It's been a while....

But things got interesting again. Full bearing failure, 11:38 p.m., Valparaiso, IN. Fun, fun, fun.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

pippin,

I hope that was the only thing that happened when you lost the bearings.

What I can tell in the pic you may have gotten lucky and not much damage to the actual axle shaft.

I only got stuck once when that happened to me luckily I was not in the boonies when it happened.

A good Samaritan saw it happen and the smoke coming out of my wheel within moments and pulled up beside me and waved at me to let me know I was about to have problems,I immediately got to the shoulder and stopped.

I called an rv place I knew about not far from where I was along the interstate I 10 in FL, they told me that they had done away with their own roadside service and were kind enough to recommend a guy around Jacksonville 15 miles away.

I called him, Joe Denard Mobile Service 904 412 6773 (nice guy) he was very busy and traffic was heavy, told me 2 hrs and he would come with parts since I knew #of studs and their spacing. By the time he got to me I already had trailer jacked up tire, hub removed.

If your ever stuck around Jacksonville Fl I highly recommend him! Usual disclaimer have only used his service.

He laughed and said why did you call me,that I had 1/2 the job done!

I said what was I going to do sit there and hope it got fixed since I was capable and had tools and was mainly needing parts to get me back on the road.

He only charged $250.00 for parts and service

Ever since that break down I invested in a complete hub kit like these.

Trailer Hubs | Trailer Bearings + Trailer Hub Sets | Trailers + Towing | Northern Tool + Equipment

https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=trailer+hubs+and+drums

I have had to use only once since, in the last 6 years, well worth the investment and extra weight of carrying it.

Good luck, be safe and happy motoring.

Yep, as soon as it got to the yard I let Visa put 2 new axles with better brakes and bearings on the old girl. The old rear axle had a nice deep gouge right through the spindle threading and wasn't worth the risk. FYI, here's a new trick I learnt for towing with 3 wheels. The old 4x4 in the suspension equalizer fix. Many thanks to Jim @ A1 Mobile Repair In Valparaiso for this little, ahem, gem.


"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

PippinAin'tEasy said:

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

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What travel trailer is that and how old?

'14 Crossroads Zinger zt32qb. Never understood why a trailer with 2 x #4,400 axles has a #9,600 gvwr.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

PippinAin'tEasy said:

'14 Crossroads Zinger zt32qb. Never understood why a trailer with 2 x #4,400 axles has a #9,600 gvwr.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

Click to expand...

Because they expect a tongue weight of approx 800lbs fully loaded. My 5800lb travel trailer had a tongue weight of approx 440lbs.

PippinAin'tEasy said:

'14 Crossroads Zinger zt32qb. Never understood why a trailer with 2 x #4,400 axles has a #9,600 gvwr.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

Click to expand...

Now the tough question:

Were you lubing the axles with the appropriate grease once a year?

Every 7,500-9,000 miles depending on our location. Repack and new seals 580 miles before this. Should've just replaced the damn bearings. They were getting up there. Thought I could squeeze another thousand out of them.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

PippinAin'tEasy said:

Every 7,500-9,000 miles depending on our location. Repack and new seals 580 miles before this. Should've just replaced the damn bearings. They were getting up there. Thought I could squeeze another thousand out of them.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

Click to expand...

That's pretty good. Most people don't even lube their axles.

RV - tires/axles need close watching. This is one place where too much is just enough. I touch the hubs on mine every time I fill up with gas when towing. Heat can give you a indication of a problem.

I'm buying a new Outdoors Creekside and went with their off road package because it is beefier - better tires and suspension - even though I don't plan on off roading.

Yep, audio1der had the right idea sticking an extra spring in the pack when he did his axles; I plan on following suit when this latest gets paid off. I suspect heat played a roll in this one. Had a brake issue earlier this year on that wheel.
FWIW, this is why I like this sub-section: truck owners that pull **** as opposed to people who own **** and buy trucks that usually shouldn't pull what they own. *COUGHrvforumsCOUGHCOUGH*

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

I'm sure by now you've heard enough of the shoulda, woulda, coulda stuff. After I had a problem kinda like yours, I bought a couple extra hub assemblies and a hand held Laser thermometer that I used every time I stopped for gas or stopped to pee. I also started to carry a few extra tools.
Jay

pipin,

Yes that would block works on the equalizer between the 2 axles.

Once when I did not have a wood block, I used 2 ratchet straps over the frame to accomplish the same thing.

Once when I forgot my jack I backed my trailer up the angled end of a guard rail to change tires out in the boonies late at night.

Sometimes you have to create your own solution to help get you out of a jam! HAHA

I highly recommend carrying the a complete hub kit and grease gun in your tool kit.

There are some hubs that push the grease from one end of the hub to the other threw the bearings and also from the inside to the outside, the problem with this type of hub in order to grease the bearings you must get on the ground and reach behind the tire for access to the grease nipple .

I always give all my trailers a couple of pumps with the grease gun before every long trip.

I also check the temp with my hand as someone else mentioned at every stop.

If you are heavy handed and tighten the nut on the hub to tight, it will put to much preload on the axle bearings and create heat,which will melt the grease out of the bearings.

The preload on the bearings is critical for longevity of the bearings.

While adjusting the nut on the bearings are being adjusted you can have the tire on and grab the sides of the tire to ensure there is no wobble in the hub and bearings.

When at home I use a .001 Dial indicator to set the bearings to make sure there is just enough preload.

PippinAin'tEasy said:

But things got interesting again. Full bearing failure, 11:38 p.m., Valparaiso, IN. Fun, fun, fun.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

Click to expand...

for a half second, when I first read your post, I thought you were talking about your truck. glad to find it was "only" your trailer.

Trailer bearings are a source of constant anxiety for me. second are the tires. Incidentally, third is the race between my hair line shrinking and belly growing.

Wheels always keep me a little freaked. This one only slid off a little. I still don't like thinking about the alternative if the hub hadn't grabbed the spindle the way it did.

"Oh, sweet debt. Thy name is Truck."

Pippin,

I do not know how your new axles were installed. Did you install heavier capacity axles so you would not have to add a leaf to the springs?

The pic above^ has those blue scotch quick connectors that are just squeezed together, I hate those with a passion. They are prone to oxidation and rust.

They are asking for intermittent problems and sometimes failure.

Possible failure of your brake system do to crappy wiring would keep me up at night and truly be scary at the wrong time (panic Stop).

I always use soldering iron and solder any wire connection and use shrink tubing over the connection. This method would not fail with road salt when you travel into an area that salts winter roads.