Bearings/brakes

RVGator · 05-01-2021, 01:25 AM

We are going on a long round trip adventure from Florida to Utah this summer towing our 2019 Bullet 243BHS. Over the past 2 years I have upgraded the tires to Goodyear Endurance, added on the CRE300 suspension with greaseable wet bolts, and of course done all the general repairs to keep it up.

Interested to hear thoughts on having bearings/brakes redone prior to such a long trip? Have not had any issues arise, but want avoid any as well.

Have put some miles on it over the years, up to the Carolinas and Georgia, but this will be the longest trip to date.

Appreciate your thoughts.

xrated · 05-01-2021, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RVGator

We are going on a long round trip adventure from Florida to Utah this summer towing our 2019 Bullet 243BHS. Over the past 2 years I have upgraded the tires to Goodyear Endurance, added on the CRE300 suspension with greaseable wet bolts, and of course done all the general repairs to keep it up.

Interested to hear thoughts on having bearings/brakes redone prior to such a long trip? Have not had any issues arise, but want avoid any as well.

Have put some miles on it over the years, up to the Carolinas and Georgia, but this will be the longest trip to date.

Appreciate your thoughts.

I have a trailer that is two years old this past March and I'm doing an "Out West" trip this Sept. From home, and back to home will be approx 5000+ miles. I just ordered all new bearing seals and some Red N Tacky axle grease and will be pulling them apart and cleaning and repacking all the bearings. The maint. on the wheel bearings, in my opinion is just one less thing to worry about when on the road.

NH_Bulldog · 05-01-2021, 04:06 AM

The recommendation is for servicing once per year. Replace seals, repack bearings, etc. I just had my GY Endurance tires installed yesterday and when I had the wheels off I repacked the bearings, although It has been 2 years. If you have not done it yet, now is the time to do it under your terms not as a roadside emergency.

**flybouy** · 05-01-2021, 04:45 AM

I get amused when folks only worry about bearings on a long trip. If a bearing is going to fail it's just as likely to happen 5 miles from home as it is 500 or 5,000. The bearing doesn't know where you are at. Once that bearing comes up to temp whatevers going to happen can happen.

NH_Bulldog · 05-01-2021, 04:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

I get amused when folks only worry about bearings on a long trip. If a bearing is going to fail it's just as likely to happen 5 miles from home as it is 500 or 5,000. The bearing doesn't know where you are at. Once that bearing comes up to temp whatevers going to happen can happen.

Very true, but if nothing else, that 5,000 mile trip made someone think about the bearings that had not been thought about previously, and in doing so a potential issue could be avoided on a long trip.

By your thought process, why worry about tire pressure or checking the oil in the truck? You can get a tire failure anywhere and you can seize your motor at any time. Maybe it’s just me, but I like to be prepared.

**flybouy** · 05-01-2021, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

Very true, but if nothing else, that 5,000 mile trip made someone think about the bearings that had not been thought about previously, and in doing so a potential issue could be avoided on a long trip.

By your thought process, why worry about tire pressure or checking the oil in the truck? You can get a tire failure anywhere and you can seize your motor at any time. Maybe it’s just me, but I like to be prepared.

By your thought process you came to the exact opposite deduction of my thought process. Where did I say "you don't have to think about it?" I'm sorry I didn't spell it out but I thought the common sense takeaway would be to check the bearings irregards of the length of the trip. I guess I need to start spelling it out more clearly.

Lee · 05-01-2021, 05:35 AM

Hi,

Yes,... as stated it's good insurance to pack the bearings but,... also,.. it's a great opportunity for a brake inspection and adjustment.

I just completed a bearing repack and here's a picture of what I found on 1 wheel. Sorry, it's a little out of focus. The cable that goes to the brake magnet was rubbing on the back of the spinning brake drum (see red arrow) and if I had not performed this maintenance would not have been caught in time and would have rubbed through the wires. NO BRAKES on this wheel!!!!!

Lee

johnnybadger · 05-01-2021, 05:40 AM

Since I am not very good doing mechanical things, I always try to find a service professional that I can trust to maintain things - cars, boats, and now RV’s. Found a great one nearby. His rule of thumb is to inspect and regreses the bearings, inspect the brakes, suspension and axle every 4K miles. This may be too frequent, but it made sense to me and will be my rule of thumb moving forward in my RV life. We head out twice a year on longer runs (e.g. WI to Gulf Coast and back). I think my rule of thumb will be to have this all done before every “long” trip.

