Dexter self adjusting electric brakes on 17' Escape

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

It involves disassembling the hub and repacking the bearings, of course.
Exactly why E-Z Lube is pointless for those of us not dunking our trailers.

My thoughts exactly. I have one on the scamp, and can't fathom ever using the grease zerk. All the trailers I own get the bearings repacked before the first use of the year, even if it didn't move since the last time.

Other than a new set of seals, it takes so little to do. Pull the dust cap, cotter pin and nut, pull the wheel/brake drum as an assembly, knock bearings out, clean them in solvent tank (I don't believe in pushing old grease out with new), repack, slap it back together with new seals and a cotter pin. 15 minutes a wheel, and you KNOW they're good.

You know the bearings aren't scored, you know by aren't brown from over heating, you know the seals are good, you know you didn't grease your brakes, and you know the condition of your brakes.

[Jack L]

I installed Dexter Nev R Adjust brakes about a year ago and have they now have about 1000 miles of use. They work very well. They were about $10 more per wheel than the standard ones that need adjusting.

I've been considering changing the axle feom a 4"drop to a straight axle and from all the information I've seen the EZ lube axle and the Never lube are the only ones available now. I don't need the EZ Lube feature but if that is all that is available, I'll still buy that axle.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

1. The system is for boat trailers.

Actually, the text says
A trailer running gear lubrication system that's simple to maintain and completely submersible with no disassembly required. Ideal for most towable axles including boat trailer applications.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Ian Hall

Yes, Reese has said they can be ordered with the e-z lub axle... he wasn't too keen on them; said they were fairly new and there might be problems. But I'm inclined to get them unless others nix them enough. Ian

My EZ-Lube axle has been towed well over 60,000 miles in nine years, the bearings were set-up and lubed by hand when new and repacked by hand upon brake inspection. That has been twice so far... once at 27,000miles and again at 60,000miles.
Otherwise, I have used the EZ-lube feature. The bearings are well lubed and in perfect condition. I love this feature and (like Donna) often warn against confusing them with Bearing Buddies which are really designed for boat applications.
Let's just say that this is one of those rare occasions on which Brian and I disagree.

[Brian B-P]

Inspired by Floyd:
My Toyota Tercel rear axle was driven well over 350,000 km (217,000 miles) in seventeen years, the bearings were set-up and lubed by hand when new and repacked by hand upon brake shoe replacement. That was a couple of times, when the brakes worn down.
Otherwise, I did not squirt more grease into them. The bearings were well lubed and in perfect condition when the car was retired. I love not needing some boat trailer feature and (like Donna and Floyd) often warn against confusing E-Z Lube with Bearing Buddies which are also designed for boat applications.

[Donna D.]

When talking about the Dexter EZ-Lube bearings, I've found there are three kinds of subjectives:

1) Don't know what it is, hasn't investigated (thinks it's a Bearing Buddy), doesn't trust the technology

2) Knows what an EZ-Lube axle is, doesn't trust it, hasn't investigated, don't trust the technology. Old Skool is good enough.

3) Has an EZ-Lube axle, maintains it as suggested/required. Perfectly happy with having one.

Dexter is moving forward with EZ-Lubes and I'm (thinking) before too long none of us will be able to buy an axle from them without this feature. Unless you're looking to buy a light-weight axle suitable for utility trailers (less than a ton).

I have one on my trailer, I'm item #3. Google is your friend. Point me to someone that has had a problem (followed maintenance, etc) and I'll believe you, truly.

I still check the brakes once a year!

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

When talking about the Dexter EZ-Lube bearings, I've found there are three kinds of subjectives:

1) Don't know what it is, hasn't investigated (thinks it's a Bearing Buddy), doesn't trust the technology

2) Knows what an EZ-Lube axle is, doesn't trust it, hasn't investigated, don't trust the technology. Old Skool is good enough.

3) Has an EZ-Lube axle, maintains it as suggested/required. Perfectly happy with having one.

