Dexter Axle Bearings

[topgun2]

Flat tire - I carry a "plug" kit that I can get in WalMart.  I've always carried one of these kits - with or without the Ollie in tow.

Wheel bearing issue - I carry a set of bearings like this:

While I could change out the bearings with this set, that is NOT my intent.  It is fairly easy to get the drum off the axle and carry that to virtually any gas station or tire shop that has a mechanic.  The issue is not doing the job on the side of the road where it could be fairly dangerous, but, getting to a safe place and NOT having to wait for them to order the bearings.

Yes, these bearings are fairly standard, but, I don't want to hear, "I'm sorry, we just sold our last set this morning".  I've been carrying two of these sets around for the past seven years - just in case.  And, before you ask - yes, they are made in China.  However, I figure that they will last long enough to get me home where I can do a proper job with good bearings and good grease.

Bill

[John and Debbie]

23 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Flat tire - I carry a "plug" kit that I can get in WalMart.  I've always carried one of these kits - with or without the Ollie in tow.

Wheel bearing issue - I carry a set of bearings like this:

While I could change out the bearings with this set, that is NOT my intent.  It is fairly easy to get the drum off the axle and carry that to virtually any gas station or tire shop that has a mechanic.  The issue is not doing the job on the side of the road where it could be fairly dangerous, but, getting to a safe place and NOT having to wait for them to order the bearings.

Yes, these bearings are fairly standard, but, I don't want to hear, "I'm sorry, we just sold our last set this morning".  I've been carrying two of these sets around for the past seven years - just in case.  And, before you ask - yes, they are made in China.  However, I figure that they will last long enough to get me home where I can do a proper job with good bearings and good grease.

Bill

"Flat tire - I carry a "plug" kit that I can get in WalMart.  I've always carried one of these kits - with or without the Ollie in tow."

Bill what's this item?   Any pictures of it? 

John

[topgun2]

4 minutes ago, John Welte said:

Bill what's this item?   Any pictures of it? 

Sure - try SOMETHING LIKE THIS

Bill

[topgun2]

Note that these plug kits are only meant to plug things like nail, screw, holes and the like in the tread area of tires.  If you get a puncture in the sidewall of a tire (i.e. you cut the side of the tire on a curb or a rock) or if there is a good sized cut in the tread, these plug kits will not work.

While I've used these kits on tires to get me home, I will take the damaged tire to a tire shop to have a proper "mushroom" type repair done.  This requires the bead of the tire to be taken off the rim such that a "plug" that is in the shape of a mushroom can be installed from the inside.

Also note that you will need to have an air compressor with you in order to reflate the tire once you have installed the plug.

If you have never used a plug kit before it would help to have a little practice.  A local tire store might let you practice on a junk tire.   Some strength is required - you must first get the "reamming" tool into and out of the hole in the tire and then be able to get the tool with the plug on it into and out of the tire.

Bill

[routlaw]

3 hours ago, FrankC said:

Maybe an extreme for what to carry on the road, but I’m much more comfortable traveling/towing the Ollie knowing I am prepared. 

Wow! That is an amazing amount of gear to travel around with, for me its been perhaps half or less than that and its never occurred to me to be prepared to change bearings while out. There have been only very few times when I have had to reach for any of my tools at least with the Oliver and then only minor things, previous campers well that's a different story. Maybe I've just been lucky. 

Also amazed you were able to do all 4 sets of bearings in half a day ±. Heck I once had to rebuild a VW engine in a Nebraska campground in the first week of November no less because the flywheel came loose from the crankshaft. This was not a pleasant experience. Young and stupid years. Amazingly my wife is still with me, not sure what she was thinking. 🤔

[SeaDawg]

We carry a very small bag of tools, a charged drill and bits, a spare set of bearings and seals, a good sams road service card, and several credit cards. And, a tire plug kit. A multimeter. Often, a chain saw.  And, two cell phones, one gsm, one CDMA. 

Last two, probably most important. 

When we deliver or rent rvs, we take an even smaller kit. Plus good sams and a couple credit cards. And, the phones.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but we've rarely needed a lot more that we couldn't get at the next lowes, home depot, Canadian super store, or ace hardware, or rv center.

Happy to report, never had to use bearing kit or tire plug kit. Its ok. Still keep them around. Those are trip killers.

Carrying a few bits of pex fitting and tubing wouldn't add a lot of weight. We do also have duck tape, and a few scraps of wire, and a few connectors and a fuse kit . 

I guess we live on the edge. I don't want to drive a huge truck to carry a garage with us. It hasn't been necessary,  in all these many years. 

[Geronimo John]

12 hours ago, FrankC said:

So I carry quite a bit of tools, parts and supplies.

