Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 09-27-2018, 02:21 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 141
8K Axles

Grease zerks or oil bath bearings?
katy4man is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-27-2018, 03:15 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
xtasee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 500
Mine have Zerks
xtasee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-27-2018, 03:42 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
travelin' texans's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 3,353
I have 7k axles with zerks, but I WILL NOT/WOULD NOT pump grease through those zerks if you have drum brakes, hand pack annually. With the drum brakes there's too great a possibility of contaminating the brakes with grease if the grease seals fail while pumping into those zerks. If you have disc brakes it's less likely to be a problem, but still recommend hand packing annually to inspect all the parts.
__________________
Danny & Linda
Full-timed 10+ years
Former '13 FB owner
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Currently rv & truckless
Replacement undetermined
travelin' texans is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-27-2018, 11:51 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
atom ant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,101
oil bath are cool!
__________________
Brad & Dory - Lone Tree, CO
CURRENT - 2013 Itasca Meridian 42E/2013 Wrangler 4dr Sahara
SOLD - 2014 Redwood 36RL/2014 F350 DRW
atom ant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2018, 12:15 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
mhs4771's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,807
OK, I'm no expert on Oil Bath vs Grease, so while at the Summer Rally I asked Gary Wheeler of MORryde his opinion:
He said for Over the Road Trucks, Oil was great because they're moving all the time, while RV may sit for months at a time without moving and Oil can tend to drain off the upper part of the bearings, so he recommends Grease for RVs.
__________________
Michelle & Ann
2018 Chevy 3500HD Crew Cab High Country DRW, D/A, 2016 RW39MB, Dual ACs, Auto Level, Auto Sat Dish, Stack W/D, King Sleep #, 17.5" Sailuns w/Disc, MORryde IS & Pin, Comfort Ride Hitch, 5.5 Onan, Res Fridge & Induction Cook Top
mhs4771 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2018, 02:38 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
atom ant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,101
I guess the counter argument to that would be that all Freightliner and Spartan chassis motorhomes have oil bath hubs on the front axles and tag axles and they sit in the same storage lots, garages, and long term RV lots as other RVs, so I'm not sharing Gary Wheelers opinion.
__________________
Brad & Dory - Lone Tree, CO
CURRENT - 2013 Itasca Meridian 42E/2013 Wrangler 4dr Sahara
SOLD - 2014 Redwood 36RL/2014 F350 DRW
atom ant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2018, 04:12 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Ford truck guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,285
I like/trust my old Timken grease bearings . . . Was somewhat interested in the oil bath, but they are really not for me...

After years of driving big trucks and having grease on the wheels all the time, NO THANK YOU . .
__________________
2020 F-350
2020 3991RD with-
17.5 Goodyear 114's , Titan Disc brakes, MorRyde 8K IS, Onan 6.5..
Ford truck guy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2018, 04:42 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
atom ant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,101
My OEM Redwood disk brakes were Kodiak rotors and came with the clear plastic threaded hub covers and for a moment I was pretty excited to think they were oil filled, but there were just grease.

The advantages to oil filled hubs are no more packing the bearing, no more worries about greasing your brakes. Maintaining the oil is as easy as popping a rubber cap and looking at the oil level.
__________________
Brad & Dory - Lone Tree, CO
CURRENT - 2013 Itasca Meridian 42E/2013 Wrangler 4dr Sahara
SOLD - 2014 Redwood 36RL/2014 F350 DRW
atom ant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2018, 05:29 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
XCMARK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 590
the real issue with oil bath is if the trailer site the seal surface can get rusty and cause it to leak. if you move the trailer all the time I would say it a good idea. As for zerk fitting and grease. 3 pumps a fresh grease once a year or you will be sorry. your springs could use a pump every month if your moveing it all the time
__________________
Mark & Melissa
2015 Redwood RL38 , Kodiak disk brakes , 17.5" tires , 8K Morryde IS , 2024 GMC 3500 DRW
XCMARK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-28-2018, 10:04 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
travelin' texans's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 3,353
Quote:
Originally Posted by XCMARK View Post
the real issue with oil bath is if the trailer site the seal surface can get rusty and cause it to leak. if you move the trailer all the time I would say it a good idea. As for zerk fitting and grease. 3 pumps a fresh grease once a year or you will be sorry. your springs could use a pump every month if your moveing it all the time
I grease all the suspension fittings several times a year & hand pack annually & inspecting the bearings, races, seals & brakes which can't be done by pumping grease into those zerks. From what I saw on mine the 1st 5-6k miles of owning & all 4 drums slap full of grease & I didn't pump any into them, I'd be sorry if I did give it 3 pumps once a year.
__________________
Danny & Linda
Full-timed 10+ years
Former '13 FB owner
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Currently rv & truckless
Replacement undetermined
travelin' texans is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2018, 12:30 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
atom ant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,101
I never understood why you needed zerks or even bearing buddys on a camper trailer axles vs boat trailer. We didn't have them on our front bearings on our cars and they ran for years without a few "pumps" from a grease gun and they were the identical tapered roller bearings on a spindle.