Canonman · 05-01-2021, 05:49 AM

Definitely replace/repack the bearings and do a proper brake inspection and cleaning. Especially look for cracks in the brake shoe.
For real peace of mind, invest in a good TPMS. Not only to keep an eye on the tire pressures, but they also report wheel temperatures. A bearing going bad will heat up and the TPMS will report this overheat condition. Our TST 507 TPMS saved our trip to Grand Canyon when we had a brake shoe hang up and caused one wheel to get hotter than the other three. Cause was a problem with the brake controller and we were able to fix it with no further issues.
The west desert is no place to have problems. You can be a long ways from help.

**flybouy** · 05-01-2021, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnybadger

Since I am not very good doing mechanical things, I always try to find a service professional that I can trust to maintain things - cars, boats, and now RV’s. Found a great one nearby. His rule of thumb is to inspect and regreses the bearings, inspect the brakes, suspension and axle every 4K miles. This may be too frequent, but it made sense to me and will be my rule of thumb moving forward in my RV life. We head out twice a year on longer runs (e.g. WI to Gulf Coast and back). I think my rule of thumb will be to have this all done before every “long” trip.

For many folks I think a yearly inspection is fine and that's what most mfg recommend. when I was young most vehichles has the same type bearings in the front end and it was a yearly maint item to remove, inspect (including brake components), repack and reinstall. back then I think the national average was about 10K miles/year for the "average" family car. Thjere's no such thing as doing it "too frequently" providing you have the money, or if DYI the back strength. I'll keep it a yearly ritual. YMMV

travelin texans · 05-01-2021, 07:23 AM

If you've never had the bearings packed or any other maintenance to them, I would highly recommend doing so BEFORE making any long trips, if for no other reason than piece of mind.
If you or anyone else has EVER pumped grease through the EZ Lubes grease zerks on the spindles you could possibly find that 1 or more of the brake drums may be contaminated with grease due to the cheap Chinese grease seals. If so just replace the brake backing plate, they come already assembled with brake shoes, it's just as cheap & way less mess.
Going forward, annually HAND PACKING the bearings would be enough unless you're traveling in excess of 10-12k miles every year, if less about 5-7k miles every other year should be good.
But DO NOT use the EZ Lube zerks to add grease, either by you or anyone else! HAND PACK ONLY! You need to inspect/adjust brakes, bearings, spindles & all there other suspension components & tearing everything apart is the best to do so rather than just squirt grease into them.
There will be others that state "I use the EZ Lube all the time. If used correctly you won't have problems!", but until they remove a drum they don't know whether they have a problem or not.

**chuckster57** · 05-01-2021, 07:25 AM

If they are Lippert axles, then I would get it done ASAP, as I have seen way too many seal failures on Lippert axles, even new from the factory.

**JRTJH** · 05-01-2021, 08:03 AM

To the OP. Have you ever had the hubs apart to check the brake assemblies and the bearings? Or, is this an "unknown condition" ???

If you've never had the bearings repacked, then I'd ask, "How do you know the bearings have any grease at all and how do you know the brakes on all 4 wheels are even still attached" ???

I'm not trying to appear cynical, just relaying that Keystone has had a couple of recalls for "significant problems with bearing and brake problems that stemmed from incorrect assembly at the axle manufacturer"... What I'm getting at is that if you've never inspected your hubs, you have no idea of the condition they are in.

NOW is the best time to inspect your hubs and perform "the first maintenance repacking" on them.... Currently they are: "condition unknown, serviceability unconfirmed"..... That's NOT a way to start any trip, especially a long, extended trip....

**sourdough** · 05-01-2021, 09:14 AM

I'm in the camp of repacking them and getting the brakes inspected. If that has never been done there is no telling what you have inside since there is no guarantee that the factory even put anything in the bearings.

**chuckster57** · 05-01-2021, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sourdough

I'm in the camp of repacking them and getting the brakes inspected. If that has never been done there is no telling what you have inside since there is no guarantee that the factory even put anything in the bearings.

In all my years, I cant say I have ever seen "dry" bearings, but I have seen lots of other conditions including a trailer that made it from the factory to the Sacramento store. Then to the Bay Area store, moved a couple of time's when all of a sudden a wheel canted real bad. Removed the wheel, started to remove the drum and found the outer bearing was MISSING.

**JRTJH** · 05-01-2021, 09:43 AM

There was a Keystone recall a couple of years ago (2018) to check the hubs on several trailer lines. Seems the axles were built by the factory and shipped to Keystone "without inner bearing races installed on the spindles". They were installed on trailers, shipped to dealers and sold to customers who were towing them on the roads... So, it can happen.