I pretty much have most of the same tools.  In addition I carry an inch-pound and a foot-pound torque wrenches, a small electrical pump, a 20 volt DeWalt air compressor, impact and drill.  Also electrical supplies, and a set of wheel bearing seals and two of my old Dexter bearings in case my Timken's die.

I use my F-150 jack when not using the three onboard jacks, and carry a milk crate of 2 X 6 lumber for shims and under jack support.   

PS:  Jumper cables, tow strap, head lamp, TeleSteps ladder, Fortiflex buckets, and work gloves.  If I can't fix it, and there is no cell, I have a Garmin InReach tracker that allows satellite transmission of messages to anyone I want anywhere in the world.

[MobileJoy]

On 4/17/2022 at 3:46 PM, Geronimo John said:

HOWEVER, as verified by both Jason and Dexter, they seem to have in service more than few grease caps that are defective and have a propensity of falling off.  For our Ollies, they get trapped inside of the wheel rim decorative cover where they rattle around.  With a few miles, they will bash out the wheel rim small "hub cap" (another reason to RTV the decorative wheel hub caps to the decorative wheel rim decorative cover as JD has suggested in a previous post!).

Could someone please provide a link to this previous post? Also, I haven't been able to find or figure out the meaning of RTV. Thanks.

[topgun2]

12 minutes ago, MobileJoy said:

I haven't been able to find or figure out the meaning of RTV.

RTV silicone is a type of silicone that cures at room temperature (see it HERE).

Bill

[MobileJoy]

Thanks Bill. I also found the mentioned post by searching for RTV::

 

 

[John and Jodi]

Wow! What an intimidating and concerning thread for a newbie. I stumbled onto this thread looking for advice as to the tool kit I should take with us as we go to pick up our new trailer. Initially, I favor @SeaDawg and @topgun2's approach of having a set of bandaids to get moving again (probably until I'm scarred by some catastrophic event at which point I'll join the RV preppers contingent).

On 4/28/2022 at 10:29 PM, SeaDawg said:

We carry a very small bag of tools, a charged drill and bits, a spare set of bearings and seals, a good sams road service card, and several credit cards. And, a tire plug kit. A multimeter. Often, a chain saw.  And, two cell phones, one gsm, one CDMA. 

Last two, probably most important. 

...

Happy to report, never had to use bearing kit or tire plug kit. Its ok. Still keep them around. Those are trip killers.

...

I guess we live on the edge. I don't want to drive a huge truck to carry a garage with us. It hasn't been necessary,  in all these many years. 

While I have been able to discern that this long thread wanders through many topics, some for home base and some for on the road, I'm left with a few questions:

1. Why the tire plug kit? Doesn't the trailer come with a spare tire? I'm not following the logic of that need. I put on the spare and take the original tire somewhere for repair/replacement.
2. Where do I find the kit in topgun2's photo?
3. Since I'm driving from Hohenwald to San Antonio (just under 900 miles) what do I truly need to monitor or ask the Oliver folks about monitoring on the way home? The posts about the "play" in the wheels concerned me.

[SeaDawg]

We carry a tire plug kit, just because.  Actually,  our car doesn't have a spare, so we just double up.

We've had one flat on the trailer, in probably 150k miles. In a driveway, many years ago. 

It's our nature here, as somewhat overprepared/anal to carry more than we need, imo.

I'll add that the plug kit works for tug and tow, weighs little,  and is good insurance. Worth the little weight, imo. 

[SeaDawg]

@John and Jodi, seriously,  I'd relax, and enjoy the trip home.

Spend your time in Hohenwald, learning systems.  

 

[Mike and Carol]

3 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

@John and Jodi, seriously,  I'd relax, and enjoy the trip home.

I agree with Sherry, don’t be intimidated!  Relax, you’ll have a brand new trailer and you don’t need to worry about having a tool for every need.  If you have an issue on the road there will be a Walmart or Home Depot nearby to get what you need.  We had a basic set of tools when we picked up and didn’t need anything on our trip back to San Antonio.  The only thing I would recommend is a TPMS that you can install after you pick up and are camping at the factory.  Mike

[SeaDawg]

10 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

We had a basic set of tools when we picked up and didn’t need anything on our trip back to San Antonio.  The only thing I would recommend is a TPMS that you can install after you pick up and are camping at the factory.  Mike

Definitely,  get a tpms.

[John and Debbie]

On 5/20/2022 at 6:35 PM, SeaDawg said:

Definitely,  get a tpms.

My first purchase!   Done.   Less than five months of waiting left for us. 

[topgun2]

On 5/20/2022 at 7:50 PM, John and Jodi said:

Wow! What an intimidating and concerning thread for a newbie. I stumbled onto this thread looking for advice as to the tool kit I should take with us as we go to pick up our new trailer. Initially, I favor @SeaDawg and @topgun2's approach of having a set of bandaids to get moving again (probably until I'm scarred by some catastrophic event at which point I'll join the RV preppers contingent).

