Bearings and suspension work

[bcv1218]

I have a 22 Reflection 297RSTS with about 700 miles on her. It's my first RV. And we've had it for just over a year. We'll be done for the year in about a month so I assume it'll be time to repack the bearings, replace the seals and grease the suspension. Does this seem on schedule? Maybe there's a group of GDers who get together and help each other do maintenance projects? I would certainly help others as it's not all about me. And I feel better doing this work myself and with others who have experience. If anyone has any information on a group like this it would be greatly appreciated. Sounds like a good idea and I just can't believe nobody has thought of this before. A gang of RV owners helping each other tackle maintenance issues together. Awesome, thanks

I have had some issues in the past with bearings and am religious about checking and repacking each year. Also, I live in the Pacific North West and with that comes a lot of rain so want to keep the moisture out of the grease. I am probably over cautious, but have been stranded before and would like to avoid it. I also agree about doing it yourself so you know it is done right. I used to take mine to one of the major tire dealers that did that type of work and had an issue with the torque or lack there of on one of the tires....also, the idea of a quick brake check is a good thing. Good luck and happy travels.

[ForBruce]

My 2022 Solitude appears to have never had grease in the wet bolts. I also found three zero fittings would not open.

think mind never had grease either ..i thought the creaking when lifting was normal since it was that way from the get go.

one of my zurk did not work either until i raised the axle changing the angle of the bolts and the grease went in ..so much for the bolts being installed with the grease hole at the 3 or 9 oclock position

needless to say i did grease the bolts and a lot quieter now....

[ajg617]

think mind never had grease either ..i thought the creaking when lifting was normal since it was that way from the get go.

one of my zurk did not work either until i raised the axle changing the angle of the bolts and the grease went in ..so much for the bolts being installed with the grease hole at the 3 or 9 oclock position

needless to say i did grease the bolts and a lot quieter now....

Same here. Embarrassing noise when suspension was squealing with each bump pulling out of campgrounds. Greased the wet bolts when we got back from first trip. Only Red-n-Tacky came out. If there was anything in there from the factory, it must have been invisible grease.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

700 miles is not enough to warrant repacking normally. But....you just got it new. Do the repack yourself now so you KNOW it is done properly. If you put 700 on again next year....skip the maintenance for a couple years. That's my opinion, manual still says every 12 months.
I do mine every two years.

[Nuffsaid]

I agree to getting a baseline. I would at least pull one wheel and examine the brake lining and adjustment. Jack up all 4 wheels and make sure there is no bearing play and test each brake for operation and proper adjustment. Determine the color of grease in the hub and if it is RED there is a good chance you can add any premium red grease and be ok. At this point I use Lucas Red and Tacky and it works well. I make it a habbit to grease wet bolts on every trip! The bronze bushings on my 310gk were shot when I did my first check up after purchasing the 310 and driving it 400 miles home. I found grease on two brakes, non effective braking and several bronze bushings worn all the way through. My guess is that the wet bolts weren't greased at the factory, but I also found that the leaf spring eyes we not round and they were letting the bronze bushings get oblonged and distorted right away. GD wasn't much help and I purchased some replacement springs and added Moreryde heavy duty shackles as well as disc brakes. I was lucking I didn't crash my new truck and trailer when I picked it up at the dealer in Longmont CO because the brakes were totally useless. I also turned my wet bolts around so that I can get a 90 degree grease fitting on them from the outside so I don't have to crawl on the ground to grease them. I also added wet bolts to the spring ends in the hangers, because they had bronze bushings, but no wet bolts.

[TheMoose]

With only 700 miles and only one year. I would be inclined to just jack it up and spin the wheels to check the brake pads are just barely rubbing and there is no end play in the bearings. Seems not enough miles to warrant a repack. Also, grease all the wet bolts and call it a day. My Opinion.

I agree with FlyStar. But can you tell me what a wet bolt is?

[FlyStar]

Some, probably most, but not all, suspensions ( springs and equalizers that bolt to the springs and frames) are attached with bolts that have a grease Zerk on the end of the bolt. The bolts are drilled to allow for grease to be pumped through the bolt into the bushings that surround the bolts inside of the spring eyes and other attach points for the equalizers. These drilled and zerked bolts are called wet bolts.

[Dadeo6472]

We put a LOT of miles on our GD, about 10,000 miles a year since 2020. It's been to the west coast 4 times and so it has about 30,000 miles. In all those miles I have never had a problem on a trip with the suspension, hubs, brakes or tires. However this is more a result of intensive maintenance than anything the manufacturer did. When I took delivery I had the suspension, tires, brakes and hubs inspected. The hubs hardly had any grease and had to be repacked. The Chinese junk Westlake tires that GD put on my trailer were replaced with Goodyears after less than one year because two of them started to leak despite the fact that there was plenty of tread left and absolutely no puncture or other damage.

So, I have the tires, hubs, brakes and suspension inspected/greased every spring. Doing this is more important than ANY other maintenance in my opinion. I would say that you should do this every year even if you are not putting much mileage on.... The suspension is exposed to rain, dust, stones thrown up from the road and frankly there is nothing about an RV suspension that resembles anything made with quality components!

I have a trusted local auto and trailer shop do it. I wouldn't myself or let any RV dealer near anything as critical as these parts.

[wudwork]

The week after we picked up new 2022 2970RL, I inspected all and replaced all bearings & seals. I really wanted piece of mind, and got it! I found all (4) wheels had a big "dab" of grease near the inner bearing; pretty much no grease on outer bearings. Yes, this was consistent with each wheel. I put in the CRE3000 and wet bolts then pumped Red-n-Tacky till it oozed out of each outer bearing and each wet bolt. Now I feel better......

[Hoopy Frood]

The week after we picked up new 2022 2970RL, I inspected all and replaced all bearings & seals. I really wanted piece of mind, and got it! I found all (4) wheels had a big "dab" of grease near the inner bearing; pretty much no grease on outer bearings. Yes, this was consistent with each wheel. I put in the CRE3000 and wet bolts then pumped Red-n-Tacky till it oozed out of each outer bearing and each wet bolt. Now I feel better......

Using the zerk to pump grease into the bearings isn't really the best way to do it. If there is a nick or rough spot where the seal lip rides, the seal could be compromised. This will lead to grease infiltrating into the brake shoe area. Honestly, the best way is to hand pack the bearings before you assemble everything. That way you know there's no grease anywhere except where it's supposed to be.

I don't mean to be a Debby Downer, but your best bet would be to ignore the EZ Lube feature, do a good hand pack, and you'll be good for lots of time and miles.