Everyone knows that vehicle maintenance is important. There's the common
requirements like changing your oil, rotating your tires and the like. But, what about travel
trailers? It seems like you hear RV owners talk about the need to winterize as well as to make
sure your tires aren't worn. But, what else needs to be done regularly?
Being relatively new to trailers, I thought that greasing the wheels might need to be done
occasionally, but I didn't really know when. We purchased our RV three years ago, and we've
made several long trips each year. As I reflected back on the great times that we've had, I realized
that we've traveled from our Texas home to Missouri and Arizona several times each plus Florida,
Tennessee, Kentucky and all points in between. I have no idea how many miles we've put on the
trailer, but I guess I should have kept track!
Since I spent time doing research on the topic of lubricating travel trailer wheels (i.e. lubing or
greasing), I decided to share my learnings with others. I can also now say that I was successful at
greasing the wheels on our trailer! Based on my experience, I'll also provide a list of needed
supplies as well as share the step-by-step instructions that I followed for our
Lippert Components Super-Lube Wheels.
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It All Started With Purchasing New Tires
We purchased our RV new and assumed that the tires were budget tires. We have heard all kinds
of stories about poor quality "China-bomb" tires. We definitely wanted to avoid having a possible
blow-out and any damage to our RV that one would cause while on the road. We planned to use
our tires while they were new and in good condition, but replace them before they started getting
too old or worn. While preparing for a long trip to the north, we decided that it was a good time to
get fresh tires before leaving home.
We did some research to find a good combination of quality and price and settled on Carlisle
Trail HD tires. The tires were available at Walmart for a great price, but we determined that
all of the Walmart Auto Service Centers near us were closed due to coronavirus. We didn't want
to buy tires somewhere without having them installed.
We also found the tires at Discount Tire. They matched the Walmart tire price, but not the
installation fees. The total price was still a good deal, and we were familiar with Discount Tire's
repair and replacement policies, so that's the route we took. Everything went smoothly with the
new tire purchase and installation, so we are now proud owners of four new tires!
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Everything That I Never Knew About Lubing the Wheels!
After driving away with our new tires, I thought that maybe we should have asked them about
lubing the wheels. I really didn't know anything about it, but I've now learned more than I ever
wanted to know!
I discovered that RV trailer wheel bearings are supposed to be repacked either every 10,000
miles or annually, whichever comes first. Wow! I've never done it, and I suspect that
most other people don't do it either.
The description of repacking or hand-packing the bearings didn't really sound like something I
wanted to tackle. I went to a local auto repair and lube shop and asked if they serviced and lubed
trailer wheels. They did not, but they directed me to an RV repair shop.
Before inquiring at the RV repair shop, I did some more research. I read about Dexter EZ-Lube
hubs and wondered if that's what we had. I checked my owner's manual, but it is a
very generic RV owner's manual. It said that the RV might be equipped with Dexter EZ-Lube or
Lippert Components Super-Lube Wheels. Since it had no specific information about our
model, it was really not helpful at all.
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My next step was going to "RV There Yet?", our RV, to try to determine which type of wheels we
had. All that it took was removing one hub cap and rubber plug. I looked at the plug and it said
"Lippert Components", so I knew that we had Super-Lube Wheels. Essentially, the designs of the
EZ-Lube hubs and Super-Lube Wheels are about the same. They both have a "grease
zerk" (a metal fitting used to feed grease into the bearing with a grease gun). Since the
grease zerk is on the hub, the wheels can be lubed without being removed or disassembled.
A Look At the Wheel Hubs
Taking Off the Hub Caps
Removing the Rubber Seal
Decisions, Decisions: Is This a DIY Project?
Now that I knew what type of wheels we had, it was time for me to decide if this was a DIY
project. I read online instructions and watched the official YouTube movies for both
manufacturers:
I realized that Super-Lube wheels are very easy to lubricate - especially for do-it-yourselfers like
myself. This would be so much easier than "hand-packing" that I had first learned about (and was
a definite turn-off)!
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Time to Gather All of the Needed Supplies
Based on all that I had learned from my reading and watching, here's the list of supplies that I
needed to complete the project from beginning to end:
Grease gun
Heavy duty grease
Paper towels
Trash bag
Latex gloves
I had items 3 - 5 at home, so I just needed to purchase two items. I bought a grease gun
($18.84) and heavy duty grease tube ($4.98) at Walmart.
