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lost an entire wheel and drum

Road_Phantom
Explorer
Explorer
I made a turn into a shopping center parking lot, looked back and saw one of my trailer wheels lying in the middle of the road. We have a 2011 Cougar half-ton 5th wheel. The brakes, including backing plates were replaced new last summer. I greased the bearings via the outer zerk fittings this Feb. All this and the bearing failed, breaking the drum. the wheel came off along with the broken drum.
I blame this in part to the size drum they put on these light weight trailers. Mine are ten inches across the inside center. We are careful to load light for trips, despite the 2900 lb carrying capacity which leaves me to believe the Dexter axles are way under par for this trailer which weighs about 7000 empty.
60 REPLIES 60

rhagfo
Explorer III
Explorer III
Me Again wrote:
We had our Cardinal for 11 years and 50 or 60K miles. Every two to three years I removed each wheel and hub to inspect and service the bearings. When we sold it, it still have the original bearings and races.

Blindly just pumping grease in is a big mistake!

I also jack up each wheel and spin and wiggle looking for problems before the long trip between Arizona and Washington. This is going to be easier with the new trailer with 6 point jacks.

Chris


X2!
Blindly pumping grease in to FILL to cavity is the fastest way to grease the brake shoes!!

Had pack the bearing, place a thick coating of grease on the race and that is all you need.


wilber1 wrote:
I've always hand packed my bearings and have never had a bearing problem. Touch wood. Except of course for Lippert axles which come from the factory with grease leaking all over the brakes.


Yep, bearings need to be cleaned and inspected and repacked every couple years
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#

"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"

wilber1
Explorer
Explorer
I've always hand packed my bearings and have never had a bearing problem. Touch wood. Except of course for Lippert axles which come from the factory with grease leaking all over the brakes.
"Never trust a man who has not a single redeeming vice" WSC

2011 RAM 3500 SRW
2015 Grand Design Reflection 303RLS

Me_Again
Explorer II
Explorer II
We had our Cardinal for 11 years and 50 or 60K miles. Every two to three years I removed each wheel and hub to inspect and service the bearings. When we sold it, it still have the original bearings and races.

Blindly just pumping grease in is a big mistake!

I also jack up each wheel and spin and wiggle looking for problems before the long trip between Arizona and Washington. This is going to be easier with the new trailer with 6 point jacks.

Chris
2021 F150 2.7 Ecoboost - Summer Home 2017 Bighorn 3575el. Can Am Spyder RT-L Chrome, Kawasaki KRX1000. Retired and enjoying it! RIP DW 07-05-2021

colliehauler
Explorer III
Explorer III
At least you were in a parking lot and not the highway. If it had come off at highway speeds it could have injured or killed someone. Like others have said it's best to do it the old fashioned way so you can inspect the bearings.

Being a senior member you have had to see previous posts why it's a good idea to inspect them, and failures of such bearings.

Fisher_Bill
Explorer
Explorer
Well said, goes for boat trailers as well...

garyemunson wrote:
Using a grease gun to grease wheel bearing has always been, despite Bearing Buddy and all the other's claims, a poor way to grease wheel bearings. The problem is that as Jim said, the entire cavity must become filled before grease reaches the far bearing. From then on, each time more is pumped in, what greases the far bearing is the old grease that's been drying out in the hub cavity. Far better to go the extra mile, remove the hub, and hand pack both bearings, allowing you to actually inspect the bearings for rust or other damage. Seals are cheap and a new one at the same time assures water and dirt will stay out until the next time you service the axle. Pumping grease in until it oozes out also runs the risk of dislodging the seal. In addition, with the cavity fully packed with grease, as the hub warms up, grease and trapped air will expand pushing more grease out making a mess of the inner sidewall of the tires (and brakes) and causing confusion as to whether the seal is really bad. Properly hand packed bearings and fresh seal will result in clean tires and a timely warning (leaking grease) if something is amiss with the axle. A real problem is that adjusting wheel bearings is becoming a lost art. Most upcoming mechanics are only familiar with sealed bearings now that virtually all autos and most trucks are equipped with sealed bearings on all four wheels. You can read all the books you want but nothing takes the place of an experienced mechanic teaching you by letting you feel the difference between too loose, too tight, and just right bearing adjustment. Sadly many current wrench turners never got that memo.
2006 Chevy 3500 Dually 6.6 Duramax Diesel & Allison Transmission
2010 Northshore 28RK by Dutchmen
Our first fifth wheel!!!

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
If you put a few squirts of grease into the never lube zerks it never gets to the front bearing. You have to fill the cavity in the hub before grease will flow outward.
When you have enough grease pumped in you will see it start to come out around the outer bearing. At that point there's a 50/50 chance you have grease on the brakes.

Bionic_Man
Explorer
Explorer
I lost a wheel assembly a few years back. Mine was pulling down the interstate at 65 MPH with my boat in tow behind my 5er.

