greased mine for the first time today and one bolt took 10 pumps of grease. No old grease came out of any of them either. No Bueno.....thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this video. I’m at 3000 miles and I couldn’t get all wet bolts to accept grease. I had a difficult time getting the wheels jacked off grade completely. I jacked behind rear wheel then in front of front wheel. How did you get both wheels off grade? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of info about how to get this job done safety.
Thanks for the great video. We are still new and learning all the hidden maintenance we should do that’s not in the manual. What kind of grease should we buy? We have a solitude 5th wheel with electric leveling jacks. Is it necessary to hook it up to our truck when jacking up to clear tires off ground? Should we pull slides in? Thanks!
I use the Walmart brand Super Tech Multi-Duty high temp. Any NGLI #2 grease will meet the same general specs. The biggest differences are the max temperatures, which for the wet bolts is not a major concern. The Walmart brand is rated to 300F, a fancier one that Etrailer recommends is rated to 500F. For this application, I think anything more than the Walmart brand is over quality. These bolts don't typically fail because of brand of grease used, but rather lack of proper greasing. Dexter recommends every 3 months or 3k miles. Keeping the grease in the system fresh is important part. I would not ever auto level hooked up to the truck. You should only raise the front jacks to release the 5th wheel hitch, then get the truck clear of the camper. Depending on grade of your parking spot, leveling with the truck attached will either put unnecessary load on axle or pull the suspension of the truck up depending on whether the front or rear is lower. Whether the slides are in or out makes no difference. If they are in, you potentially don't have to crawl under the rig as far. Also less to bump your head on. If you get the adapter I recommend, or equivalent, whether the tires are off the ground shouldn't matter. I've been able to push grease through the system in any condition so far. I'd auto level just to get a little more clearance for yourself to be under the camper. The with the levels down, the camper isn't going anywhere and as long as you've placed wheel chocks on both sides in both directions (my best practice to prevent 'oops' moments), when you lower it, it will also stay in place. Hope this helps!
Thanks. We got the Lock N Lube and grease you recommended. Having never even used a grease gun before, I assumed the connection was ample with the lock in the zerk- however when pumping, it was clear no grease was going in - just pumping out of the lock. Would you assume poor fitting/user error, or need to jack camper up to take all at off wheels? Currently parks with jacks down, but wheels not lifted. Thanks a ton for your help already!
When you squeeze the lock to attach, 4 jaws spread out. Those should bite on to the zerk. Sometimes giving it a little wiggle back and forth helps draw the zerk into the jaws. When attached to the zerk correctly, the 4 jaws should basically be pulled back inside the adapter. Is this happening? If so and it still isn't taking grease, then I would try lifting one side up so that the wheels are up. If it still doesn't take, hit me up again and I'll try and do some more trouble shooting.
Here's Dexter's official list of approved greases: www.dexteraxle.com/Resources/Learning-Library/How-To/5198/how-to-lubricate-your-bearings If you want to use something not on the list, best to fully clean everything to avoid mixing certain chemicals that don't match well. The bearing are the most important to not mis with. I've never heard of a wet bolt failure because of mixing greases. As one of my other video shows, even with low miles and regular greasing, the brass bushings in the wet bolts broke down before the grease did.
I have one zerk fitting that won't take grease. I have removed the fitting, cleaned it, reinstalled it and it still won't take grease. It's the wetbolt at 3:15 of your video. What do I need to do to relieve pressure and try again? Do I just use a jack to raise the axle slightly? Or if I need to remove that shackle, where should I be providing support? I know to support the axle but where else should I use a jack so I don't have an issue getting things back together?
RH63, you can try raising the axle slightly with a jack. That's what has typically worked. Don't fret too much about taking the bolt out. I've replaced them all. Have one jack at the axle, and another with a small block at your equalizer. The one on the axle controls the 'H' (up and down), the one on the equalizer controls the 'L' (front to back). You can try supporting both to get it to take grease before you remove. If you're going to take them out, I highly recommend the upgraded shackle kit (They aren't paying me anything to say that). Good luck!
With the camper leveled and all jack stands down, you can raise a wheel by jacking at the beam axle close to the leaf springs. Doing one side at a time won't cause an issue assuming you on level ground, properly chalked, etc. Good luck!
Check out my video on the MORryde X Factor to see the long answer. No big concern with them, but I upgraded when I found the bushings to be worn out at
There are a few things you can try: 1. What type of grease gun are you using? You really do need a high pressure kind. That may help. 2. You can try lifting the suspension slightly to change the pressure against the bolt. 3. If you watch my latest video about the suspension upgrade, you can see what was wrong with one of mine. The bronze bushing was completely worn out and I suspect the bolt was installed with the hole straight up or down which can make it very hard to grease. Best practice is hole to front or rear of camper to allow for flow. Since I did the upgrade, greasing is very easy. Good luck!
Excellent video!!!
I have heard rumors they don’t come with much grease in them
greased mine for the first time today and one bolt took 10 pumps of grease. No old grease came out of any of them either. No Bueno.....thanks for sharing.
....and my zerk fittings are on the outside, not the inside. Very frustrating....
Great video. I found it and today I’m about to lube my Dexter axles for the first time. Thank you
Thanks for this video. I’m at 3000 miles and I couldn’t get all wet bolts to accept grease. I had a difficult time getting the wheels jacked off grade completely. I jacked behind rear wheel then in front of front wheel. How did you get both wheels off grade? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of info about how to get this job done safety.
