Repack the bearings??

[3'senough]

Originally Posted by joe in calif

My 2012 jayco 29 RLDS was throwing grease from the right front wheel after about 6 months of owning it. My dealer checked it out and said it was OVER PACKED at the factory and that is why it was throwing grease. I use a grease gun and grease the zert fitting about 3 times a year. I take my trailer out every month.

Adding to the zerk 3x's a year will create the same issue of over greased bearings and could blow past the rear seals out into the brakes.

You should not need to grease your hubs but every 10-15K or three years if packed correctly. This is from an ASE certified mechanic.

[Camp Winican]

I repacked my own bearings on my previous trailer and it is a relatively easy task - but only for those who are mechanically inclined, IMO.
Since my trailer is 3 years old and since I now have the EZ lube I thought I would give it a try (last summer.)
Boy, did it take a lot of grease before it flowed back through to the front bearing! So I know my hubs must be full of grease. Hubs are nice and cool during travel, but I don't think I'll be using the zerts anymore...
I haven't talked myself into taking them apart yet, maybe next summer, but I'm sure I'll be cleaning up a lot of excess grease.

[mike837go]

Originally Posted by Camp Winican

I repacked my own bearings on my previous trailer and it is a relatively easy task - but only for those who are mechanically inclined, IMO.
Since my trailer is 3 years old and since I now have the EZ lube I thought I would give it a try (last summer.)
Boy, did it take a lot of grease before it flowed back through to the front bearing! So I know my hubs must be full of grease. Hubs are nice and cool during travel, but I don't think I'll be using the zerts anymore...
I haven't talked myself into taking them apart yet, maybe next summer, but I'm sure I'll be cleaning up a lot of excess grease.

Yeah, the EZ-Lube fills the whole hub with grease! 1/2 a cartridge disappeared the first time I did both axles.

This year I tore 'em down, cleaned, inspected, HAND PACKED and adjusted the nuts. Much more peace of mind than just pumping and spinning...

[SmokerBill]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

This is what Camping World charges to do a repack so this is a good reason to DIY.

What in the heck is refrigerator maintenance? Do they stock it with premium beer and prime steaks for the $79.99 charge?

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by mike837go

Yeah, the EZ-Lube fills the whole hub with grease! 1/2 a cartridge disappeared the first time I did both axles.

This year I tore 'em down, cleaned, inspected, HAND PACKED and adjusted the nuts. Much more peace of mind than just pumping and spinning...

I always hand pack even on my boat trailer where EZ Lube is supposed to be very effective. I never trust what I can't see and pumping grease blindly into a hub assembly never gave me a warm fuzzy feeling....

[2500hd]

I repacked my new trailer before the first trip. I hated to tear down a brand new axle but the horror stories you read on Rv forums scare me. I also ditched the St tires for 16in LT's.

[BuddyRay]

Refrigerator Maintenance - right? They probably open the access port, make sure there are no spider webs around the burner, vacuum out any trash and take your $79.

You gotta watch everybody nowdays. I had a Toyota dealer sell my wife a "Radiator Freshen up" for $120 as a part of her regular $5k service. My wife was skeptical so she had the service manager call me and explain what he was doing to the car. I then specifically told the service manager: "If it isn't in the owners manual as being suggested for this mileage DON'T DO IT." but they did it anyway.

I wound going out to the dealership and having a shouting match with the service manager that escalated into the office of the Dealer manager. After considerable questioning, they finally admitted that a "Radiator Freshen Up" consisted of turning a garden hose on the radiator to wash the bugs off.

I did not pay for the radiator freshen up. And the only good news . . . the dealership fired that service manager the next day - probably because he didn't get away with the scam.

[hotpepperkid]

Originally Posted by kickthetires

I have a 32BHDS that is less than a year old. The past couple of trips I have noticed that the passenger side hubs are hot to the touch while the driver side are only warm to the touch. The family and I are going on a 500 mile trip in about 2 weeks and the last thing I want is bearing troubles. My guess is they need to be repacked. Is this something covered by the dealer or am I on my own? Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

The side running the sun all day will be a lot warmer than the other side

[Doboy Dawg]

Repack them, remove hub cover with straight edge tool ie. flat screwdriver. Remove axle nut retainer, remove axle nut, remove thrust washer, pull hub assembly from wheel gently slowly, outer bearing may fall out off end of spindle have a clean cloth or something to catch it, you don't want it to fall and hit the ground or concrete. You don't want any dirt or contaminants in the grease or on the bearing.

I use a seal puller to pop out the old seals for the inner bearing. I like to clean my bearings in mineral spirits, jmho, some just push the old grease out and new grease in. I like to be able to inspect the bearing races which are pressed into the hub and I like to inspect my bearing cages and rollers for signs of excessive heat, cracking of cage, or scratches and gouges in the race. If any of these signs are present I replace the bearing and race. If you replace the bearing replace the race also.

I'm sure the ASE mechanics and shade tree professionals will point out anything I may have missed or they disagree with

Clean your bearings if they look good repack them with grease by hand or with a bearing packer, use a seal install tool or block of wood and gently tap a new seal back into the rear of the hub after installing the greased bearing.

Installation is reverse of removal. Now I will state what the "Dexter Axle rep" told me about seating the bearing and seal. Setting the" bearing pre- load", per dexter axle, "While rotating the hub, torque the axle nut to 50 ft. lbs., stop, loosen the axle nut 1/4 of a turn, This should make the nut hand tight, you should be able to spin the hub by hand, if not it is too tight. Replace the nut retainer to the nearest place, which with castle nut is a flat spot on the axle shaft with cotter pin and drilled axle nearest slot in axle nut.

I am sure there are some who would disagree with this torque spec. It does sound high but for reference it is the exact same procedure and torque for the axle nut on the rear of my Chevrolet 2500 full floater axle nut and bearings.

If you have a different brand of axle than Dexter it would be best to check with the manufacturer and find out what that axle bearing pre-load is.

This post is not aimed at you pros it is aimed at the DIY who may lack a little confidence in their ability to repack their own bearings, Good Day as Paul Harvey used to say.

[homer1959]

Originally Posted by hotpepperkid

The side running the sun all day will be a lot warmer than the other side

I think that the passenger side is getting warmer as something to do with the crown of the road tilting the equipment weight to the right side of the unit keeping a good load on the brg

[kickthetires]

Update on the bearings. I was able to get into the dealer within a week. The bearings were covered under the warranty. After their inspection I was assured nothing was wrong with the bearings. A week later was our trip. I bought a temp gun to monitor the temps of the hub. The highest temp recorded over the 1000 mile journey was 131.
Not sure if something was "fixed" while at the dealer, but the hub never got as hot to the touch as when I initially took it in. Overall good trip with no hiccups.