It's a good idea for every owner to periodically check on recalls that might affect their RV. Keystone recently took down their "website recall listing"... But, it's still available here: http://keystonerv.avalamarketing.com/owners/recalls/

For the OP of this thread, wondering if he should check his hubs/bearings before a planned "long trip"... There are at least 20 "axle, hub or bearing recalls" on Keystone products within the last 10 years... That's not a "reassuring record" for any owner who has not verified that "the axles on my trailer are serviceable and I know their status"....

**chuckster57** · 05-01-2021, 10:01 AM

That wasnt just keystone. I was at a Grand Designs dealership during that recall. IIRC the check was to use a 1/4" allen and make sure it fit between the drum and backing plate.

bobbecky · 05-01-2021, 10:13 AM

Even when the brakes are inspected and bearings repacked when doing the inspections, things can happen. About six years ago, only a couple months after doing my regular brake inspection/bearing repack, we had an outer bearing fail. I still had plenty of grease on the failed bearing. A couple years ago, while doing my regular maintenance, I discovered a brake assembly totally failed and had no indication that there was a problem. The adjuster screw assembly and several springs and other parts were totally ground up to dust inside the drum, but the wires to the magnet were still intact, so had nothing to say there was a problem. Photo is of the remains of the backing plate assembly. All this to say, it is vital to remove the drum and look at the brake parts to verify they are working. Squirting some grease into the zerks is dangerous, not only because the seals may fail and lube the brake shoes, but also you will not know if the brakes are intact.

xrated · 05-01-2021, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

I get amused when folks only worry about bearings on a long trip. If a bearing is going to fail it's just as likely to happen 5 miles from home as it is 500 or 5,000. The bearing doesn't know where you are at. Once that bearing comes up to temp whatevers going to happen can happen.

If your comment was in reference to what I posted, I will offer up a bit of clarification....so you don't have to be so "amused". If it wasn't directed towards me.....just carry on.

My first year of ownership of the new trailer (2019) went extremely smoothly and when we got into last year (the year of the great pandemic), I didn't even take the trailer out until early Sept. and that was local to where we live. A total of three local trips.....so yea, I guess that qualifies as with the 5 miles, 500 miles, or 5000 miles but, a "close to home" emergency isn't as critical, at least in my opinion, as one that causes issues when you are several states away from home and mostly at the mercy of whoever you can get to work on the unit.....if you don't have the tools with you on the trip. And just as an added note, I trailer hasn't been out this year yet, and before it leaves here, the bearing will be cleaned, repacked, and reinstalled with new bearing seals. And depending on the looks of the bearings, while I'm in there, new bearings (in a set of course) will be installed if needed. There will also be brake inspections done on all 6 wheels while it's apart.

The trip out west has a lot less room for breakdowns along the way, as reservations were made a year in advance, a strict schedule has been made, and we are hoping to follow as planned. Attention to detail for maint on my trailer, may not be as meticulous as some, but I'm pretty much on top of the things that I feel will help insure an uneventful trip with nothing unexpected.

**flybouy** · 05-02-2021, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xrated

If your comment was in reference to what I posted, I will offer up a bit of clarification....so you don't have to be so "amused". If it wasn't directed towards me.....just carry on.

My first year of ownership of the new trailer (2019) went extremely smoothly and when we got into last year (the year of the great pandemic), I didn't even take the trailer out until early Sept. and that was local to where we live. A total of three local trips.....so yea, I guess that qualifies as with the 5 miles, 500 miles, or 5000 miles but, a "close to home" emergency isn't as critical, at least in my opinion, as one that causes issues when you are several states away from home and mostly at the mercy of whoever you can get to work on the unit.....if you don't have the tools with you on the trip. And just as an added note, I trailer hasn't been out this year yet, and before it leaves here, the bearing will be cleaned, repacked, and reinstalled with new bearing seals. And depending on the looks of the bearings, while I'm in there, new bearings (in a set of course) will be installed if needed. There will also be brake inspections done on all 6 wheels while it's apart.

The trip out west has a lot less room for breakdowns along the way, as reservations were made a year in advance, a strict schedule has been made, and we are hoping to follow as planned. Attention to detail for maint on my trailer, may not be as meticulous as some, but I'm pretty much on top of the things that I feel will help insure an uneventful trip with nothing unexpected.

If my comment was Refrencing yours I would have quoted it. It was an observation inspired by your response to the OP who had the same basic ststment. I don't need "clarification" as to what you do or why you do it. my statement was to make ANY reader hopefully realize that a "long trip" shouldn't be the premis for deciding to maintain the wheel bearings. A "close to Home" emergency is an emergency non the less.

Sorry if I struck a nerve that was not my intent".

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