I never gave mine any pumps on the Redwood. Just cleaned and packed them periodically.
__________________
Brad & Dory - Lone Tree, CO
CURRENT - 2013 Itasca Meridian 42E/2013 Wrangler 4dr Sahara
SOLD - 2014 Redwood 36RL/2014 F350 DRW
atom ant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2018, 04:24 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
mhs4771's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,807
Did anyone ever pull the front wheels off their Car and repack the bearing every year?? I know I sure didn't yet they ran for years and thousands of miles so why every year or 12K miles on an RV? Now granted the bearings on a car isn't carrying 3 or 4K per wheel. I think if they could make a rear seal that would hold the pressure, the Grease Zerks could be an easy way to add fresh grease while pushing the old out.
__________________
Michelle & Ann
2018 Chevy 3500HD Crew Cab High Country DRW, D/A, 2016 RW39MB, Dual ACs, Auto Level, Auto Sat Dish, Stack W/D, King Sleep #, 17.5" Sailuns w/Disc, MORryde IS & Pin, Comfort Ride Hitch, 5.5 Onan, Res Fridge & Induction Cook Top
mhs4771 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-29-2018, 07:19 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
atom ant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 7,101
The only problem is, the only way out for the old grease is through that seal - and into the break drum (unless you have disk). Either way, its going on your brakes. Plus, unless you completely fill that hub around the spindle when you repack, your squirts in the zerk will never get to the inside bearing, it just fills that cavity until eventually you start to get enough grease in the hub to start to pushing it into the back.

Grease is designed to stay in the bearing, I don't see why anyone would need to use the zerk.

A boat trailer is different, as you are avoiding the introduction of water, but on a boat trailer there is a spring that keeps pressure on the hub to always force grease into the bearing and it is always full of grease clear through the hub and spindle. For my freshwater lakes I don't bother, because you have the same issue - seals fail and brakes full of grease. I just pack the bearings every few years and never touch the zerks. In fact I tossed the bearing buddies and installed bearing caps off on old "car"
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 241-81017.jpg (58.4 KB, 106 views)
__________________
Brad & Dory - Lone Tree, CO
CURRENT - 2013 Itasca Meridian 42E/2013 Wrangler 4dr Sahara
SOLD - 2014 Redwood 36RL/2014 F350 DRW
atom ant is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2018, 01:30 AM   #14
Senior Member
 
Ford truck guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 2,285
Quote:
Originally Posted by mhs4771 View Post
Did anyone ever pull the front wheels off their Car and repack the bearing every year?? I know I sure didn't yet they ran for years and thousands of miles so why every year or 12K miles on an RV? Now granted the bearings on a car isn't carrying 3 or 4K per wheel. I think if they could make a rear seal that would hold the pressure, the Grease Zerks could be an easy way to add fresh grease while pushing the old out.

I used to repack the front bearings on my older Fords yearly.. BUT that is because I used to have an annual pass to the Off Road Portion of the beaches in MD.for surf fishing. All that sand, bearings and front hubs do not go well together..
__________________
2020 F-350
2020 3991RD with-
17.5 Goodyear 114's , Titan Disc brakes, MorRyde 8K IS, Onan 6.5..
Ford truck guy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-06-2018, 10:37 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 14
Bearings and brakes

Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin' texans View Post
I grease all the suspension fittings several times a year & hand pack annually & inspecting the bearings, races, seals & brakes which can't be done by pumping grease into those zerks. From what I saw on mine the 1st 5-6k miles of owning & all 4 drums slap full of grease & I didn't pump any into them, I'd be sorry if I did give it 3 pumps once a year.
I just had my RW in for service, including the brakes. The drums and shoes were covered in grease. It felt as if I had no brakes at all. The service tech asked me if I had lubed the zirks, and I said no. Its a 2016. Nobody other than the dealer would have performed this. He cleaned up the mess, repacked the bearings and after a few start and stops, the brakes came back to life.
rhand48 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-07-2018, 12:25 AM   #16
Member
 
Talisker's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 35
My after market disk brakes came with same clear cover and when I went to check/repack bearings I found that they were oil filled. So put it back and added some oil. All the oils were clear so I’ll check again early next season.
Talisker is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Redwood RV or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:02 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
×