Anyway, my problem was attributed to either improper torque on my lug nuts, or bad lugs.
2012 RAM 3500 Laramie Longhorn DRW CC 4x4 Max Tow, Cummins HO, 60 gallon RDS aux fuel tank, Reese 18k Elite hitch
2003 Dodge Ram 3500 QC SB 4x4 Cummins HO NV5600 with Smarty JR, Jacobs EB (sold)
2002 Gulf Stream Sea Hawk 29FRB with Honda EV6010

azrving
Explorer
Explorer
If the bearings are never properly inspected, how do you know if they are good? They are surely old enough to be bad.

SkiSmuggs
Explorer
Explorer
I had the same issue in Idaho with my 2012, but I caught it just before the wheel came off. I've since changed my wheel checking to include arriving at a camping spot as I would have noticed the heat the night before instead of seeing the wheel/tire almost in flames at a rest stop 45 miles down the road. The end result was two weeks in Mountain View, Idaho waiting for a new axle.
2015 F350 XLT PSD 6.7 Crew Cab, Andersen Ultimate hitch
2012 Cougar High Country 299RKS 5th wheel, Mor/Ryde pinbox, 300w of solar

kohai
Explorer
Explorer
I drove the hole-in-the-rock road the other day here in Utah. It has a lot of washboard. We passed a pop-up trailer on the side of the road and the axle was sitting behind it. It had completely fallen off.
2014 Primetime Crusader 296BHS
2015 GMC 2500HD Denali

GordonThree
Explorer
Explorer
I was amazed how easy it was to not only lube by hand, but also remove, clean, repack and replace the bearings. Of course, I only have two wheels. Those with the big trailers and 6+ wheels, I could see it being an all day affair.
2013 KZ Sportsmen Classic 200, 20 ft TT
2020 RAM 1500, 5.7 4x4, 8 speed

John_Joey
Explorer
Explorer
Superbee Jim wrote:
My Dexter axle was ruined and I had to replace the entire axle because of lack of lube to the bearings. I just helped 2 of my friends grease there bearings and if you only pump a few times, it will not lube the outer bearings. After you use the bulk of a tube of grease and fill the entire hub cavity and see it coming out the end by the outer bearing, will you know that both bearings have been greased. Both my friends didn't realize that just a few pumps wont do it until grease comes out by the outer bearing. That is what Dexter recommends.


^^x2^^

For Dexter axles you need to lift the tire off the ground and spin it while hand pumping grease into the zerk. Once grease comes out then you know the job is done. Using a pneumatic grease gun or just pumping grease in without spinning the tire "might" blow the grease seal.

You may have another issue going on for why the wheel came off though other then grease. You may have had a faulty bearing/race or something completely different like loose lug nuts or undersized engineering.
Thereโ€™s no fool, like an old fool.

garyemunson
Explorer
Explorer
Using a grease gun to grease wheel bearing has always been, despite Bearing Buddy and all the other's claims, a poor way to grease wheel bearings. The problem is that as Jim said, the entire cavity must become filled before grease reaches the far bearing. From then on, each time more is pumped in, what greases the far bearing is the old grease that's been drying out in the hub cavity. Far better to go the extra mile, remove the hub, and hand pack both bearings, allowing you to actually inspect the bearings for rust or other damage. Seals are cheap and a new one at the same time assures water and dirt will stay out until the next time you service the axle. Pumping grease in until it oozes out also runs the risk of dislodging the seal. In addition, with the cavity fully packed with grease, as the hub warms up, grease and trapped air will expand pushing more grease out making a mess of the inner sidewall of the tires (and brakes) and causing confusion as to whether the seal is really bad. Properly hand packed bearings and fresh seal will result in clean tires and a timely warning (leaking grease) if something is amiss with the axle. A real problem is that adjusting wheel bearings is becoming a lost art. Most upcoming mechanics are only familiar with sealed bearings now that virtually all autos and most trucks are equipped with sealed bearings on all four wheels. You can read all the books you want but nothing takes the place of an experienced mechanic teaching you by letting you feel the difference between too loose, too tight, and just right bearing adjustment. Sadly many current wrench turners never got that memo.

almcc
Explorer
Explorer
In my RV experiences I have had issues with bearings on 3 occasions, it's always a bearing issue. Once the drum super heated due to a bad bearing and another time a Dexter never lube axle bearing failed, I caught it due to noise and wheel wobble on turning.

Final piece of advice on those lube zerk fittings, if you over lube them you can blow the grease seal and put grease all over the brake shoes which trashes them. Our last RV came from the factory that way! Better to re-pack the old fashioned way.

Superbee_Jim
Explorer
Explorer
My Dexter axle was ruined and I had to replace the entire axle because of lack of lube to the bearings. I just helped 2 of my friends grease there bearings and if you only pump a few times, it will not lube the outer bearings. After you use the bulk of a tube of grease and fill the entire hub cavity and see it coming out the end by the outer bearing, will you know that both bearings have been greased. Both my friends didn't realize that just a few pumps wont do it until grease comes out by the outer bearing. That is what Dexter recommends.