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DH needs to grease the axles on our Four Winds Travel Trailer.  He attempted to remove the caps with a flat head screwdriver as was suggested online, but it would not budge. Any advice on what he should do is greatly appreciated.  He won't take the camper out until it is done and some of us are getting a bit restless here.  

 

 

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Use a small chisel and hammer or a big pair of channel pliers.

I usually use a small flat blade screwdriver and hold it at an angle where the cap flange and the hub meet, a few taps usually drives it in and then you can twist it to start the cap removal, work it around the cap twisting it and you should be able to pry it off. Check Dexter axle website for maintenance manuals.

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  • 2 months later...

Desperately need some help.  As I mentioned DH said we needed to grease the axles before we took the travel trailer out.  Having never done this before he didn't know where to start.  He was mistakenly told that we had the easy type to grease.  Nope.  Not the case.  A friend of mine's husband met him at the storage lot where we store the camper hoping to help out.  Well since it was not the easy simple method he wasn't sure what to do.  They were able to get to this point, but from there we have no idea.  Steve says apparently there are three options: 1 of course was the simple method that this obviously will not work for.  The other is you have to completely take the whole thing apart.  If this is the case then how is he suppose to get this cap thing off cause apparently it is not budging.  The third is he is not suppose to do anything.  

 

Here is a picture.

c1W04VG.jpg

 

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That is not a 5 min job, or even an hour job, you need to pry the cap off pull it all apart clean the bearings, pack them, put new seals in and KNOW how to put it together. Too tight you burn the bearings up, not enough grease you burn the bearings up, too loose you burn the bearings up, packed wrong you burn the bearings up, burn the bearings up and it could cost you a lot and be dangerous.

 

 

I am guessing if he doesn't know how to get the cap off he hasn't done them before, I would tell him to get someone who has before he tries it

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Ok.  He had a feeling that was the case for this one.  He has tried to pry the cap off and it won't budge.   Any advice on how to do this?  Also since we have never greased the axles yet and we bought the trailer new in 2007 (an 06 Model) is it safe for us to bring it to Defeated Creek or do I need to look into tenting it there?  

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people put 100,000 miles on cars and never pack the bearings, they are the same thing. Personally I would but you have to make that decision for yourself. I have the easy ones but I did pack them last yrs just for S&G's and they didn't really need it.

 

As I said people drive 100's of thousand miles but trailers are a little different but not that much, what I don't know either how many miles you have on the trailer.

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The farthest we have ever towed it was to Gatlinburg. We made two trips there. Most of our trips have been within an hour of home. The first year we got it we were gone almost every weekend in the summer. As the kids got older and their activities increased we have barely had it out all. I can safely say we have traveled no where near 100,000 miles.

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We had a bearing burn out on our pop up on our way to the Fort.  Dang thing never made it.  Left it in SC for repair.  I took it to an RV place to have them do a full inspection and road ready tune up.  From what I understood, they didn't grease the inside.  Make sure you have somebody who knows what they are doing.  We were lucky, my in-laws were behind us and saw the smoke before anything really bad could happen.  Good luck!

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Greasing the bearings isn't hard, just messy and time consuming. I used to do the popup every year. I don't do the big trailer. I pay the guy to do it every two years or so. As far as the "easy" bearings to grease, you are better off without them. I have EZLubes on the Outback and never use them. Too easy to blow the rear seal and get grease on the brakes.

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Just whack the cap with a hammer to get an edge lifted then work it off with a screw driver. Take particular note of the play in the hub, and the resistance of the spin before you disassemble, you'll want it to match when you're done. Have a mayo jar of gas, new cotter pins, and lots of shop towels handy before starting. It's really not that hard, but can be a little intimidating. Pull everything apart, wipe off as much grease as possible, shake the bearings in the gas to dissolve all the packed grease, dry thoroughly (very!), repack, reassemble and match play/resistance.

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OK now I am confused as to which type we have. I know for sure it is not the quick squirt some in go on your way.

Bob says looking at the picture I posted above that it is the more time consuming one. Grumpy and Grandma say it may be the kind we have to do nothing too.

Is it possible to tell which kind based on the picture?

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Is it possible to tell which kind based on the picture?

Maybe, maybe not. I would contact Dexter Axle, or the company who made the trailer. If you contact Dexter get the serial number off the axle, should be a tag on the tube.

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Point was if someone were to pull a cap and see a nice clean smooth sealed bearing it would be obvious compared to a greasy one with visible ball or roller bearings. Not to be rude but if someone doesn't know the difference between a sealed bearing and an open bearing it is probably best to pay to have it done...or at least do some studying up.

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You all are the best!

We have decided against bringing it. Steve says it is stressing him out. Besides the axle work, we also need to replace the tires. He said he noticed that there appears to be some dry rotting. Never mind that I told him months ago that we needed new tires. Did he listen to me? Of course not.

OK need to let it go.

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Point was if someone were to pull a cap and see a nice clean smooth sealed bearing it would be obvious compared to a greasy one with visible ball or roller bearings. Not to be rude but if someone doesn't know the difference between a sealed bearing and an open bearing it is probably best to pay to have it done...or at least do some studying up.

agreed 100%

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