Sittin' by the side of the road
(to the tune of Dock of a Bay) We have Good Sam Roadside Assistance... SPECIFICALLY to handle things quickly, professionally, and as painlessly as possible in the event of a serious problem... Li...
Forum Discussion
"SOMEONE would chime in with the thinly veiled "WHO serviced your bearings" implication that it's my fault... So, lessee, I spent approximately 10 years as an automotive dealership mechanic, doing a variety of jobs including servicing various bearing sets.
SO THE LAST PERSON TO SERVICE THE BEARING WAS ME The same person that greases the bearing buddies every spring when it warms up enough not to be dressed like you're visiting the arctic, and every fall before we park the trailer 'til I get so sick of winter I have to go south. And in that spring greasing, I raise each wheel, check for perceptible play, and adjust the bearings as needed... Would you like me to take you through the process I use to preload the bearings, release the load, then put the final 10-20 inch-pounds of preload on them?"
Thanks for posting that but I dont see anything thinly veiled. There is an issue with your wheel bearings whether you like it or not. It could be overloading or lack of bearing maintenance or you are loading them too tight. Dexter axle will often end up with a slight looseness to them and they say that the only resistance of the nut moving will be the cotter pin.
I do remember long ago some Timken roller bearings being preloaded depending on application. I have done a lot of RV bearings and it may seem crazy but when you do as they say the hub can have a slight looseness. I have custom "tuned" one hub of mine with shims to remove the looseness and not load the bearing. The axle nuts are very course compared to some with more slots or the slotted sheet metal cover that gives a finer adjustment.
Anyway, I'm glad it's not some RV dealer causing the problem repeatedly on peoples rigs. Greasing and lifting the wheel off the ground are not a proper bearing inspection. If you need to repeatedly adjust the play it means that the bearing is probably worn. If you remove and wash them well you can read the stages of wear if you know what you are looking at. New bearings will have a swirl/honed look, little wear will lose swirl and look dull, next will be very slight dimple look, next will be slight pits and then gravely looking bad spots.
Another place people overlook is the inner race surface under the rollers. It easiest with a flashight and magnifying glass. You have to look down in between the rollers while rotating. There can be hidden wear patches in there.
We are also up against the issue of bearings not lasting as long as they used to. I'm sure you dont want to hear it but wheels falling off are not normal and could get someone killed so please take it to a competent RV dealer and have all the bearings properly inspected and go to a scale to be sure your weights are ok. Welcome to the forum, there is a lot of good info in here.
Dexter
Alko
This 6 year old bearing wasn't overly loose and regularly greased with ez lube but ready to blow before long. I cant find the pic but I have found bearings with decent looking rollers but the inner race that they ride on which is hard to see had deeply worn patches. It was surprising since the look of the actual roller wasn't bad and many would have re lubed and used them.
SO THE LAST PERSON TO SERVICE THE BEARING WAS ME The same person that greases the bearing buddies every spring when it warms up enough not to be dressed like you're visiting the arctic, and every fall before we park the trailer 'til I get so sick of winter I have to go south. And in that spring greasing, I raise each wheel, check for perceptible play, and adjust the bearings as needed... Would you like me to take you through the process I use to preload the bearings, release the load, then put the final 10-20 inch-pounds of preload on them?"
Thanks for posting that but I dont see anything thinly veiled. There is an issue with your wheel bearings whether you like it or not. It could be overloading or lack of bearing maintenance or you are loading them too tight. Dexter axle will often end up with a slight looseness to them and they say that the only resistance of the nut moving will be the cotter pin.
I do remember long ago some Timken roller bearings being preloaded depending on application. I have done a lot of RV bearings and it may seem crazy but when you do as they say the hub can have a slight looseness. I have custom "tuned" one hub of mine with shims to remove the looseness and not load the bearing. The axle nuts are very course compared to some with more slots or the slotted sheet metal cover that gives a finer adjustment.
Anyway, I'm glad it's not some RV dealer causing the problem repeatedly on peoples rigs. Greasing and lifting the wheel off the ground are not a proper bearing inspection. If you need to repeatedly adjust the play it means that the bearing is probably worn. If you remove and wash them well you can read the stages of wear if you know what you are looking at. New bearings will have a swirl/honed look, little wear will lose swirl and look dull, next will be very slight dimple look, next will be slight pits and then gravely looking bad spots.
Another place people overlook is the inner race surface under the rollers. It easiest with a flashight and magnifying glass. You have to look down in between the rollers while rotating. There can be hidden wear patches in there.
We are also up against the issue of bearings not lasting as long as they used to. I'm sure you dont want to hear it but wheels falling off are not normal and could get someone killed so please take it to a competent RV dealer and have all the bearings properly inspected and go to a scale to be sure your weights are ok. Welcome to the forum, there is a lot of good info in here.
Dexter
Alko
This 6 year old bearing wasn't overly loose and regularly greased with ez lube but ready to blow before long. I cant find the pic but I have found bearings with decent looking rollers but the inner race that they ride on which is hard to see had deeply worn patches. It was surprising since the look of the actual roller wasn't bad and many would have re lubed and used them.
