To grease or not to grease!

[franktafl]

We recently got flooded out in the last “tropical storm”, salt water up to the middle of the tires. In order to make sure the running gear were in good enough shape to move the RV, I asked Happy Camper RV repair to come out, pull the wheels and check everything, grease the bearings and make sure we could safely tow and stop.

When he got the wheels pulled, we noticed t hat there was grease on the back plates. This was due to too much grease being forced. Mind you, my mentality was to make sure the bearings got a shot of the precious stuff every now and then and to make sure the wheel hubs felt cool during trips.

My mistake, according to the mechanic, was to think the bearings needed fresh grease or, in my mind, the grease needed a recharge or something periodically.

In my case, wrong answer. One of the wheels needed to be completely rebuilt because there was so much grease that everything was saturated and not salvageable. This, he said was done at the factory because the magnet had never worn the brake drum-something he said occurs frequently.


So, how many of you give your wheels a shot of grease occasionally a d how many believe that you never should grease them or do you think that every new rv owner should pull the wheels, grease them properly, and never touch them again unless yoour rv has been sitting for years?

[persistent]

Different wheel assemblies need different care. The case where too much grease has been injected and covers the break parts has been discussed a number of times in TT forums. I have not experienced it myself.

Old times, required trailer wheel hubs be disassembled, greased and reassembled. Bearing play was adjusted during the process. This did not need to be done very often and sometimes was neglected all together. It was obvious how much grease to apply.

Adding grease zerks and drilling channels for grease flow slowly became the normal. Too much grease became the norm. Various designs developed various problems from too much grease. After all, why have user serviceable grease zerks if they were not meant to be used often.

Blown or pushed out seals or wheel bearing have occurred in some designs. Grease on break drums or disks also occur. Rubber boots have been exploded.

The manufacture is responsible for not contaminating the break drums on new axles, not the buyer. A mechanic hired to service the wheels is responsible when he works on them. The owner is responsible when he does his own service work. The owner usually pays regardless. It is just another expense to owning a TT.

Read the manual for your axles. Follow the instructions. You have learned the hard way. I have never found the instructions to be clear, but it is all I have.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[franktafl]

Originally Posted by persistent

Different wheel assemblies need different care. The case where too much grease has been injected and covers the break parts has been discussed a number of times in TT forums. I have not experienced it myself.

Old times, required trailer wheel hubs be disassembled, greased and reassembled. Bearing play was adjusted during the process. This did not need to be done very often and sometimes was neglected all together. It was obvious how much grease to apply.

Adding grease zerks and drilling channels for grease flow slowly became the normal. Too much grease became the norm. Various designs developed various problems from too much grease. After all, why have user serviceable grease zerks if they were not meant to be used often.

Blown or pushed out seals or wheel bearing have occurred in some designs. Grease on break drums or disks also occur. Rubber boots have been exploded.

The manufacture is responsible for not contaminating the break drums on new axles, not the buyer. A mechanic hired to service the wheels is responsible when he works on them. The owner is responsible when he does his own service work. The owner usually pays regardless. It is just another expense to owning a TT.

Read the manual for your axles. Follow the instructions. You have learned the hard way. I have never found the instructions to be clear, but it is all I have.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

You, as usual, make some good points. My thoughts were that the wheels (one of them) were improperly lubed to begin with and the others were probably my fault (thank goodness there was NOT a lot of grease in them, just on the backplate) but if I were to continue to grease them, it would have been a disaster (um,,, more of a disaster). As it is, due to the salt water intrusion into the camper and the bedroom floor, they - the insurance co. - may total the RV, waiting to find out now.

Needless to say, I learned a lot when this guy came over. he also said that you NEVER need to grease the wheel bearings once they are properly lubed, that the Zerks placed there are a cruel joke.

Frank