tire off the ground spinning it while greasing the EZ lube (like you said you were above) you'll most likely be just fine.

I've owned three camp trailers (two were triple axle toy haulers) and several different sizes of cargo/ equipment trailers with EZ lube hubs over the decades. And I used the EZ lubes on every one of them. I used to take the camp trailer's hubs apart once a year to inspect, but after changing out the factory Chinese bearings with some USA made Timkins on all my junk (currently only two trailers with four axels total still around, sold all the other trailers) , everything looked great after a year, so I stretched it every other year (I picked odd numbered years), after two years, everything still great, now I'm going to five years intervals for inspection disassembly (have to wait until 2030 to know how that goes).

I do carry an extra hub (loaded with new bearings and races) in the camp trailer cargo area just for piece of mind though. I should probably order/ carry a spare hub for the equipment trailer, but I seldom take that trailer to far way/ out in the middle of nowhere like I do the camper.

Moral of the story, people love to hate on the EZ lubes because its the popular thing to hate on. Can they cause issues of grease getting into your brakes, yes they can if the wheel seal is bad or you blow out the wheel seal with a high powered electric or pneumatic grease gun. Can you easily tell if this has happened, also yes , by manually applying the trailer breaks while spinning them in while the lifted off the ground.

And lets say the worst happens and you grease destroy a set of brakes,,,okay, buy a new loaded backing plate, four bolts and two wires later you've got new brakes. I've never actually bough trailer brake shoes, replacement magnets, or trailer brake hardware kits because a new loaded backing plate has always been about the same price as individual replacement parts cost (last I checked a new loaded backing plate was about $100 for the name brand stuff and about $60 for the knockoffs).
...

 

Thank you all for the comments, they were/are all very helpful to help this newbie navigate a new thing, admittedly one I should have tackled much sooner, but that water is now under the bridge.

The Amazon link was super helpful, but I was on my way out of town and so was Harbor Freight, so I picked on one of theirs.

My results- most days spent driving were in the low 50's. I checked the hubs by aiming the gun between the back side of the cap and the rim, so right about the middle of the part of the hub I could see and touch. gun was about 12" or so from the hub. After about 15 miles, temps on both hubs about 74 degrees. After driving several hours at about the same outside temp, hub temp was about 77 degrees, both hubs within tenths of a degree of the other.

On the travel day home, it warmed to the mid/upper 60's, again with sustained drive time on the interstate, 65-70mph, the hottest they ever got was 94 degrees lots of time spent in the direct sun. So it seems like the hubs run around 20-25 degrees warmer than ambient temp.

Thank you all again for the help and advice, it really went a long way. I'm not an EZ Lube hater, they seem to work for me though my hand got pretty tired, that was a lot of pumping. There are some excellent videos on the Dexter YouTube channel, and a couple others with some honest advice.

Happy Towing!

ben

 

Nicely done, GREAT CATCH and Fixing it.

Nut is Finger Tight
Pump in new grease spinning hub/rim as you pump so you don't over pressurize the seal.
Done. Easy Peasy.

Temp - Warm to the touch = Good, Say if you can grab it and not let go for a long time, Your good. And all should be somewhat equal.
As stated above, 100-130 is good guideline. I have seen 138 on occasion super hot day like sunny 95degrees TPMS went off at 135, That was when it was at 138 and a smoking hot day.. I bet the hubs were warmer than that, The TPMS is mounted inside the Rim.