What is Best Way to Jack up a Sunset Trail 300BH

exposurecontrol · 08-25-2015, 05:44 PM

I have a 2014 Sunset Trail 300BH. Went to start the process of lubing the wheel bearings. Have a little over 6,000 miles on the trailer now. I had purchased a Trailer Aid and was going to use that to get the wheel off the ground. It didn't work. Because of the long space between wheels, when you get it up on the Trailer Aid the dependent tire droops too much to get off the ground. What are those of you with similar wheel spacing doing to jack up the trailer to change a tire. My thought was either a scissor jack or a bottle jack. The scissor jacks aren't rated high enough to handle the weight, so it looks like a bottle jack is the only way I can go. Your thoughts.. Glad I found out the Trailer Aid wouldn't work before I had a problem on the road.

Russb · 08-25-2015, 06:50 PM

I use the traileraid with a bottle jack. I only need a slight lift with the jack when I use the aid. I welded a short length of pipe to one leg of angle iron, sufficient size to fit over the jack piston, and then the angle goes against the frame and helps to keep the jack from slipping and also distributes the weight along the frame.

8iron · 08-25-2015, 07:12 PM

The yellow Trailer Aid Plus works for our spread axles on he road. I have a set of heavy duty rubber ramps in my shop that I use on all our vehicles. I can to 2 wheels at a time this way.

Burgy · 08-25-2015, 09:23 PM

I was wondering about this. Guess I'll sell my brand new never used Trailer Aid black on Craigslist.

exposurecontrol · 08-26-2015, 10:41 AM

So the one inch of extra lift you get from the Trailer Aid Plus is enough? It must just barely get the tire off the pavement. The only other concern I had is when I had mine up on the Trailer Aid and the ..in this case..the rear tire was hanging down was how snug those wires that feed to the brake got. No extra play there. Was actually concerned that if the tire dropped down much more it would separate a wire.

8iron · 08-26-2015, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exposurecontrol

So the one inch of extra lift you get from the Trailer Aid Plus is enough? It must just barely get the tire off the pavement. The only other concern I had is when I had mine up on the Trailer Aid and the ..in this case..the rear tire was hanging down was how snug those wires that feed to the brake got. No extra play there. Was actually concerned that if the tire dropped down much more it would separate a wire.

In my case the yellow Trailer Aid worked. I have st215/75R14 tires with an OD of around 27" so that may be different from yours. As to the brake wires, I upgraded the wiring to a heavier gauge (and longer) when I replaced the POS Lippert axles that bent the first sumner we owned the unit. The heavier gauge wires definitely improved braking.

exposurecontrol · 08-28-2015, 04:25 PM

So I finally got the axles lubed. They are EZ Lube axles and once you get the tire off its a cinch to do. Just pop off the rubber cover and you will see the grease fitting. BUT, the main reason I'm posting this again is to tell you how I finally got the trailer jacked up high enough to take a tire off. I decided the only way to go was to use my Trailer Aid. That alone doesn't get the tire off the ground. So I first used one layer of levelers. That got my first tire off the ground, but I'm working on gravel and I think it slopes down some. Hard to see in the first pic but the tire is JUST off the gravel. I think if you had just the basic Trailer Aid and on layer of levelers it would do the job on a paved level road. Tire number two was more uphill and also dealing with the gravel. So I put two layers of levelers down to get things high enough. Note the huge amount of droop you get on the unsupported tire.

AmericalVette · 08-28-2015, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exposurecontrol

the main reason I'm posting this again is to tell you how I finally got the trailer jacked up high enough to take a tire off. I decided the only way to go was to use my Trailer Aid. That alone doesn't get the tire off the ground. So I first used one layer of levelers. That got my first tire off the ground, but I'm working on gravel and I think it slopes down some. Hard to see in the first pic but the tire is JUST off the gravel. I think if you had just the basic Trailer Aid and on layer of levelers it would do the job on a paved level road. Tire number two was more uphill and also dealing with the gravel. So I put two layers of levelers down to get things high enough. Note the huge amount of droop you get on the unsupported tire.