Dexter is moving forward with EZ-Lubes and I'm (thinking) before too long none of us will be able to buy an axle from them without this feature. Unless you're looking to buy a light-weight axle suitable for utility trailers (less than a ton).

I have one on my trailer, I'm item #3. Google is your friend. Point me to someone that has had a problem (followed maintenance, etc) and I'll believe you, truly.

I still check the brakes once a year!

I had a trailer (my 4x8) that I greased the bearings on, then it sat for three years (wasn't moved from that spot), with it sheltered by trees.

I figured they had to be fine, and talked myself out of my annual greasing before its used the first time for the year. The morning I was leaving, my conscious nagged at me, and I tore them down. They had water marks, and grit in them. There's no way they would use made the 1500 mile trip. Squirting more grease in would not have solved the problem.

The seals looked fine. I'm still at a loss as to how that happened, but it did.

I haven't broken (and won't) my annual greasing requirement since then. To me, ez lube axles are like putting on deodorant, but never showering. I also prefer to not chance greasing my brakes, and there's only one way you'll find out if you did or not…

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Jared J

I had a trailer (my 4x8) that I greased the bearings on, then it sat for three years (wasn't moved from that spot), with it sheltered by trees.

Soooo Jared maybe you were closer to item #2 than #3? Annual maintenance is good, no matter the bearing care or axle. But, the problems you thought would occur didn't have anything to do with the EZ lubes.... it had more to do with a trailer that SAT for a long time....

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Inspired by Floyd:
My Toyota Tercel rear axle was driven well over 350,000 km (217,000 miles) in seventeen years, the bearings were set-up and lubed by hand when new and repacked by hand upon brake shoe replacement. That was a couple of times, when the brakes worn down.
Otherwise, I did not squirt more grease into them. The bearings were well lubed and in perfect condition when the car was retired. I love not needing some boat trailer feature and (like Donna and Floyd) often warn against confusing E-Z Lube with Bearing Buddies which are also designed for boat applications.

Unlike your average trailer, your Tercel likely did not sit regularly for entire seasons at a time(usually outside). I have no boat trailer feature on my Scamp.
I merely inject enough grease to see a color change occasionally, since I have seen what transeasonal storage can do in terms of condensation and rust when grease is not cycled on a regular basis.

You make a good point about the similarities while ignoring the differences. Actually the more often you tow a small trailer the less often you need to grease.

If you think EZ-Lube is a foolish waste of time, then I gladly waste about 3minutes and 30 cents per year to get 20 minutes worth of smug satisfaction and decades of reliable service.
Silly me...you win!

[Donna D.]

We still need to be careful about our suggestions.

Every single day, brand new owners of all molded towables, show up on FiberglassRV. Do we give them the best we have to offer (links to websites or threads) or only our opinions?

If I was a newbie... I would want facts... not just opinions.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

Soooo Jared maybe you were closer to item #2 than #3? Annual maintenance is good, no matter the bearing care or axle. But, the problems you thought would occur didn't have anything to do with the EZ lubes.... it had more to do with a trailer that SAT for a long time....

The point was, squirting grease in would have only removed some of the problem, at best. I've seen more than a few people on here advocate going well over three years between proper bearing repackings.

Would you keep taking a bath in a tub that was never drained, only had some fresh water added to it, and you couldn't see what the water looked like? That's what's happening, along with the potential of greasing brakes with a weak or torn dust seal.

Being able to squirt some grease is a poor substitute for proper cleaning and greasing, not too mention visual inspection of the bearings, and I've never had a need to grease bearings more than once a year, so I feel my alko ez lube was a waste of money.

If somebody isn't going to repack the bearings, then yes, ez lube is much better than nothing. I still question how you know if you greased your brakes or not, other than the obvious disaster.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Donna D.

If I was a newbie... I would want facts... not just opinions.

Zep diluted with Coca Cola?