My New Toy, "Grease Gunny"
Disposable Gloves are a Must
Step-by-Step Instructions for Greasing the Wheels
Mid-morning on the day that I wanted to get this task checked off of my list, we headed to the lot
where our RV is stored. I'm not supposed to do "maintenance" in the lot, but I thought this would
be a quick and harmless project. Here's the steps that I followed for successfully greasing my
trailer wheels:
1. Hitch the Tow Vehicle
Once on site, we hitched up the tow vehicle so that we could move the RV back and forth. The
official instructions said to jack up the RV so that you can spin the wheels a few
times when pumping the grease in. I didn't want to have to jack-up the RV in order to spin the
wheels, so instead I thought that I could roll the RV back and forth as necessary. It seemed that
this should be adequate, and certainly better than nothing. (My wife came along to drive the tow
vehicle so that I didn't have to get inside with grease on my hands.)
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2. Remove all Hub Caps and Rubber Plugs
The process of removing all of the hub caps and rubber plugs was pretty easy. (When I was trying
to determine which kind of wheel we had, I removed just one, but this time I removed them all at
this point.) The hub caps have a small indention allowing a screwdriver to pry them off easily. The
rubber plugs can be lifted and grabbed with your finger. This can be a little more challenging with
greasy gloves on - but the whole point of the gloves is to keep your hands clean!
Removing the Rubber Seal
3. Grease the Super-Lube Wheels
The Super-Lube and EZ-Lube wheels are both designed with a grease zerk on the end of the wheel
hub. (The zerk on some models might be on the backside of the axle.) The concept is that when
you pump new fresh grease in, the grease cycles through the interior of the wheel and exits at the
hub. Grease should be pumped in and the wheels spun until you finally see some of the fresh
grease coming out. (The instructions that I read said that you can't have too much grease, but I
would recommend double checking this with your specific wheel manufacturer before beginning.)
When putting the grease gun fitting on the grease zerk, you have to make sure you hear a "click"
(a sign that it is secure). This will ensure that the grease goes into the zerk (and not all over the
place where you don't want it).
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I had no idea how much grease to put in. When I loaded the new grease gun, I squeezed a few
pumps into a trash bag to get all the air out of the grease tube. When doing this, I noticed that
with each squeeze of the handle, only a little bit of grease came out (about 1/2 inch).
I pumped about 5 times on the first wheel before moving to the second wheel. (When removing
the gun fitting off the zerk, it might be a little tight if you are using a new grease gun.) I
continued around until I had pumped about 5 times on each wheel.
Greasing the Hub
After my wife moved the RV, I pumped about 5 more times. (I had read somewhere that you only
needed 2 - 3 pumps of grease, but I still hadn't seen any new grease come out. This might be
because I hadn't ever greased the hubs in the past 3 years. Perhaps I had burned some grease up
and needed to replace it with more grease.)
We moved the RV again, and I put between 10 - 20 more pumps of grease on each wheel before I
finally started seeing the old grease pump through.
Finally Some Grease Coming Out
I continued pumping until I was seeing a good amount of fresh grease coming through each wheel.
(In total, my wheels required in the neighborhood of 30 - 40 pumps of grease in each.)
Lubing the Wheel
4. Almost Done, but Clean-up Required!
Once I was satisfied that I had enough grease in each wheel, it was time to clean the excess old
grease from the hubs with paper towels.
Clean Excess Old Grease Out
After everything was clean, I replaced the rubber plugs on each hub making sure each was seated
securely.
Don't Forget the Rubber Seal
Replacing the Rubber Seal
5. Replace Hub Caps
The last step (before final clean-up and unhitching the trailer) was to replace all of the hub caps.
Replacing the Hub Caps
One of our wheels has been missing a hub cap for quite a while. I've never thought that it was an
issue before. Since there is more grease in there now, I realized that dirt could adhere to the
grease and possibly cause a problem. My solution? Put some gorilla tape over the end to
keep the dirt, dust and road grime out!
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6. It's a Wrap!
Once everything was cleaned up from the lubing process, it was time to put away the grease gun.
I decided to put it back into the box that it came in to avoid getting grease from the end on
anything else.
The final step was unhitching our tow vehicle so we could drive home. All it all, the whole project
only took about 45 minutes. I got lucky as one side of our RV was in the shade - that was nice on
a hot July day in Texas!
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More RV Projects for Do-It-Yourselfers
Do you have a switch on your RV that turns off all of the DC power? Before we purchased our RV,
I knew that this was something that I wanted. It would help to ensure safety while refueling and
also eliminate wasting battery power while we were boondocking or the RV was in storage. If you
don't have a switch, check out my article titled "RV Battery Switch Installation for Power
Economy & Safety" to read all about how I installed one.
RV Maintenance
What regular maintenance do you do (or have someone else do) on your RV to make sure that it is
always in top working order?