Wheel Bearing Maintenance

[PGDriver]

Crumb, I missed it. It's Thursday. Will it be okay if I want until next Tuesday?

Not sure Donna, this is uncharted territory.

Cheers
Doug

 

[thoer]

I'm resurrecting this fun old thread which never approached consensus. ;D

I was at the trailer dump station (always the high point of any trip) and for a quick and dirty test to make sure my aluminum rim's lug nuts were tight I grabbed the tire and pulled it back and forth. I've done a lot of mechanic work on auto and trucks but none on trailer axles. I could feel what seemed like more movement than I am accustomed to on a properly adjusted automotive wheel bearing.

So, much to Mary's dismay, our leaving was postponed by me jacking up the trailer, taking off the wheel and checking the adjustment of the wheel bearing - which was fine according to Dexter's adjustment method. After I had it all reassembled there was still seemed like more play than I am used to on other automotive applications.

The bearings were new last year and only have a couple thousand miles on them. When we got home (briefly between trips) I again rechecked the adjustment on both sides this time (no I didn't completely disassemble them, and inspect them like I probably should have, as they are still so new.) After doing some more reading I have just decided that trailer wheel bearings must have more acceptable play than other automotive applications? I drove by the mechanics place who did the work, and had him feel the play and he laughed and said he'd felt way looser bearings than that going down the road on trailers.

It reminded me of what an old mechanic used to say about wheel bearings- "better too loose than too tight."

As we head out in the morning for a relatively short (250 miles each way) trip - I will keep reminding myself of that saying.....

 

[escape artist]

Hi: thoer... Does shaking the trailer like that aid in dumping the tanks? Inquiring minds want to know!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[Iowa Dave]

I would not argue with anyone on wheel bearing greasing intervals. Yearly, every two years, some mileage figure whatever you are comfortable with. I would add however that when the bearings are serviced, I always replace the old seals with new ones, the rubber seal will "take a set" as the old boys would say and can also have nicks or splits that are hard to see. For a couple of dollars each, it's worth thinking about. New cotter keys each time also. It's a greasy little job but simple enough that about anyone can do it. Driving the seal out the back of the drum just requires a fairly large diameter socket and a sharp rap with a hammer, the rest is a matter of cleanup and repacking by hand and thumping in a new seal is about it. No leftover parts !!! 50 years of packing bearings on my trailers, kind of second nature now.
Dave

 

[thoer]

Weeeeelll, I think a lot of this has to do with fact that my serious mechanic knowledge is now in the neighborhood of 30 years old. So probably what I remember from packing wheel bearings on those old cars and trucks before they became "lifetime" sealed ones is more than a bit rusty. I think my mind is warped from changing over summer to winter tires on my newer cars with sealed bearing that exhibit little play.

For an experiment I walked down to the bottom of the field and did the same shake (no dumping though) on my utility trailer that had is bearings done last year too, and they are way looser than the Escape's. So once again, my declining memory bites me in the rear.

And Alf, nah - does anything really make the grey water drain faster??
I did feel better watching a Casita dump its grey tank that had a garden hose sized dump hose.;D

And Dave - how many homebrews do I have to bring next time when I bring my trailer to you for wheel bearing servicing? :cheers:

 

[float5]

[QUOTE=thoer;113091

And Alf, nah - does anything really make the grey water drain faster??
I did feel better watching a Casita dump its grey tank that had a garden hose sized dump hose.;D


We finally resorted to using blocks to dump the gray. Not sure it was even empty then. We use chem packs for the black and guess we will have to get some liquid chem to put down the shower drain or break up a packet.

 

[thoer]

Cathy - folks have talked about the blocks method - does it seem to dump faster? I never seem to remember to try it at the dump. It always seems with all the soap in the grey that the tank should stay cleaner than it does.

 

[float5]

Cathy - folks have talked about the blocks method - does it seem to dump faster? I never seem to remember to try it at the dump. It always seems with all the soap in the grey that the tank should stay cleaner than it does.

