Switching oil bath hubs to grease

Trade it for a trailer with 15k axles & 17.5 tires & that will take care of alot of your problems. The 10ks wont hold up under a 40 ft trailer running the road everyday. Dexter sucks but they are about the only choice for those type of axles.

 

A lot of people are going to grease hubs on trailers, especially operations that have trailers sit a long time. We also do it on trailers that sit a bunch, it seems the seals last longer and we haven’t noticed them running hotter than oil hubs.

Nothing wrong with switching to grease.

 

We run grease in all of our trailer hubs... And you will still ruin a set of shoes if you dont catch it quick enough... Grease turns to semifluid when it get hot from running down the road.

 

Anyone running hotshot with a 40' gooseneck flatbed should have a trailer with 12k axles with hydraulic disc brakes and hutch suspension, I realize this is like top of the line trailer $15k - $17k vs a cheapy $10k trailer but it's smart money spent up front vs stupid money keep spending on a cheap trailer forever.

 

Have you ever converted a grease Hub to an oil hub

 

Yes, did this on my Kaufman Mini5 trailer. My trailer already had 8k axles which have the right drum/hub, I just needed to swap out the seals and change the black plastic grease caps to the translucent oil caps. If you want to do this your drum/hub must have the screw-on caps, if you have the metal hammer-on cap then you have to change the drum/hub too. There is a kit on eBay you can buy to change over, the oil seal part number is 10-63

UPGRADE YOUR 7K Trailer Axle to 8K Oil Bath! 8000# Hybrid 12x2 Brake Drum LCI | eBay

 

Old thread but adding info that may be helpful. I’m running hot shot with 248k miles on this trailer. Loadtrail 25,900 40ft with 12k dexter and EOH disks. Yes with the hutch style suspension( yes you should get this if hauling commercially). So the dexter 10-56-00 seal is same for 10k, 12k and 15k axles... I use the National 370014a replacement as premium upgrade and it can be found at most auto parts stores(oreilleys for me typically). I do not know if the bearings are the same per 10,12, 15k axles but the seals and spindle nuts and washers and oil cap are the same.... I switched over from stock hub oil (80-90) to the Lucas hub oil. It is thick like honey and in my opinion bridges the gap between oil and grease. Leaks slower, allows you to catch a failing seal without burning up wheel end if you walk your trailer daily like you should. Only down side I have found is that it is sticky stuff to get out when servicing. I would classify it as a 00 grease, good news is that it “levels” out and you can check level thru oil cap.

someone mentioned you should have 12k or 15k axles and 17.5 wheels/tires and hitch suspension. I don’t disagree that 12k axles are minimum and hutch style suspension. 17.5 are nice but my trailer didn’t have... I upgraded quickly due to need to 12ply tires from stock 10 ply. I have 235/80R16. Thought about 14 ply but have had fantastic luck and wear with the 12 ply gladiator q25 and the power king tow max. They are both $105-115 tires.. I’m getting 75k miles plus from them and no blowouts. The 14 ply tires are approx double the cost... for me I haven’t had the neeed. If this was on a dump trailer or going into construction sites often I’d consider but the 12 ply are soooo much better than 10pky. For reference 2018 ram 3500 with 4.10 and max tow package. 14k gvwr. Truck rated for 39,900 gcwr(crazy for 1 ton) with my 25.900 trailer. Im 19k empty fueled up and ready to work. Haul 33k- 38k combined often all over country.