Repack bearings on new TT?

[Rugged Lilac]

Picking up my new GD TT on Saturday and I am a bit of a maintenance geek. What is your experience with the factory bearings being greased? My coachman I had before the bearings were great, the one before that I re-greased because bearings looked cheap. My first big trip is not till November but will do some local shakedown trips before then. I do all my own work with structure, electrical and plumbing and was debating if I should pull the hubs and repack or not. Thanks?

 

[Skilletface]

Picking up my new GD TT on Saturday and I am a bit of a maintenance geek. What is your experience with the factory bearings being greased? My coachman I had before the bearings were great, the one before that I re-greased because bearings looked cheap. My first big trip is not till November but will do some local shakedown trips before then. I do all my own work with structure, electrical and plumbing and was debating if I should pull the hubs and repack or not. Thanks?

Pop the grease caps and if you’re not happy with what you see, pullem. Found one axel on mine when new that was a little lighter than I liked and repacked all four. I didn’t do a complete clean out but that was one less thing to think about.

 

[RomeoZulu]

I found two of four wheel bearing dust caps
(A): half seated and
(: missing entirely
One does not see these issues unless one removes the wheels to have them balanced, as the dust caps are hidden by the beauty caps...
On further inspection I found all four bearing sets essentially dry on all four bearing sets.
Oh and another finding:
I liked the idea of balancing media rather than weights on the wheels until I rotated the fourth wheel...
Can you picture the sounds of silence? No media in one tyre wheel assy.
Can you imagine the beautiful speech responses I heard when I mention these findings to service manager at the selling dealership?
The responses were priceless!

 

[RomeoZulu]

Picking up my new GD TT on Saturday and I am a bit of a maintenance geek. What is your experience with the factory bearings being greased? My coachman I had before the bearings were great, the one before that I re-greased because bearings looked cheap. My first big trip is not till November but will do some local shakedown trips before then. I do all my own work with structure, electrical and plumbing and was debating if I should pull the hubs and repack or not. Thanks?

Do it for piece of mind. Zirk benefits dealer service only. 5
Two minutes billed at four hours is robbery...

 

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I pull the hubs on any trailer I buy, new or used prior to it's first trip (more than an hour from home).
While the majority of trailers will have satisfactory greasing, some do not. I like the peace of mind of doing myself and knowing the condition of the bearings. You can check the brakes while doing it which is also good to know. Some get greased by using the zerk which should never be used for servicing/packing bearings.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

I agree with Scott'n'Wendy: check out the brakes and wheel bearings on a new, or new-to-you, trailer. I've seen bearings with minimal grease way too often.

 

[Captain Delta]

Picking up my new GD TT on Saturday and I am a bit of a maintenance geek. What is your experience with the factory bearings being greased? My coachman I had before the bearings were great, the one before that I re-greased because bearings looked cheap. My first big trip is not till November but will do some local shakedown trips before then. I do all my own work with structure, electrical and plumbing and was debating if I should pull the hubs and repack or not. Thanks?

When I purchased my 2015 303rls after the first trip there was starburst of grease on all the wheels. Took it to dealer and asked them to also check grease hadn't gotten on the brakes. They claimed they looked at it and was only the inspection rubber disk that wasn't seated, and the brakes were fine. Didn't make sense because even if the disk was missing shouldn't have sprayed all over. Next trip, same thing. Pulled the wheels myself, and found grease everywhere including on the brakes. Called GD and was told the truckers who transport the rigs to the dealer often overfill the bearing through the zirk fittings. GD sent me a whole new brake setup and upgraded them to self adjusting. Repacked and installed the brakes myself with no further problems. Dealership got a nasty call from me.

 

[traveldawg]

Glad to hear it all worked out for you. Dealers - ugh! - so hard to find a trustworthy one.

When I started reading your thread I was going to suggest that if you could do it yourself then do so rather than trust a dealer.