Greasing bearings

[henw]

Are AS fittings easily enough accessible such that I can grease wheels, bearings etc. myself?
At what mileage markers are some of you greasing?

[CanoeStream]

Here are some good threads:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f437...ngs-16440.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f437...ings-7861.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f437...ings-1036.html

Another thread recently mentioned ranges of $150-200 for a dealer to repack a 2 axle trailer -- takes a mechanic about 75-90 minutes.

Bearing repack should be done every 10,000 miles.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by CanoeStream

Another thread recently mentioned ranges of $150-200 for a dealer to repack a 2 axle trailer -- takes a mechanic about 75-90 minutes.

Bearing repack should be done every 10,000 miles.

In my opinion based on the 40+ years of business......

Never, "just" pack bearings.

"Always" do a "major brake job.

A major brake job consists of removing the bearings, clean the bearings, inspect the bearings, and packing the bearings, and set them aside.

Check the hub and drums for any unusual wear or rust. Sand the drum face and armature plate slightly with 100 grit sand paper.

Inspect the brake magnets, shoes, springs and adjusters. Replace the adjuster springs every 50,000 miles or 10 years, which ever is first.

Magnets are good for an average of 20,000 miles. Shoes are good for an average of 50,000 to 60,000 miles.

Sand the shoes slightly.

Remove all the dust and dirt.

Clean and remove all the old grease from the hub and drum.

Reinstall the bearings in the hub and drums, using "new" grease seals.

Reinstall the hub and drums on the axles.

Properly torque the bearings with the retainer nut.

Install new cotter pins.

And finally and most importantly, adjust the brakes.

To do the above after you have done it many times, will take about 2 1/2 hours.

Anything short of the above can compromize the safety of the running gear.

It would also be "very wise" to rebalance the hub, drum, tire and wheel assembly, as that should be done every 10,000 miles as well. Balancing 4 running gear assemblys, will take as long as another hour, especially when the heavy spot of the hub and drum is determined, then the heavy spot of the tire and wheel are determined, and then the tire and wheel are placed on the hub and drum, with the heavy spot of those two, opposite each other.

It takes longer to balance mag wheel than it does steel wheels.

This is how we balance running gear.

Wheel Balancing Photos - Inland RV

Andy

[Fyrzowt]

And when you're removing the assemblys and cleaning all of that dust out of there - do NOT breath the dust, wear breathing protection.
Dave

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Inspect the brake magnets, shoes, springs and adjusters. Replace the adjuster springs every 50,000 miles or 10 years, which ever is first.

Magnets are good for an average of 20,000 miles. Shoes are good for an average of 50,000 to 60,000 miles.

To do the above after you have done it many times, will take about 2 1/2 hours.

Anything short of the above can compromize the safety of the running gear.

It would also be "very wise" to rebalance the hub, drum, tire and wheel assembly, as that should be done every 10,000 miles as well.

Andy

In my opinion ........

Springs should last at least 100,000 miles if not longer.

Magnets about 50,000 to 75,000.

Not too many people are going to rebalance their tires and wheels every 10,000 miles.

Your suggestions are good but you don't need to make it sound like someone is going to crash if they don't follow your protocol to the letter.

[henw]

Thanks Andy.
I'm also a believer in taking the time and doing the job right the first time.
As my AS is new. Can I trust that the bearings/brakes are all up to spec right from the factory?

Tom

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by henw

Thanks Andy.
I'm also a believer in taking the time and doing the job right the first time.
As my AS is new. Can I trust that the bearings/brakes are all up to spec right from the factory?

Tom

Your selling dealer was supposed to remove the wheels and hub and drums and make a visual inspection to make sure that everything was ok.

I don't know that I would assume that happened.

If there is any doubt, it's not that big of a deal to have them inspected, or for that matter, you can do that yourself.

Andy

[DFord79]

I agree with Andy....why???....because I have been a fleet manager for over 30 years. There is not such thing as overkill when it comes to preventitive maint. If you can learn to do these tasks yourself its very cheap insurance. As for brake springs....why quibbly about a few bucks for new springs....cause it they fail....it might mean wayyyyyy more than just a little maint. ITs fact,,,,90% of all drivers don't maintain their vehicles as they sould. Its also a fact that 90% of all breakdowns could have been prevented with proper maint according to statistics put out by NHSA.