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing

**Lloyd** · 08-28-2015, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exposurecontrol

So I finally got the axles lubed. They are EZ Lube axles and once you get the tire off its a cinch to do. Just pop off the rubber cover and you will see the grease fitting. BUT, the main reason I'm posting this again is to tell you how I finally got the trailer jacked up high enough to take a tire off. I decided the only way to go was to use my Trailer Aid. That alone doesn't get the tire off the ground. So I first used one layer of levelers. That got my first tire off the ground, but I'm working on gravel and I think it slopes down some. Hard to see in the first pic but the tire is JUST off the gravel. I think if you had just the basic Trailer Aid and on layer of levelers it would do the job on a paved level road. Tire number two was more uphill and also dealing with the gravel. So I put two layers of levelers down to get things high enough. Note the huge amount of droop you get on the unsupported tire.

Have you always lubed the bearings using the EZ Lube or is this the first time?

exposurecontrol · 08-28-2015, 07:40 PM

This was my first time. I did watch a video on youtube before I did it. But basically you just pry off the rubber cap. Snap on the grease gun and start pumping. The old grease will start coming out around the grease fitting. I just scooped out the old grease with a screwdriver. Did this a couple of times until I felt it was fresh grease coming out. While pumping in the grease by the way, turn the hub some so the fresh grease contacts all the bearings. Wipe things clean, put the plug back in and you're done.

**Lloyd** · 08-28-2015, 07:47 PM

I would recommend you pull the brake drums to check on the inner grease seal. You might have blown it out. Which will allow grease to get inside the brake drums and contaminate the brakes making them worthless.

Myself, I don't like the EZ Lube. I prefer to pull the drums and hand pack the bearings. That way I get to inspect all the bearings, and I always replace the seal with a new one.

harley · 08-29-2015, 07:34 AM

IF you do use the ez lube ...one hint is to drive the unit for a while to get the grease warm. and leave your grease gun in the sun for a while to get grease warm there also. That way the grease will flow better toward the front bearing thus less chance to penetrate rear seal. and turn wheel slowly like you did.

exposurecontrol · 08-29-2015, 09:34 AM

I don't feel there were any issues. Grease flowed through to the front easily without undo pressure. I haven't heard any other issues out there about the EZ Lube system. I would think they took the above into consideration when designing the system.

harley · 08-30-2015, 06:26 AM

Glad you had good luck ..my so called dealer just pumped grease into all 4 wheels as their prep. curiously ,I took off all 4 wheels and all 4 rear seals had grease leak from them.

exposurecontrol · 08-30-2015, 08:50 AM

That sucks harley. I wonder if the dealerships use some sort of pressurized grease gun. The one I used was just a simple hand pump. I've looked at the design of the EZ lube system. There are so many ways for the grease to flow in the direction its supposed to go I would think it would take some abnormal pressure to blow that back seal. I was doing some research on this and there are certainly mixed feelings out there both for and against the system. I also wonder if they have modified the design some since it first came out. Might have been some problems with earlier units. I'll obviously make sure I do a good brake check on mine before taking it out on the highway. Thanks for all the input from everyone. I've learned a lot from this forum and its my go to place for RV related questions.

johnwill · 08-31-2015, 06:10 AM

I was looking for a trailer jack also. Looked at trailer aide plus and then found and purchased this weekend the Andersen Rapid jack. It has about 1 more inch from the plus. Hope it works but better yet Hope I never need it. Not a lot of research out there on the how to jack up the wide axle trailers.

rcflyer · 12-03-2015, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exposurecontrol

This was my first time. I did watch a video on youtube before I did it. But basically you just pry off the rubber cap. Snap on the grease gun and start pumping. The old grease will start coming out around the grease fitting. I just scooped out the old grease with a screwdriver. Did this a couple of times until I felt it was fresh grease coming out. While pumping in the grease by the way, turn the hub some so the fresh grease contacts all the bearings. Wipe things clean, put the plug back in and you're done.

If you are pumping more grease into the bearing than you are getting out as is often the case think about where that grease has gone.

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