Dan H.

I purchased a Trailex CT-8045 with Electric Brakes directly from Trailex in April 2016. I have about 2700 miles of towing on the trailer since I’ve purchased it. By the end of this track season it’ll have approx.. 3800-4000 miles on it. I read through the packet of information that it came with and didn’t find anything around a maintenance schedule or recommendation. I think that the wheel bearings, brakes, and tires all need service at some point. Do you have suggestions on how often to service or replace these items?

CHJ In Virginia

Does the trailer have quick lube fittings on the axles ? If so, give them a few squirts of hi-temp grease at the start of every season. If not pull the drum and inspect / repack the bearings annually. When apart also inspect the shoes and magnet surfaces - replace as necessary. It should not take more than an hour a side. Tire pressure is VERY important - check before every event. I replaced my tires at the end of every third season. Upgrade load rating from the minimal tires the manufacturer put on the trailer.

c4cruiser

If the trailer has Dexter axles, they should have EZ_Lube grease fittings. That allows you to grease the bearings using a standard grease gun and the appropriate grease cartridge. The Owner's Manual that came with the trailer should have recommendations for the type of grease needed.

It would be a good idea to check the wear on the brake shoes, especially if the roads you travel have hills or there are frequent stops. Again, the owner's manual should tell you how to remove the brake drums so that you can look at the condition of the shoes and the drum surface. If the trailer has a small 12v breakaway battery, check the voltage and it would be a good idea to replace it every 4-5 years.

You didn't say what load range the tires are (probably a ST tire in a Load Range C) but I would think they would have good tread remaining with the miles noted. Trailer tires have wear indicators just like other tires so keep an eye on that.

Look for any signs of dry rot and/or cracks in the tread or the sidewalls. If you find anything like that, I would suggest replacing them immediately. Move up to a Load Range D if that is available in the tire size. In any event, use an "ST" tire! These are made for trailer service. Don't use LT truck tires or passenger car tires .

When the trailer is not in use, it can't hurt to use tire covers or keep the trailer in a shaded area. Keep the tire pressure at the recommended setting which should be 50psi.

Bill Dearborn

Lubricate the spring shackles once per year. I had them wear out on my previous trailer because I didn't realize they needed lubrication.

Bill

c4cruiser

What sort of lube did you use? Would be great to find a way to add zerk fittings on the spring eye so grease can go right to the bushings.

jlutherva

I bought a new trailer several months ago and was told by the dealer to grease the hubs after about 1200 miles. I was surprised at how much grease was required. With the EZ lube fittings, you add grease until the rubber around the fitting starts to bulge slightly. If you only put a few pumps of grease into the hub, you are only lubricating the inner bearing.

Jim

hungryhippo

What is everyone's experience with the ez-lube bearings? My trailer dealer recommended against using them. Said they are prone to leaking and its better to grease them the old fashioned way.

RichieRichZ06

I've heard the same thing when it comes to small trailers (3,500 pound axles or so). The small trailers are easy to pull apart, inspect and pack bearings. I've always been told to inspect and replace/repack bearings once per year or no more than 10k miles.

On the larger trailers (7k axles or larger), the EZ lube versions are supposed to be nice. I just picked up a 43' Featherlite enclosed to haul both cars around and it has triple 7k axles on it. It's amazing how much larger everything is on a 7k axle compared to a 3,500 pound axle.

I also noticed the larger trailer's hubs are much cooler after a few hundred miles of towing compared to the smaller trailer we have.

Dan H.

Not sure if I have EZ lube fittings or not. I'll pull the trailer out of the yard this weekend. Once its in the driveway I can lift it up and remove a couple wheels to see how things look. I did remove the plastic cap on the hub on the one side I can get to (Other side is against the garage). I found the grease cap was loose and not attached or seated inside......

c4cruiser

If the center wheel cap has a rubber dust boot, simply remove that and look for a grease fitting inside. If there is a grease fitting, you can use a hand-held grease gun to lube the bearings. The fittings that come with Dexter axles will allow the old grease to come out as the new grease is pushed in.

hungryhippo

Badass new truck and trailer

SouthernSon

My featherlite does not have ez lube bearings. I figure the bearings are lubed the way the old bearings and races were on the front end of all cars years ago. We did not lube those every year and some went thousands of miles with no problems. I think annual maintenance on bearings may be somewhat of an overkill. I did strip out the cheap Chinese bearings/races and installed SKS from NAPA (Japan made). As far as LT tires on trailers, I like them. One cannot find an american made trailer tire (easily, anyway). All China made tires for trailers are junk. The trailer specific tires have a stiffer sidewall, however. That might be nice for a single axle trailer but for a tandem axle it will probably travel straight without sway just fine with LT tires. My '24 enclosed does, anyway.

I might add that pumping lots of grease into the zirk fitting of the ez lubers only adds to heat build up inside the wheel hub. I prefer lubing the bearings only and using the palm of my hand the way my daddy taught me in the good ole days. Once he showed me, he never did the chore again.

BTW, when you replace the hub after repacking, you should spin the wheel and tighten the castle nut to 25 ft/lb's. Then, back off and only tighten 25 INCH/lbs. Install correct size cotter pin and you're good to go.

TrackAire

Trailer tires are a huge issue as most of them "time out" before they wear out and since most trailer tires aren't used much, the tires dry out due to lack of heat (use) and are susceptible to catastrophic blowouts. If running ST trailer tires, I would recommend replacing them every 3 to 4 years regardless how they look.

I have an enclosed 24' trailer. It came with 6 lug 15" diameter wheels and the highest capacity 225-75-15 tires that had an 80 max psi rating.

I just changed over to 16" aluminum wheels with 225-75-16 E-load rated steel carcass Bridgestone Duravis R250 tires. These tires literally weigh 50% more than the Chinese Carlisle tires I replaced.

The other tire that works just as well as the Duravis R250 is the Michelin XPS rib. Both are steel cased construction and survive trailer use better than any Chinese made ST tire on the market.

dapopa9

Goodyear just recently released a trailer tire that is made here in the US. Goodyear Endurance -

https://blog.tirerack.com/blog/make-...ade-in-the-usa

speedwaywhite

Agree. Time is critical, I have been running Maxxis M8008/ST 10 ply replacing at 5 years. Store off the ground with UV covers.

Dan H.

Good morning all,
Thank you for all the advice. Between this thread and some feedback from trailex I have a plan for maintenance and also feel cable of jacking this up and changing a flat should I need to.

While popping off some plastic hub caps I found one of the grease caps wasn't even on, it was just rattling around inside the trim cover, yikes!

I ordered some trailer wheel bearing grease and should have it on Monday. I'll repack the one hub that had the loose grease cap. Then off to Summit Point for the weekend. I'll service the rest of them afterwards before the big haul down to VIR in October. Trailex recommended to repack the bearings every two years regardless of miles

Sounds like I need to pick up some wheel UV covers since I store it outside.

Thanks again all
Dan