While I have been able to discern that this long thread wanders through many topics, some for home base and some for on the road, I'm left with a few questions:

1. Why the tire plug kit? Doesn't the trailer come with a spare tire? I'm not following the logic of that need. I put on the spare and take the original tire somewhere for repair/replacement.
2. Where do I find the kit in topgun2's photo?
3. Since I'm driving from Hohenwald to San Antonio (just under 900 miles) what do I truly need to monitor or ask the Oliver folks about monitoring on the way home? The posts about the "play" in the wheels concerned me.

A tire plug kit can be found at Walmart or Amazon easily and they don't cost much and are relatively compact.

If you decide to get one and have never used one before then be sure to at least watch a YouTube bid or two just so you know a little bit of how to use one.

Finally - I'll repeat what SeaDawg and Mike said above - relax and enjoy your new baby.

Bill

[geO]

While doing my bearings I noticed one of my castle nuts does not smoothly screw on the spindle. The threads look good but getting it finger tight does not happen. Do I need a new castle nut or do you think this guys tips will help?

 

[CRM]

Looking to buy bearing kits for my Elite II but the factory stickers are far too faded to make anything out. They do have numbering painted on them but they don't come up as a part number on the Dexter site. Can anyone identify what axles I have, or maybe I am just better off pulling one of the hubs off at get the numbers off the bearings?

[topgun2]

Unless someone here has the specific details as to which hulls got which axles at which time - there are a few Ollies that received axles other than the 3,500 pound ones that are the norm - I'd suggest a call to the Service Department.  They can look up your specific build and tell you what you have.

Bill

[CRM]

26 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

I'd suggest a call to the Service Department.  They can look up your specific build and tell you what you have.

Bill

Thanks. I'm starting to think that they might not even be Dexter axles since they don't have the Dexter name or model number stamped on them.  Just saw on their website that they've been doing that on all axles since 2001.

[bhncb]

Look underneath at the end of the axle where the brake assembly attachments. If you see a flange with four nuts in a square pattern, they are 3500# axles. If there are five round stud heads, in a circular pattern around the flange, they are 5200#.  Dexter Axle stamps the axle serial number into the steel tube. They should be visible from the rear, just left of center. Email Dexter customer service with this number and they'll provide the axle build sheet with all component part numbers.

[CRM]

15 minutes ago, bhncb said:

Look underneath at the end of the axle where the brake assembly attachments. If you see a flange with four nuts in a square pattern, they are 3500# axles. If there are five round stud heads, in a circular pattern around the flange, they are 5200#.  Dexter Axle stamps the axle serial number into the steel tube. They should be visible from the rear, just left of center. Email Dexter customer service with this number and they'll provide the axle build sheet with all component part numbers.

They have a 5 bolt flange, two on each side and one at the top. No numbers stamped into the axle tubes anywhere though.. Might just have to contact Oliver and/or pull a wheel to get numbers directly off the bearings.

Edit- I have much of the original paperwork and just found a list of additional upgrades and it states "upgraded axles" on the list but no part number.

[GAP]

Just repacked my bearings and went through this entire chain.  Left me with a couple of questions.

-  Why don't our trailers have sealed bearings?  The new model year does.  I believe they basically require replacing the entire axle when in need of maintenance but can't remember the last time I heard someone had to replace a sealed bearing.

- Why don't our hubs have Dexter EZ Lube fittings?  Seems like you can displace old grease and replace with fresh without       having to do a full on repacking job.

-  I understand that it is suggested that we re-pack our bearings every year or 12k miles but, keep finding suggestions that the re-packing is really only necessary/prudent at twice that.  I'm sure more often certainly doesn't hurt but could it possibly be overkill?

I'm sure these questions may push some buttons so please forgive my lack of experience in this department.

[Rivernerd]

8 minutes ago, GAP said:

 -Why don't our hubs have Dexter EZ Lube fittings?  Seems like you can displace old grease and replace with fresh without having to do a full on repacking job.

-  I understand that it is suggested that we re-pack our bearings every year or 12k miles but, keep finding suggestions that the re-packing is really only necessary/prudent at twice that.  I'm sure more often certainly doesn't hurt but could it possibly be overkill?

I have EZ lube fittings on my raft trailer.  They are great for extending the time between bearing repacks, but I am not comfortable letting my wheel bearings go more than 2-3 years without a full repack, even with a shot of grease into the zerk every 6 months or so.

I go by the old saying "Its' not the age, its the mileage."  If your trailer only gets used 4 weeks a year, and is only towed 4K miles during those 4 weeks, I would be comfortable waiting to repack the bearings until I got to 10K miles or 2 years. 

There are pros and cons to Nev-R-Lube bearings.  See this thread: