29.5 BHOK axle questions

[vikefan7]

So we plan on hitting Yellowstone in a few weeks and it will be our first trip over a couple hundred miles. I've probably done about 1000 miles on the trailer so far. This trip will probably be around 1800 or so miles with max 8 hours of driving between stops.

My question is around axle bearings and the grease marks on my wheels in the below image. I thought it was only on one wheel, but it looks like there's a bit on each wheel and after taking this picture i cleaned the rim and the streaks were back, albeit in smaller amounts.



I've read up on how the Lippert folks sometimes overfill and bust out seals in the rear. Is that what's happening here? I pulled the cap off and they all appear to be very clean on the inside, i.e. the nipple is clear and i could see grease around the spindle?.

I doubt i'm going to have time to take it into a dealership to get looked at...

Do i just bring a grease gun with me and occasionally fill? What temps should i expect on the hubs and where should i use my thermal gun to test?

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

[bap]

What picture?

[norty1]

I would not put the grease gun on those fittings until someone can look at the seals. How do your brakes work? When the brakes are not as effective it is a good indication of a problem.

When I used a laser heat gun, I would just look for all of the hubs to be close to the same temp. That will tell you if one is hotter than the others.

[bearcat77]

Black splatter on wheel
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sha...5&share_type=t

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by vikefan7

What temps should i expect on the hubs and where should i use my thermal gun to test?

I've found using the thermal gun that under normal conditions the hubs generally run 20-25 degrees above ambient temperature. If it's 80 outside the hubs are going be around 100-105 degrees, etc. Be aware though, that if you are traveling where one side is always to the sun that side is going to be a bit warmer than the shady side.

I point the red laser pointer from the thermal gun around the middle of the hub - halfway between the grease cap and the rim. My camper also came with chrome covers over the hubs which I removed and just leave off so I can always get accurate temp readings on the hubs. On longer trips I check the temps every 2-4 hours when we either stop for a rest break or fuel.

[vikefan7]

Sorry, for some reason the link didn't post.

https://imgur.com/a/wiIMUtz

So beside checking the temps, is it ever ok for grease to be flying on the tires?

I still need to figure out how my brakes are working. I set the trailer brake to 7 or so and it seems to stop fine, but i don't know if that's because of my truck or the trailer is helping. I haven't pushed the trailer brake controller by itself to see, which is on my list.

[vcbice]

No grease should not be on wheels.

To check brakes you can do it by activating them with the slide lever on your brake controller. That does not tell if all are working but at least you will know if the brakes work at all.