Bearings and bad decisions......

[PNW_Steve]

A cautionary tale of wheel bearing tragedy....

Learn from my bad decision.... I was doing my pre-trip walk around this morning as we prepared to get back on the road. I noticed a missing wheel bearing cap. I looked it over and did not see any evidence of bearing grease escaping so I decided to wait until we reach our destination tonight to address it.

Now I am sitting on the side of the road waiting for the tow truck. That will be $375-$500. Probably looking at a $1000 repair bill.

Shame on me........

[kknowlton]

I hope so.

Consider that we are replacing the entire rear axle, brakes and one wheel and tire. And they are working on Saturday to get it done.

I will be surprised it is less than $1000...

I feel your pain. We lost 2 wheel hubs, several years apart, on our last trailer. First time we ended up getting towed to a truck repair place; he was able to fix damage to the spindle so we didn't need to replace the axle, but we still waited all day in the sun at his shop while he was out on calls, then had to check into a seedy little motel for a couple nights while he awaited other parts. Second time we were luckier - discovered the damage to the hub when we arrived at the CG we had reserved for the night, which happened to be a block away from a truck repair garage! This time we had to replace the axle, which took a couple weeks (waiting on parts), so we had to unpack the trailer and leave it there, and go home (6 hours away) in the meantime.
Yeah, from our experience, your repair bill will be at least $1K. Good luck!!

[time2roll]

PNW_Steve wrote:

time2roll wrote:
A bit late in the day to get parts if needed. Best of luck. BTDT.

My guardian angel stepped in....

I spent two hours on the phone trying to find a tow company and repair shop. The tow company wasn't too tough but I was out of options on the repair shop. I was starting to get concerned. My phone rang and it was repair shop that I had spoken with earlier. The gent felt bad that he could not work on my trailer, too far away, so he got on the phone and found me a shop called Freight Savers. I never would have found them.

We towed it to their yard ($541) and saw that there was a 6 Robles warehouse a couple of doors down. Called the and a gent came down and looked at the trailer, left and came back 30 minutes later with all of the parts.

The trailer should be ready this morning. Great people really helped me out.

I am a little afraid to see the repair bill......

If you are back on the road next day just be happy for that.

I had a hard time getting a tow truck out and then two show up (same company) and neither wants to risk damage. Referred me to their mobile repair guy but by then it was late in the day and he had no time to chase parts. We left immediately in the truck toward town. My daughter was calling parts houses and everyone could get the parts in 4 to 6 days but referred me to another. Third one had something but not matching. She begged him to stay open past 5pm as were in motion and arrived about 5:20. Had to buy the rotor/hub/caliper so they would match in addition to full hardware. Called mobile service guy and started work about 7pm with the parts we brought. On the road again that evening about 9pm and into camp at 11:30. We were so lucky to lose essentially no time as every day was booked at 5 places in 10 days.

All worth it once we felt the euphoria of getting back on the road and back on schedule. Was concerned about the rest for the remainder of the trip but no more issues.

[2oldman]

memtb wrote:
Someone mentioned monitoring your bearing temps by touching the cap....effective, but not real accurate. We carry a temp gun (less than $50), and take tire and hub temperatures on every stop.

I too check at most stops, and I also check my TPMS temperature readings at least hourly. I know that works because the sunny side is always hotter than the shade side, and I know one of my wheels is always just a few degrees hotter than the others.

As long as things stay like that, I'm good.

[larry_barnhart]

We do our bearings every year and that will be Sept 3rd this time. Never had the brakes changed because of nothing needed but who knows this might be the time.

chevman

[Cummins12V98]

PNW_Steve wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"I am a little afraid to see the repair bill......"

I'm betting less than the tow bill.

I hope so.

Consider that we are replacing the entire rear axle, brakes and one wheel and tire. And they are working on Saturday to get it done.

I will be surprised it is less than $1000...

OH, I’m rescinding my bet. :B

[PNW_Steve]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"I am a little afraid to see the repair bill......"

