Anyone changed the vault hub system to something else?

[rcraigrrt]

My 2011 tandem trailer has the Vault hub system on all wheels. I've already had 1 go completely out and almost mess up a spindle. I now have one tire leaning in at the top, causing the tire to wear on the Inside. I've checked for play in the hub and only had a very small amount vertically. I pulled the cap off and tightened the nut up slightly. There was a few drops of water in the grease, which tells me it's time to repair the hub assembly/seals. The cheapest I've found the Vault service kit is $65, but it is only the grease, the caps, 2 o rings,some loc tite, an installation tool and a zerk, no bearings, races or seals. I've considered changing the type of lube system to a regular EZ Lube type (there's a zerk fitting on the end of the spindle), a Vortex system, or a bearing buddy. Has anyone here changed their hubs out to one of these type hub systems or something else? Or should I just go back with the Vault system?

[Mike Wood]

I'd say to be sure call I think Waymires is distributor for the Vault hub stuff - my initial thought is might not work - the vault system forces the grease through the spindle to the back of the bearings and then forward but the regular bearing buddy forces the grease from the front back to that inside bearing - not sure if on the vault spindle set up it would let the grease be forced back far enough to grease the inside bearing since on the vault system when the grease is heated it becomes much more liquid than regular grease.

My experience is that on the vault system what fails is the inside seal - I just keep an eye on the inside of the wheel and when I start to see any grease spots I only replace the seal and the O ring on the vault cap - when I spoke to Waymires they said you can remove and replace the vault cap up to about 4 or 5 times before you should need to replace the cap.

[Mike Wood]

Forgot - also don't buy the tool - you can get a plumbing connector at Lowes or Home Depot for less that $2 that works perfectly.

[thedude]

for your leaning wheel, check the bolt on the clamp where the whole assembly clamps around the splined axle. Mine loosened up and caused the same issue (not the hub itself). If you jack up the axle and remove the wheel, you can probably rock the thing back and forth (like a bad ball joint) and see the play on the axle shaft. Tighten the clamp bolt as much as you can to get the play out, should be good to go (if that is the issue).

[rcraigrrt]

Well, I changed the bearings, races and the rear seal, I was able to use the grease fitting on the end of the axle to basically make it an EZ Lube hub system, with a rubber plug over the bearing protector, works great, BUT turns out that the axle is bent and I’m gonna have to replace the axle. It’s bent too close to the spindle to be straightened. The axle from EZ Loader is $317 PLUS an extra $150 or so shipping with a 4 week lead time. So now I’m going to try to find someone that can build me one, faster and more economical.