What Type of Wheel Bearing Grease Should I use on Aluma Flatbed Trailer

Question:

I have an Aluma flatbed trailer with no brakes. I wanted to grease the hubs. Aluma says just use the zerk fitting. So I injected until cleanish lube came out. I needed knew rubber caps because one leaked. I went to a Local RV shop for the part. They said i made a mistake. They said that since I used standard grease it should be taken apart, cleaned, and hand packed with high temp grease. They say it will cost me $126 to do this and I need to do it annually. I recontacted Aluma and they said that’s not true at all and just use the ez lube fixture. Your thoughts? Thanks

asked by: Joe B

Helpful Expert Reply:

The dealer was partially correct, you should re-grease your bearings once each year. This is considered standard maintenance for any trailer. As far as the high-temp grease vs. standard grease, that sounds like they may have been trying to drum up some business for themselves. There is no problem using standard bearing grease on your Aluma flatbed trailer.

We frequently use the LubriMatic Wheel Bearing Grease, # L11465, on the utility, flatbed, livestock style trailers that come into our shop. If we know someone will be putting a lot of highway miles on their trailer, then we will recommend that they step up to the high-temp grease like # L11380, but that is mainly because highway speeds will heat everything up quite a bit more than occasional trailer use or local driving.

It is also perfectly acceptable to use the grease zerk on your spindle to re-grease your hubs, but I should also mention that it is a good idea to remove the hub every year or two to inspect the bearings and spindle to make sure everything is in good shape. To be honest, I don't do this every year, maybe every three years or so if I'm not experiencing any problems. If you are noticing any abnormal tire wear, brake issues, blowouts or overheating at the wheels, then that is a good time to inspect the bearings and spindle.

expert reply by: John H