I'm betting less than the tow bill.

I hope so.

Consider that we are replacing the entire rear axle, brakes and one wheel and tire. And they are working on Saturday to get it done.

I will be surprised it is less than $1000...

[PNW_Steve]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
A related tip (after a similar event). Every time you stop, check the temp of the bearings by touching the grease cap. If one is hotter than the other, you have a bearing going out.

Good tip.

I have an IR them gun like the other poster mentioned. When I get home, that is going in the glove box.

[PNW_Steve]

4x4ord wrote:
We have a tandem axle stock trailer that we don't use a whole lot. We've been running it without a bearing cap about the last 5 or 6 years .... maybe I should replace it. My guess in your case is that the bearing failed causing the loss of the cap.

What I would have done in your situation on the side of the road is this: I would have loosened the rim with the failed hub; jacked that axle high enough to get the good axle off the ground. Then I would have blocked between the good axle and the frame; removed the tire and rim on the bad axle; removed the Jack, letting the weight of the trailer onto the good axle and carried on. This has worked for me with a flat tire and no spare.

We never found the missing tire/rim/hub.... The brake backing plate was dragging on the road.

[Cummins12V98]

"I am a little afraid to see the repair bill......"

I'm betting less than the tow bill.

[PNW_Steve]

time2roll wrote:
A bit late in the day to get parts if needed. Best of luck. BTDT.

My guardian angel stepped in....

I spent two hours on the phone trying to find a tow company and repair shop. The tow company wasn't too tough but I was out of options on the repair shop. I was starting to get concerned. My phone rang and it was repair shop that I had spoken with earlier. The gent felt bad that he could not work on my trailer, too far away, so he got on the phone and found me a shop called Freight Savers. I never would have found them.

We towed it to their yard ($541) and saw that there was a 6 Robles warehouse a couple of doors down. Called the and a gent came down and looked at the trailer, left and came back 30 minutes later with all of the parts.

The trailer should be ready this morning. Great people really helped me out.

I am a little afraid to see the repair bill......

[2oldman]

What I don't get is how do you just readily view a grease hub? Aren't those usually covered by the rim or something like that?

[Lynnmor]

Paging fj12ryder...

fj12ryder wrote:

jmhartley11 wrote:
I repack the bearings on my 2008 Keystone Sprinter 5th wheel every spring regardless of how many miles I put on it the following year. I have a gooseneck cattle trailer I bought new in 1992 and only greased the bearings once which was last year. That's 26 years, and countless thousands of miles

So why do one differently from the other? Same design. Why spend so much time doing what you've discovered is basically unnecessary busy work?

Any comments on this? :@

[Learjet]

exactly what I was thinking ^^^^ hub was so hot it popped the cap off.

Also, lots of dust/sand getting in when driving like that.

[4x4ord]

We have a tandem axle stock trailer that we don't use a whole lot. We've been running it without a bearing cap about the last 5 or 6 years .... maybe I should replace it. My guess in your case is that the bearing failed causing the loss of the cap.

What I would have done in your situation on the side of the road is this: I would have loosened the rim with the failed hub; jacked that axle high enough to get the good axle off the ground. Then I would have blocked between the good axle and the frame; removed the tire and rim on the bad axle; removed the Jack, letting the weight of the trailer onto the good axle and carried on. This has worked for me with a flat tire and no spare.

[JRscooby]

That missing cap is a sign you landed with a hot hub. Hope you can save the axle stub.
I carry spare bearings packed and stored in the can of grease.

memtb wrote:


Someone mentioned monitoring your bearing temps by touching the cap....effective, but not real accurate. We carry a temp gun (less than $50), and take tire and hub temperatures on every stop.

I have a temp gun in the tool kit. But it stays in the tool kit. Every stop, first thing I do when I get out is touch every tire and every hub. I'm not filing a report, don't need to know exact temperature, but only one hotter than other.YMMV