A lot of 5th wheel and travel trailer RVs come with Dexter axles and use the Dexter EZ Lube system. This system makes it easy to lubricate the bearings without removing the whole hub assembly and repacking them by hand. Dexter recommends lubricating these axles every 12 months or 12,000 miles. I recently performed this maintenance on my 5th wheel. Here’s how I did it and what I learned.

Summary of steps

1. Use wheel chocks on opposite side of trailer
2. Jack up a wheel enough that it can spin freely
3. Remove the cap covering the axle zerk fitting
4. Attach grease gun to zerk and start pumping grease while rotating wheel
5. Continue pumping grease until the new grease starts coming out the front
6. Remove grease gun, wipe away excess grease, and replace cap
7. Lower wheel and repeat for the other wheels

What You’ll Need

• Grease gun
• 1 tube of grease per wheel
• Bottle jack
• Wheel chocks
• Flat head screwdriver
• Rags or paper towels

Jacking up the wheel

The process is supposed to be pretty simple. The hardest part was deciding how to jack up the trailer properly.

(Disclaimer: Anything you do to your vehicle or trailer is your decision and I do not accept any responsibility for accidents, mishaps, or damage that may occur if you follow the procedures I’ve listed here.)

Since I had never needed to jack up my trailer before, I wasn’t sure of the best way to do it. The trailer manufacturer says to always lift it by the frame and never raise it by placing a jack under the axle. In practice, the frame on my 5th wheel is 25 inches high and I would likely have to raise it another 10-12 inches to get the tire to come off the ground. I would also need some massive jack stands to safely raise it this high and feel safe working around and under it. This whole idea just seemed dangerouse and unnecessary. And I know the tire shops just jack under the axle with a floor jack.

Some people suggest using a Trailer Aid or Andersen Rapid Jack. These are meant for tandem or triple axle trailers and let you raise a tire off the ground without using a jack at all. You just put the ramp under one tire and drive up. As one tire goes up the ramp, the other tire on the same side of the trailer is lifted off the ground. But I’ve tried these on my 5th wheel and they don’t work. My leaf springs have too much give and the other tire never gets high enough to rise off the ground.

So I just used the bottle jack that came with my truck and placed it under the axle, right under the leaf spring and as close to the tire as possible. Using this method, I only had to move the jack up a few inches before the tire came off the ground. This seemed a lot safer because I was only raising the tire and not the whole trailer. This also meant I didn’t have to hitch up to the truck because there wasn’t any additional strain on the front landing legs.

Greasing the axle

Following Dexter’s recommendation, I used a lithium-based grease from Valvoline that I found at Autozone.

Valvoline General Multi-purpose Lithium grease

First, remove plastic cap on the end of the axle:

Remove this plastic cap

Then remove the rubber cap. This covers the chamber holding the grease and gives you access to the zerk fitting:

Remove this rubber cap

Notice the chamber is almost emply. The axles come from the factory with just a little bit of grease in the bearings. The first time you use the EZ Lube feature to fill the axle, it will take a lot of grease. I used about 3/4 of a tube for each wheel.

Grease chamber is nearly empty from the factory

Attach the grease gun to the zerk, then start pumping grease while rotating the wheel. Continue pumping until grease starts to come out the front around the grease gun. When new grease starts to come out, you can stop pumping.

Rotate wheel while pumping grease gun

Chamber now full of grease. Wipe away excess.

Wipe away excess grease and replace the rubber and plastic caps.

Video Demonstration Lubricating Axles

Adjusting brakes

This is also a good time to adjust the brakes if necessary. My 5th wheel has electric drum brakes that require occasional adjustment to tighten them. Ajustment is easy and follows the standard procedure for manually adjusting drum brakes.