Yes, it dumps better but I never want to bother. Finally did. We had more of an uphill at that one. Often seems as if it will be more trouble than it is worth and we just hope the next place is better. Nothing clean about the gray tank!

 

[padlin]

I dumped the gray into 5 gallon buckets one time just to see if it was worth it, it slowed way down for the last 5 minutes and I got 3 gallons letting it trickle till it stopped. Not worth the effort in our case.

 

[Iowa Dave]

Wheel Bearings

Eric. Let me know when you are coming down and we will have a little cookout and while I am doing the bearings you can walk over into my little prairie and pick yourself some purple coneflower seed heads. I really had a lot of them this year. Still some asters blooming and one other yellow one I have not looked at closely. The Compass Plants are done so I have to navigate by the stars on my way to Fort Wayne and back. I have a good supply of cotter keys and get my Seals from Midwest wheel in Cedar Rapids. I am using Lucas Grease. Let me know.
Dave

 

[escape artist]

Hi: Iowa Dave... Can I come down too. I need someone to "Grease my palms". Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[Iowa Dave]

You're always welcome. 50 amp, 30 amp, and 20 amp services, good whiskey, fresh meat and 3 cords of firewood near the fire ring. Gets pretty cold after the middle of November. Bought 80 cans of soup and beans this week. Livin the motto "Be Prepared". Propane down here is $.99 a gallon right now for the winter fill but we don't use much since we put in geothermal.
Iowa Dave

 

[thoer]

Sounds great Dave. Alf maybe we can rendezvous there to keep Dave busy and out of trouble.

I could have used those new cotter pins - had to carefully beat mine back into shape to reinsert them. I have an assortment box - but of course none long enough.

Our prairie is still blooming with a couple of aster varieties and brown eyed susans. Lots of warblers flitting around last time we walked out to see how our latest battle with quackgrass was progressing.

Nice to see LP back down so far - same price I paid last fillup. With our heat pump the tank lasts us 2-3 years now,as we only have to run the furnace when it gets seriously cold.

 

[escape artist]

Hi: thoer... Up here in Canada the only thing we can battle quackgrass with are ducks. Don't know what to do with all my crabgrass. We're not allowed to posses any chemical weed killers. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

 

[cpaharley2008]

Dave,
With that set up you mentioned, we should have a mini rally there, I can be there in 16 hours.....

 

[Jim Bennett]

Dave,
With that set up you mentioned, we should have a mini rally there, I can be there in 16 hours.....

I agree, but it will take me more like 9 months.

 

[cpaharley2008]

I agree, but it will take me more like 9 months.

Aahh,
The empty nest syndrome.....no Escape !!

 

[Jim Bennett]

Aahh,
The empty nest syndrome.....no Escape !!

More like a no nest syndrome.

 

[SpokanEscape]

Jim I feel your pain as we are Escape-less too after selling our 21 and waiting for the 5.0. Can only read about other people's adventures here and plan our trips in the future!

 

[techfan]

I would not argue with anyone on wheel bearing greasing intervals. Yearly, every two years, some mileage figure whatever you are comfortable with. I would add however that when the bearings are serviced, I always replace the old seals with new ones, the rubber seal will "take a set" as the old boys would say and can also have nicks or splits that are hard to see. For a couple of dollars each, it's worth thinking about. New cotter keys each time also. It's a greasy little job but simple enough that about anyone can do it. Driving the seal out the back of the drum just requires a fairly large diameter socket and a sharp rap with a hammer, the rest is a matter of cleanup and repacking by hand and thumping in a new seal is about it. No leftover parts !!! 50 years of packing bearings on my trailers, kind of second nature now.
Dave

Re cotter keys, if you get ez-lube (which might be standard now) there are no cotter keys, they are clips that fit over the nut and line up with the spit shaft.