Forum Discussion

homeschoolin's avatar
homeschoolin
Explorer
Oct 11, 2013

Bearings, Tires, Axles, Shackles, etc. -- Help!

We have a 7-year old Cedar Creek 5th wheel with two Lippert 7K lb axles. After the first year of ownership, we had one of the stock Chinese G-rated tires separate and damage the side of the trailer. We swithched to 17.5 inch rims and H-rated Continental HTR tires. We now have 35K towing miles on the trailer, about 30K of those miles on the Continental tires. The upgraded tire and wheel set-up has been great. The tires look like they have about half of their tread left as compared to the spare which has never seen the pavement.

Don't anybody yell at me, but in seven years I have yet to pull the wheels myself of have a shop do the same for the purpose of checking the wheel bearings and brakes. I have been fortunate to have no problems up to this point and am now trying to decide if I should pull the wheels myself to check/service the bearings/brakes or if I should bring the trailer to a qualified shop. I am fairly handy with most things, but I have no experience with bearings. Given the number of horror stories I have read about improperly serviced wheel bearings, I am a bit hesitant to go the DIY route, but will consider it if somebody can direct me to a good YouTube tutorial or other visual resource. I also have some hesitancy about going to just any shop because I read stories about bearing repacks being done by the most inexperienced person in the shop and being done incorrectly.

We live in Fountain Hills, Az, which the northeast corner of the Phoenix metro area. Ideally, I would like to find a mobile tech or a good truck/trailer shop that can give our entire undercarriage a good once over to make sure we don't have any issues and to service the bearings and brakes.

A few questions:

Should I try to tackle the bearing repack myself or just find a professional given my lack of experience?

Anybody out there from the Phoenix area with a good recommendation for a mobile tech or service shop?

8 Replies

  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Oct 11, 2013
    It is physical work and messy. Setting the bearings is not a technical difficulty but it is critical. Best to have someone stand over and watch the first couple hubs then you are good to go on your own.

    I think etrailer.com has a couple videos. And we can walk you through it or help verify how the first one goes if needed.
  • Peg_Leg's avatar
    Peg_Leg
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2013
    homeschoolin, I always prefer doing the job myself as I know it's done right. Like others on the forum have stated, in a shop of any kind this is considered grunt work and the least experienced person ends up with the job.

    Maybe you could place a offer on Craigslist to pay some one to teach and guide you on the first side. Maybe a offer to help some one do their trailer in exchange for the learning experience. Explain that you want to clean, inspect and repack the bearings, inspect and adjust the brakes. This requires a new grease seal on the back side of the hub. A $100 spent learning can save you a lot later and maybe even keep you from being broke down along side of the road.

    On my old TT, I once found the entire brake assembly on sale for $30 @. New baker plate, magnets and the shoes already in place. It was as simple as removing 4 nuts, cutting 2 wires and reversing the order for installation. I will always do a lot of checking before doing a brake job.

    On the road at every rest stop I check the temp of each hub. I'm looking for any large variation in the temps not so much the actual temp. I have a small key FOB size temp sensor that I picked up on sale at Harbor Freight for under $10, it's perfectly adequate for the job.
  • Charlie_D_'s avatar
    Charlie_D_
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2013
    You should pull the wheels yourself or get some to do it for you. If I had someone doing mine I would want to watch them,

    Your wheels and bearings may be fine but until you pull them you may not know the condition of magnets, brake shoes or the condition of bearings. There have been quite a few posts about grease contaminating the brakes shoes and some of them were done at the factory.
  • 69_Avion's avatar
    69_Avion
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2013
    fla-gypsy wrote:
    I think bearing inspection every year is overkill myself. Unless you can get an experienced helper I would pick out a good trailer shop, not RV dealer, and get them to do it.


    I agree. I remember when most cars had regular bearings, not bearing packs. I didn't repack the bearings every year. A lot also depends on usage and conditions.

    I would repack them myself, but I have also done it before. If I were paying someone to do it, I would want to watch.
  • h2guy's avatar
    h2guy
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2013
    Go here for servicing instructions:

    Hubs,Drums,Bearings.

    In addition, your spring eyes, bolts, and shackles should need some servicing (probably replacement of shackles at the least) after this many miles of service.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2013
    Lubrication Engineers Lubricants Ft. Worth Texas

    Almagard 3752

    TEN YEARS, 200,000 miles, and that sticky red stuff looks like new. not immersed it salt water though.
  • fla-gypsy's avatar
    fla-gypsy
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2013
    I think bearing inspection every year is overkill myself. Unless you can get an experienced helper I would pick out a good trailer shop, not RV dealer, and get them to do it.
  • Tin_Pusher's avatar
    Tin_Pusher
    Explorer II
    Oct 11, 2013
    homeschoolin, when I discovered I needed brakes on the Wilderness I took it to an auto spring shop. They did it for about $100 / wheel. All new brakes, packed bearings, etc. One day in-out. I'm fairly handy but for that, I wouldn't touch it :)

    Make a few calls, see what you can find.

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