Thanks for the great video. We are still new and learning all the hidden maintenance we should do that’s not in the manual. What kind of grease should we buy? We have a solitude 5th wheel with electric leveling jacks. Is it necessary to hook it up to our truck when jacking up to clear tires off ground? Should we pull slides in? Thanks!
I use the Walmart brand Super Tech Multi-Duty high temp. Any NGLI #2 grease will meet the same general specs. The biggest differences are the max temperatures, which for the wet bolts is not a major concern. The Walmart brand is rated to 300F, a fancier one that Etrailer recommends is rated to 500F.
For this application, I think anything more than the Walmart brand is over quality. These bolts don't typically fail because of brand of grease used, but rather lack of proper greasing. Dexter recommends every 3 months or 3k miles. Keeping the grease in the system fresh is important part.
I would not ever auto level hooked up to the truck. You should only raise the front jacks to release the 5th wheel hitch, then get the truck clear of the camper. Depending on grade of your parking spot, leveling with the truck attached will either put unnecessary load on axle or pull the suspension of the truck up depending on whether the front or rear is lower.
Whether the slides are in or out makes no difference. If they are in, you potentially don't have to crawl under the rig as far. Also less to bump your head on.
If you get the adapter I recommend, or equivalent, whether the tires are off the ground shouldn't matter. I've been able to push grease through the system in any condition so far. I'd auto level just to get a little more clearance for yourself to be under the camper. The with the levels down, the camper isn't going anywhere and as long as you've placed wheel chocks on both sides in both directions (my best practice to prevent 'oops' moments), when you lower it, it will also stay in place.
Hope this helps!
Thanks. We got the Lock N Lube and grease you recommended. Having never even used a grease gun before, I assumed the connection was ample with the lock in the zerk- however when pumping, it was clear no grease was going in - just pumping out of the lock. Would you assume poor fitting/user error, or need to jack camper up to take all at off wheels? Currently parks with jacks down, but wheels not lifted. Thanks a ton for your help already!
When you squeeze the lock to attach, 4 jaws spread out. Those should bite on to the zerk. Sometimes giving it a little wiggle back and forth helps draw the zerk into the jaws. When attached to the zerk correctly, the 4 jaws should basically be pulled back inside the adapter. Is this happening? If so and it still isn't taking grease, then I would try lifting one side up so that the wheels are up. If it still doesn't take, hit me up again and I'll try and do some more trouble shooting.
RVEngineer this worked thank you!!
Leah, Glad to hear and happy camping!
What brand of grease, product name / specification is installed at Grand Design for use within the wheel bearings and within the suspension wet bolts?
Here's Dexter's official list of approved greases: www.dexteraxle.com/Resources/Learning-Library/How-To/5198/how-to-lubricate-your-bearings
If you want to use something not on the list, best to fully clean everything to avoid mixing certain chemicals that don't match well.
The bearing are the most important to not mis with. I've never heard of a wet bolt failure because of mixing greases. As one of my other video shows, even with low miles and regular greasing, the brass bushings in the wet bolts broke down before the grease did.
I have one zerk fitting that won't take grease. I have removed the fitting, cleaned it, reinstalled it and it still won't take grease. It's the wetbolt at 3:15 of your video. What do I need to do to relieve pressure and try again? Do I just use a jack to raise the axle slightly? Or if I need to remove that shackle, where should I be providing support? I know to support the axle but where else should I use a jack so I don't have an issue getting things back together?
RH63, you can try raising the axle slightly with a jack. That's what has typically worked.
Don't fret too much about taking the bolt out. I've replaced them all. Have one jack at the axle, and another with a small block at your equalizer. The one on the axle controls the 'H' (up and down), the one on the equalizer controls the 'L' (front to back). You can try supporting both to get it to take grease before you remove. If you're going to take them out, I highly recommend the upgraded shackle kit (They aren't paying me anything to say that). Good luck!
How do you get both tires off the ground?
There are two zerks on the top. One on each side, at least on mine there is.
How would you jack it up, to get the tires off the ground. Where would you, put the jack
With the camper leveled and all jack stands down, you can raise a wheel by jacking at the beam axle close to the leaf springs. Doing one side at a time won't cause an issue assuming you on level ground, properly chalked, etc. Good luck!
Did you use your leveling jacks to lift the trailer?
I did. I just did an auto level. If you are using the adapter I recommend, or an equivalent, you should be able to push grease into every joint.
how do you like the dexter equilizers? thanks
Check out my video on the MORryde X Factor to see the long answer. No big concern with them, but I upgraded when I found the bushings to be worn out at
Had three zerks that weren't taking the grease. Do I need to replace or is there a way to fix the zerk?
There are a few things you can try: 1. What type of grease gun are you using? You really do need a high pressure kind. That may help. 2. You can try lifting the suspension slightly to change the pressure against the bolt. 3. If you watch my latest video about the suspension upgrade, you can see what was wrong with one of mine. The bronze bushing was completely worn out and I suspect the bolt was installed with the hole straight up or down which can make it very hard to grease. Best practice is hole to front or rear of camper to allow for flow. Since I did the upgrade, greasing is very easy. Good luck!
One of the shackles is installed wrong
Grand Design is all show and no go