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  1. #1
    Fireside Member
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    Wheel Bearing Problem

    As a warning to all, PLEASE HAVE YOUR WHEELS CHECKED AND BEARINGS PACKED, if you aren't capable of, or don't want to do it yourself!!!
    I had many times checked for grease on the inside of the wheels (no evidence of any, and confirmed by Lippert at the first GD rally in 2015), but decided to have all inspected & packed this year before we head south for the winter. The yard (NOT a GD dealer!) confirmed the drums were clean, and no grease on the shoes, but did find one bearing cocked and damaged, and 2 others badly scored, due to faulty installation at the factory (Lippert, I presume)!!! They replaced all 4 sets of bearings, & repacked, etc., so I am good to go, but have made trips to FL, Elkhart, and others which I estimate to be at least 5,000miles....certainly, I was lucky, but the outcome could have been much worse.
    So, as a word of caution, check the entire assembly - bearings, etc., as well as grease leakage.
    Jack
    Jack & Linda
    Fancy & Dobbie (Aussies)
    Millsboro, DE
    2015 27RL Reflection
    Retired from Corporate life


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  2. #2
    King Pin
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    It's a good thing you caught those. Bearing failures are nasty. I do have a question, if Lippert checked the brakes at the 2015 rally, how did they do it without removing the brake drums? My point is that if they did a thorough inspection, they would have had to remove the drums which would have pulled the bearings also. If they were reinstalled incorrectly, then the tech at the rally would be the person responsible and not the factory per se.

    This is a good time to remind everyone that the Lippert maintenance manual states to remove the bearings and inspect them every 12 months or 12,000 miles, which ever comes first. I know on my 2014 337, the bearings were starting to show wear at about two years, so I replaced them with a name brand (Timken).

    Jim

  3. #3
    Fireside Member
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    Jim:
    It wasn't a "tech" that crawled under the trailer at the rally, it was a VP!!! Enough said!!! (I'm sure he just looked for grease on the wheel, as I had done many times)...Of course, he assured me all was well, and at that time, the concern was grease, not bearings...
    Jack
    Jack & Linda
    Fancy & Dobbie (Aussies)
    Millsboro, DE
    2015 27RL Reflection
    Retired from Corporate life


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  4. #4
    Site Sponsor Cate&Rob's Avatar
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    x2 on what Jack says. In the early days, the "criteria" for further investigation into greased brakes was grease on the wheels. GDRV had everybody (including their senior executives) checking wheels for grease splatter at the 2015 Rally. We received the same assurance that we were OK because there was no grease on the wheels. It wasn't until after the 2015 Rally that I pulled ours apart and found 3 of 4 brakes were heavily greased . . . with absolutely no grease splatter on any of the wheels.

    Rob
    Cate & Rob
    2015 Reflection 303RLS

  5. #5
    Rolling Along
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    Grease on the wheels would surely be a sign but I had all four seals leaking and two brakes covered. No sign of grease on the wheels.
    Nick and Nancy
    Abbotsford BC
    2011 Ram 3500
    2015 Reflection 303RLs

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor Cate&Rob's Avatar
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    As Jack noted back at the start of this thread, grease on the inside of the rim at low mileage was the initial criteria that GDRV used to determine which trailers definitely had grease on the brakes. Many were identified in this way. After this, we learned that many without grease on the inside of the rim also had greased brakes (mine included).

    Rob
    Cate & Rob
    2015 Reflection 303RLS

  7. #7
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TucsonJim View Post
    My wheels had waaaaaaaay more grease on them than this with less than 1,000 miles. Probably ten times that much. Not trying to compete for most grease. Just saying that a LOT of grease can get past the seals.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  8. #8
    Rolling Along
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jackd1 View Post
    Jim:
    It wasn't a "tech" that crawled under the trailer at the rally, it was a VP!!
    Jack
    A VP!!?? Man.....that had disaster written all over it. I've never met a VP in 40 years of aircraft manufacturing that knew which was the business end of a screw driver. Anywho.......

    Hang on while I retrieve my dead horse beating stick......

    I'm gonna just take a FL50 (50K feet for you non airplane folks) view. Roller bearings and tapered roller bearings (TRB) have been around since God was a Corporal. Designed and manufactured correctly, they are an order of magnitude superior to their predecessor - the caged ball bearing. The "roller", because of its larger surface contact area, can withstand higher loads than a ball bearing which has a single point of contact at any given moment. However, a roller bearing has to be manufactured to a higher tolerance than the lowly caged ball bearing. But, again, if it's manufactured right, it will yield a very long service life. Which brings me to my point......there is no logical or empirical data to support having to inspect trailer bearings every 12K miles unless you want to put your mind at rest. My first car ('68 Camaro Rally Sport 327/325hp) didn't even specify that kinda inspection interval. In the last 50 years, man has made HUGE advancements in metallurgy and lubrication science. Am I the only one that sees the contradiction?? Here's how my brain processes the day in the life of an RV

    RV gets towed (mostly in a straight line) until gas stop. That's maybe 300 to 400 miles non-stop. During this time, the bearing grease is being cooled by natural convection via air passing over the assembly. The temps go up & down depending on how many times, and how long, one applies the brakes. The grease liquefies during all this and, assuming its temps don't exceed its rating, then the only breakdown in lubricity is from shearing of the molecules. Then the trailer rests for a specific period of time. The trailer then sees towing duties and the scenario repeats itself. I would suggest that it is a rare occasion that a trailer gets towed non-stop from coast to coast to coast. In that scenario, I could see a 12K inspection interval due to sustained internal temps and excessive shearing. I realize I have no scientific proof to back what I'm about to say (hasn't ever stopped me before LOL ) - I cannot believe that if a TRB is properly greased, the hub properly greased, and the force on the thrust washer is correct.....that bearing assembly should be good for at least 25K miles. There are wheel bearings in modern cars that have a service life of over 80K miles.

    I guess I'm missing something here other than what we're dealing with is 1940's technology. I'll shuddup now.

    Tom

  9. #9
    Long Hauler offtohavasu's Avatar
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    As part of PMI, in't it suggested that bearings are pulled and packed once a year?
    Curtis, Christine, Cole, and Charlotte

    2007 Chevrolet Silverado Duramax LBZ, CCLB
    2020 Momentum 351M

  10. #10
    King Pin
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    Quote Originally Posted by offtohavasu View Post
    As part of PMI, in't it suggested that bearings are pulled and packed once a year?
    Yes - It's scheduled maintenance in the LCI manual. 12 months or 12K miles, whichever comes first. Of course it also says to inspect your suspension every 6,000 miles. I wonder how many people inspect their bushings this often since the only way to do so is to disassemble the suspension.


    Jim

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