[lamimartin]

Originally Posted by Ian Hall

Hello, I am buying a 17' Escape Plan A trailer...does anyone have experience with Dexter self-adjusting electric brakes on this, or any other rv trailer? Any pros or cons....? Am also getting easy lub bearing set up...any pros or cons on this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Ian

Hydraulic drum brakes are basically self adjusting whenever you brake on REVERSE. Dexter Electric brakes called "Nev-r-adjust" are told to be the only electric brakes to be self adjusting. I won't dispute that exclusivity, but personnaly, I would not bother buying anything else. Dexter brakes parts are easy to find at competitive price.

Even with the best drum brakes, you will need also a good quality electric brake controller. The good ones are called "proportionnal" controllers, meaning they will automatically sense and provide the right amount of braking power depending on the intensity required. The best brake controllers are proportionnal and "self adjusting". It only means that the initial calibration with the trailer weight is automated instead of manual. This latter option is more expensive, but not essential. In my humble opinion, I would not purchase any controller that is not proportionnal. As for the automated calibration, it is no big deal if you only care to perform the road test as specified in the instruction manual. I am delighted of the smooth performance of the Tekonsha controller I have with my Trillium 4500. This company also offers many kits that reduce the amount of time required for installation. Brake Controllers - Tekonsha

As for ez-lube hubs, It is really designed for a boat trailer, which is often submerged. ez-lube is also a very easy to maintain hub, but as Brian said, it is NOT designed to prevent you from regular maintenance, otherwise it would be called "Lazy lube". Periodic repacking of the hub bearings is still mandatory. Ez-lube will reduce the chances of an inner bearing to run out of grease, as opposed to hub "buddy" that maintain pressure on the grease with little effect on the inner bearing. Mine kept failing on my boat trailer, so I installed an ez-lube axle last year.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Jared J

I still question how you know if you greased your brakes or not, other than the obvious disaster.

You mean you don't know??

[jwcolby54]

Originally Posted by mary and bob

but imagine on a camper with brakes and someone gets the idea that if one pump of grease is good, ten pumps must be much better.

You must be talking about me. And 100 is ten times better than 10 pumps!

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Inspired by Floyd:
My Toyota Tercel rear axle was driven well over 350,000 km (217,000 miles) in seventeen years, the bearings were set-up and lubed by hand when new and repacked by hand upon brake shoe replacement. That was a couple of times, when the brakes worn down.
Otherwise, I did not squirt more grease into them. The bearings were well lubed and in perfect condition when the car was retired. I love not needing some boat trailer feature and (like Donna and Floyd) often warn against confusing E-Z Lube with Bearing Buddies which are also designed for boat applications.

I think of this in a similar context. In the bad old days, most vehicles had rear wheel drive and front spindles with tapered bearings and drum brakes very similar to a trailer spindle. Generally the bearings were repacked with each brake job, and attention to the bearings between brake jobs was rare.

I think one major difference with trailers is the usage rate. In a car that gets driven regularly, the bearing heats up daily, drives off any moisture that has condensed there, melts the grease, and redistributes it as it rolls. Contrast this to a trailer that may sit for months, in heat and cold pulling in moisture with the bearing in a static position where there can be a long term interaction between the bearing roller and the bearing cone surfaces. I suspect that trailers that are pulled frequently need less bearing attention for the reasons stated.

[rabbit]

Best use of hygienic metaphor in a wrench discussion: Jerod.

jack

[lamimartin]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

(...) Contrast this to a trailer that may sit for months, in heat and cold pulling in moisture with the bearing in a static position where there can be a long term interaction between the bearing roller and the bearing cone surfaces. I suspect that trailers that are pulled frequently need less bearing attention for the reasons stated.

I fully agree with your observations:
Corrosion occurs in presence of humidity and absence of grease. Metal to metal contact of different alloys also invites corrosion. Just think of disk brakes squeeking after being in contact with metallic pads after a couple of days under rainy conditions. Brearings and bearing races need to MOVE in order to be protected.

The very worst conditions are boat trailer bearings that are regularly submerged and that need to be repacked every season end. Otherwise, bearing races are ruined causing bearing to fail. Even an Ez-Lube hub, designed to be submerged requires repacking at season end.