Greasing

[syplace]

We have a 2005 3295 RK (purchased new in June 2004) with 7000 actual miles on the road. So my question is how often should we grease the bearings? How many pumps on the grease gun should we use without popping the seals?

John & Marianne
2005 3295RK w/Trail Air Hitch
2003 3500 Chevy duramax allison, 4x4 dualwheels

[sgtpp214]

I grease bearings with 4 or 5 pumps once a month and then every July I have it done at the local Dodge dealer that does my TV service. No problems so far.

Dave and Carla
Polish Ponderosa On The Move
2004.5 Dodge 3500 Quad Cab 4x4 SB White Sport Appearance
2004 2980RL Montana

[Emmel]

syplace, before I would grease the bearings once a month, I would call Keystone service and ask them how many tines can I do this before the grease seals fall out the back. To pump that much grease into the seals it will have to go somewhere, it does'n use it. If you still have the manual that came with the 5er, read the part from DLCO, they supplied the axles and brakes for Keystone up till I think 2006. I'm not sure if the 8 lug axles are ALCo or not.

Steve&Patti 2004 model 3280
2002 Duramax 4x4 crew cab SB

[Glenn and Lorraine]

Gonna agree with Emmel on this one. If you try to pump too much grease in there it will push paste the seals and end up on your brakes. Ever try to stop your TV and Monty with no trailer brakes??

I grease mine about 2 to 3 pumps in the spring just before we get back on the road. Last May I had them repacked at the local Montana dealer and he felt my yearly greasing was OK as the bearings had plenty of grease and showed no signs of wear.


Glenn
Montana Owners Home Page
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Glenn and Lorraine
M O C - 4 2 0



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[sreigle]

Two pumps once per year. No more. No less. This is what our dealer told us when we bought this Montana in July 2002. I thought fulltiming we'd need more so did two pumps twice per year. When we had the brakes checked he told me after looking that I put too much grease in them and reiterated two pumps once per year even when fulltiming. We were doing 20k miles per year at that time. That was in summer 2003 he replaced the brakes. We then went two years before checking brakes and repcking the bearings again this past June. I had followed his directions of two squirts once per year and he told both the bearings and the brakes (1/2 lining remaining) look good. So, for me, it's two squirts once per year.

See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'03 3295RK
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

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[Cat320]

I had the same question regarding our 2007 3400...we have Dexter axles and AL-KO brakes. Just talked to Dexter on the phone...he said "couple of pumps every 4/5000 miles or annually and to replace the seals annually." The manual says to pump in the grease until the old grease starts to come out, don't know how many pumps that is. They are designed so the old grease comes out the front so it does not get on the brakes.

[Montana Sky]

I just had my bearings inspected this spring. After approx 10,000 miles on the coach over the past 2.5 summers, the bearings each took (1) one pump of grease. I feel it is going to be different for each coach as it depends on the amount of driving you do w/ your coach throughout the year.


2004 Chevy Silverado LT 2500HD CrewCab Duramax
2004 Montana 3400RL

[Cat320]

One other thing Dexter told me was that the E-Z Lub axles are designed to be totally immersed in water...like Buddy Bearings on a boat, won't hurt them.

[dieselguy]

In response to cat 320's reading in the manual about "pumping grease till it starts to come out the outer bearing." I've had the wheels off these axles before. Granted there is a passage down the middle of the spindle that theoretically supplies grease to both the inner and outer bearings. I guarantee if you pump grease into the end jerk until you see grease coming out the outer bearing, you might as well take the pin out of the spindle nut, remove the wheel, and start wiping grease off your backing plate and brake mechanism. As mentioned several times earlier ... 2 pumps a season is more than adequate if properly packed to start with. Look at the miles you put on your truck between wheel bearing repacks and there are no grease points to add grease. They run in a similar environment if not hotter due to usually being a disc brake.

Kansas
2005 2980RL
2000 F-350 Powerstroke dually
Banks 4" SS exhaust / Superchip Tuner
Pillar mount boost / pyro guages
coolant filter

[scattershot]

According to the manual on our 2006 2955RL, two pumps every 5,000 miles.

"Experience is a series of non-fatal mistakes."

[Cat320]

dieselguy...my post was another example of what they say vs what the manual says, not always the same.

[campbud]

What kind of wheel bearing grease are you all using?
Bob

2005 2955RL Montana
2002 Chevy 2500HD 8.1 Ext Cab 4x4
Bob and Kathy

[daneboy]

I put four pumps in each wheel, after 10K miles on my 06 2955RL. One wheel leaked grease after that. My dealer charged $225.00 to pull off all the wheels and repack the bearings with new seals. GO ESASY ON THE GREASE.
Happy Traveling,
Jerry

[uhftx]

Glenn, I just wanted to point out that if the grease gets on the brake shoes it will cause the brake pads to stick and the braking action will be jittery. (happened on a friends truck) Its just the opposite of what someone would think. The grease becomes a sticky substance and brake cleaner will clean it off.