>>>you'r a good source of info for the everyday Airstreamer.

[DFord79]

I just got some info from an AS owner who attended a ralley a while back. I have been trying to learn all I can about AS before I purchase. One of the topics at the ralley was about Wheel Bearing packing from the factory. Two AS owners at this ralley had their NEW AS delivered without grease in the bearings from the factory. Both required exstensive repair before they could be delivered for purchase. SOO....whats that tell ya about Quality control??

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by DFord79

I just got some info from an AS owner who attended a ralley a while back. I have been trying to learn all I can about AS before I purchase. One of the topics at the ralley was about Wheel Bearing packing from the factory. Two AS owners at this ralley had their NEW AS delivered without grease in the bearings from the factory. Both required exstensive repair before they could be delivered for purchase. SOO....whats that tell ya about Quality control??

That's a bit of old news from early in 2005. It was a significant problem and resulted in bearing failure and loss of wheels while underway for some owners. It was the fault of the axle supplier and Airstream dropped their contract at that time.

[john hd]

In my opinion ........

Springs should last at least 100,000 miles if not longer.

Magnets about 50,000 to 75,000.

Not too many people are going to rebalance their tires and wheels every 10,000 miles.

bob

here is my view:

springs, i wrecked a perfectly good brake drum on my 2 year old 10,000 lb. 20 foot wells cargo car hauler due to a broken brake spring. maybe after 6000 miles total.

magnets, my first set lasted about 3 years, approx 15,000 miles.

wheels, i chalk mark my wheels every time they are off to keep the same relationship to the drum. if a tire comes off a rim for any reason it gets rebalanced.

just my view, take it for what it is worth.

john

[LI Pets]

Originally Posted by john hd

bob

springs, i wrecked a perfectly good brake drum on my 2 year old 10,000 lb. 20 foot wells cargo car hauler due to a broken brake spring. maybe after 6000 miles total.

So you failed to make the first 10,000 mile check!
Therefore, it made no difference to adhere to a schedule, right!

You just had a odd failure.

magnets, my first set lasted about 3 years, approx 15,000 miles.

Mine have unknown milage on them when I bought my TT, I did redo the brakes but with the same parts except two springs out of 4 wheels.

I repacked the bearing with new seals.

I have put 11,000 miles on them since, pulled the drums just to re-check all---everything looked great, I'll take another look in about another 10,000 miles.

Can't say how much more I'll get out of the shoes and magnets, but when they get to a point of another rebuild I will not do it.
I'll buy complete replacements for about $50 a wheel.

wheels, i chalk mark my wheels every time they are off to keep the same relationship to the drum. if a tire comes off a rim for any reason it gets rebalanced. john

I use Dyna Beads no need to mark anything but if I didn't I would chalk mine as used to before I knew about the beads.

Each of us needs to do what we're comfy with,
I do ALL my own work very meticulously.

[smaurer16]

Here is a decent video on repacking wheel bearings.

http://www.sailingtexas.com/Movies/T...earings640.wmv

[loudruff]

Just my opinion, but I am way more meticulous than this video shows. Never, ever dip a "maybe it's clean, maybe it's not" bearing into the tub of grease. This is risking contamination of your whole tub of grease. You can't get all of the "crap" and dirt out of a used bearing. Cleanliness is next to Godliness when working with bearings. Although he didn't, this ranks right up there with folks trying to dry the bearings with compressed air, which is another no-no.
I usually tighten and then back off to seat the bearings. This may work on a light weight sail boat trailer, like he is portraying, but you need to be a bit more meticulous on heavier applications. Trailers, road tractors, semi trailers/tractors...50 yrs. of experience. I am sure others will watch this and chime in here.

[Mikethefixit]

Thanks to samurer for the link, that gives you the general idea.
Im wiff loudruff, Yup what he said. I also have 50 yrs of owning and driving big trucks and before oil bearings this is what we had to do. Pack our own bearings, most of us owner-operators could not afford to take it to a shop so we did it ourselves.