Changing oil in trailer hub

[Mikey]

Can the oil in the trailer hub be changed/ drained without removing the tire?It seems like the allan set srew is extremely tight and is hard to get at with the wheel still on. Can it still be done this way or do you have to take the tire off to do this.
I can do it if need be but would be much simpler if you don't have to remove wheel and then have to retorque etc.
Other than short allan wrenches is there a better tool for this?

[1LOKMOOMBA]

I changed mine with the tire on, its a mess. Next time I'll take the extra time and take the tire off.

[ICWater]

I agree. Taking the wheels off is a bit of a hassle but cleaning the oil & polishing the rims is going to be a lot of work.

[mmandley]

What year are you trailers? Im wondering because i expected to have to grease and lube the bearings on my trailer as my folks did on theirs. The trailer i have says, Lifetime seal and i assume unless i damage the trailer by putting it in water while its hot off the road then i shouldn't have to maintenance the axles.

[Mikey]

I'm not sure if we are all talking about the same allan screw,for draining and filling. Its the set screw which is very tight to the edge of the tire wheel/rim on the hub as opposed to the sight glass window.Its right beside the rim which makes it very difficult to loosen thats why i'm wondering if removing the tire is necessary. Is there another way that i'm missing. I have a 07 single axle boatmate trailer.I wish i had a pic to explain myself better but camera was lost recently.

[lowdrag]

I changed mine with the tires on, no problem and very little mess. An allen wrench with the ball head on it helps so you can turn it from an angle. If you can find a socket type allen wrench that fits a 1/4" driver it will work even better. I just used a jack under each wheel and turned the fill port to the top, pulled the set screw and rotated it over and drained it into a cup. The oil I found came in a bottle with a tapered neck that fit pretty well into the hole, but next time I was thinking of using a large syringe like the kind you can get for injecting meat before grilling it.

[Mikey]

Thanks any ways for the advice. I was able to change it out without removing the wheels as you mentioned and used a cup as well. I found a small bottle with a small outlet and used this to refill the oil.a couple paper towels and all was good.