Ok so now what is everybody using to re-grease when they put in their one or two pumps. Is the grease you are using in your grease gun compatible with the grease that was put in from the factory?. There are different carriers for the grease. If the grease in your gun is soap based and the grease installed at the factory is oil based then you have just introduced another grease that is not compatible.

What to do. If you grease yourself then remove all the old grease and hand repack your bearings with the grease you are going to use. Pump in all new grease until all the old grease has been expended. You may have to do this twice to be sure you have all the old grease removed.

If you want to do any more reading on grease the army corps of engineers has a PDF that is fairly short and has a nice table at the end for reference.
http://www.usace.army.mil/publicatio...2-1424/c-5.pdf



Chris, Donna and Max(the Lhasa)
2001 F350 Dually Lariat 7.3PSD 4x4 Crewcab Short bed
2003 Montana 3255rl 5th
New Hampshire: Live Free or Die

[virgil47]

Well boys if experience counts, more is not better! I just had to replace Montana brakes on all four wheels here in Whitehorse, Yukon because of too much grease. I had the wheel bearings packed at a non-Montana location and the mechanic thought more was better. With elecric brakes, it just 'ain't'.

If you have bearing buddies, LISTEN TO STEVE. TWO PUMPS. LESS IS BETTER. Your brakes will fail if you use too much, it is only a matter of time.

Virgil & Jo Allmond


STICK HOUSE IS IN Suches, GA

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[Wrenchtraveller]

As a millwright I work with bearings a fair amout. I am going to do the same with this Montana as I have done with all my other trailer wheel bearings. Every second year, I will take them out and clean them up, repack them by hand. I don't like the "Bearing Buddies" that came on my Montana. You are only guessing when you pump grease in there and that is why so many people are blowing the seals out.

I have never had bearing problems on any of my trailers and one of my Kit Fivers had bearings made in China, another one had bearings made in Poland. They were both Dexter axles like I have in my Montana. I would prefer a genuine Timken bearing but it's the same old story, everybody goes for the cheapest components. They also came with extremely cheap seals that don't have the inner spring. The new seals I get at my local RV supplier are much better quality.






Don & Donna
Vancouver Island
2005 Ford F350 V10 Lariat CC 4x4 LB SRW 11200 GVWR
2006 Montana 2955RL
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[rickfox]

The Dexter web site has a spec sheet that tells what grease brands are compatable with the OEM grease.

Interestingly, Dexter recommends that the bearings be removed and repacked once per year or every 12,000 miles (I believe). They also recommend installing new seals annually.

Also according to Dexter, the E-Z lub axles were made specifically for the boat trailer market - squeeze a little grease into the bearing to force out water. According to the engineer (she said she was an engineer) I spoke with, as long as the "recommended" repacking/new seal install annual procedure was followed, there is no real need to use the E-Z lub nipples - unless the trailer axles are submerged.

It's like politics, its often difficult to tell who has the real "right" info.

Rick & Wanda
2003 2500HD Crew Cab
Duramax with Allison Trans.
Firestone Airbags
Glide-Ride Pinbox - It's Great!
2006 3400RL - We Love The Trailer!

Montana Customer Service?

[Cat320]

Rickfox...I talked to Dexter the day before yesterday, some info is the same, some different from what you were told. He said (and my manual says) the annual repacking is for 'standard bearings' not the E-Z Lube bearings...that's the purpose of the buddy bearing concept. As I noted earlier, he said the seals should be replaced annually and to put in 'a couple of pumps' every 4/5000 miles or annually. I've hauled many boats lots of miles with buddy bearings and never repacked any of them. They slung grease all over, but none of the trailers had brakes, so it did not make any difference.

Sounds like a few pumps annually for me.

[Rex & Mary]

COULD YOU POST A LINK TO THE DEXTER LIST OF GREASE PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED? OR BETTER YET TELL WHERE YOU BOUGHT AND WHAT KINDA GREASE YOU USE?
THANKS

"The Happy Campers"

Fulltiming since 1997
'01 Ford F250 V10
'04 Mountaineer 325 FKBS

[sreigle]

These are not the same as marine bearing buddies. I had those on my boat trailer. They just pack in grease to keep water away from the bearings. That grease does not go anywhere near the bearings and rear seal.

The ez-lube or whatever they call it actually has a path to the bearings for the grease. And that's the problem. Too much grease will pop the seal and then you have grease on the brake linings or drum or both. I've taken to having the bearings repacked and new seals installed every other year, or about 30k to 40k miles. I had the bearings repacked and brakes checked back in June and was told the bearings looked good and the brakes had 50% of the linings remaining. I did two squirts in those zerks once per year.

This animation of how the lube system works is from the Alkl-Kober website. I imagine Dexter's is very similar but don't see an animation on their website.


See another Montana or Mountaineer on the road? Flash lights twice, it might be one of us!
Steve Reigle (pronounced Regal)
Fulltiming since 3/21/03
'03 3295RK
'05 Ford F250 SD Lariat CC SB 6.0L PSD/TS FX4 4x4

Our RV Travels (now Firefox-compatible)