What do you do when you're on the side of the road?

[pilotpip]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

And chances are they would probably have the grease and anything else they might need to do that repair for us.

We can plan for all kinds of stuff to happen to us on the road, but does it really make any sense to carry all kinds of parts for a repair that one would most likely be hiring out the repair since they may not have the skills to do a particular job at hand?

Bearings are one of the few things I carry. There are tons of different ones That a roadside repair service may not have. They also take up next to no space and are a common failure point. Some greases are incompatable so having what you use isnt the worst idea either. If you have a hot bearing while on the road due to a bad seal it might allow you limp to a safe place for repairs.

If trailers had quality sealed units like modern automobiles it wouldnt be a consideration. Unfortunately they’re stuck in the 60s.

[babock]

Originally Posted by chaps2018

To make things easier next time I pre-grease the bearings and use my vacuum sealer from the kitchen. This keeps them from rusting and they are ready to install on the side of the road.

That's a great idea. Guess I need to buy a vacuum sealer.

[David17fq]

Just an FYI. If you have a bearing failure and you don't have the parts, tools or skills you can take off that wheel/tire and drive SLOWLY to a place for service. If your drum is touching the ground you can tie up the axle (use Jack to lift the axle and tie it up with a ratchet strap, chain or rope). Don't ask why I know it works...

[seawolf71]

This thread struck a nerve as my wife has just retired and we are ready to travel..

Would anyone be willing to share their source and or the part numbers for the bearings to fit a 2013 grey wolf 19rr? Thanks

[richardbrucewinquestjr]

Originally Posted by ependydad

I’m not handy, so I’m reliant upon others for anything beyond a tire change. I carry Good Sam Roadside coverage for just this occasion.

Last year they helped me find a mobile repair tech on a Sunday in Florida to replace a broken leaf spring. Took a quite a good hour or more for them to find someone and even longer for the guy to get there. I was appreciative no matter what as we were coming up empty at finding someone on our own. We called a dozen or more places and couldn’t find anyone. The only good thing is it wasn’t roadside and we were actually at a Walmart.

I had a bearing failure last summer 400 miles from home with Good Sam Roadside Coverage. I called their phone number and they wanted $180 just to send someone there. Needless to say I don't have them anymore, why have roadside assistance when I could get assistance there for less and not have to pay for a policy that did nothing.

[doc73]

Our good Sam has helped us, the $180 come out fee was probably a heck of a lot cheaper than you'd pay on your own. If I had services that were close to me I'd not use them but when I am in a far away land they can be helpful.

[Super Flag]

Originally Posted by seawolf71

This thread struck a nerve as my wife has just retired and we are ready to travel..

Would anyone be willing to share their source and or the part numbers for the bearings to fit a 2013 grey wolf 19rr? Thanks

Most of the axles are purchased from Lippert Corp. Determine the axle rating e.g., 5000, 6000, or 7000 lb. rating first, then go to Etrailer.com to purchase your spare parts.

[Paulie1138]

With luck, look on your axle. You might still have the tag on it. Take that part number and call around to some larger trailer shops. Try to get Timken bearings and double lip seals, made in the USA.

[Wannabe123]

I promise this doesn’t happen in only good ole Iowa . I was on I-35 in Northern Iowa when my new tire exploded. Limped onto an off ramp out of traffic. Drove up onto those handy plastic leveling blocks, dropped the spare tire AND then found out the supplied tire iron did not fit the lugs and the lug wrench for the F-250 doesn’t fit either. 105 degrees out there. Called Good Sam Roadside and found it would be an hour or so but no problem then a young fella turned around (through the grass area under the bridge) and had a torque gun that would fit and we got the tire changed. Tried calling Good Sam to stop the service but apparently didn’t work cuz the tire contractor pulled up. That young man wouldn’t accept anything for helping—- Iowa hospitality learned something the hard way..... check your lug nut wrench on trailers.

[dbledan]

I pulled a bonehead move with a new Hensley hitch setting chains on the outside. When getting gas I pulled them loose turning a tight corner. I googled trailer repair shops near me and got 3 (Casper WY). 2 were RV shops and one was an independent mobile service guy. I went to him and he welded them on in no time. I can pack wheel bearings (I will be after reading all this) but I cannot pack a welder.

[BeeBoB]

Most folks will give you a hand if in trouble on the road. Back in 1978 my parents were in a Winnie Brave when smoke was seen at a rear axle. A MT State Trooper stopped and called a tow comp. for them. HOWEVER PLEASE NOTE, the tow driver hooked up from the front and before long the axle was now in flames. They finally got to a local welding shop in Billings. Had to get a new axle assy. and ended up spending a week or so camped at the shop.
I had a class C in 1995 and while on I-81 in Vir. lost all brakes. Luckly I knew of a RV store not too far ahead just off of the Interstate. This was on a Sat. afternoon. I used my emergency brake to control the RV (not much stopping power but better than nothing). They called in a local garage owner from his home to help me out. Seems when I had the brakes serviced they routed the lines incorrectly causing wear against the A frame.

[mharrel]

Originally Posted by Super Flag

Most of the axles are purchased from Lippert Corp. Determine the axle rating e.g., 5000, 6000, or 7000 lb. rating first, then go to Etrailer.com to purchase your spare parts.

I too, am going to carry bearings in my tool box. But how do I determine my axle rating without a tag. I think mine are 7,000 lbs but I'm not sure. I don't really want to pull the hub to get a number on the bearing.

[Astles]

Originally Posted by chaps2018

I had a bearing failure on the road a few years back. Fortunately I had the parts and basic hand tools that I keep in the truck and trailer.

One thing I forgot to put in my parts box was grease. I used some of the old grease And fully replaced the bearings and races when I got home a couple hours later.

I noticed One or two individual bearings had scoring the last time I inspected them. I wasn’t sure how bad the bearing had to be before replacing it...now I know.

To make things easier next time I pre-grease the bearings and use my vacuum sealer from the kitchen. This keeps them from rusting and they are ready to install on the side of the road.

I encourage all of you to carry extra bearings with you. They are inexpensive. Even if you don’t know how to install them. The chances of you finding somebody who knows how to install them is much greater than you finding the bearings you need in some rural location.

That’s an excellent idea to pre-grease and vacuum seal the bearings! We’re leaving for Key West in the am and I’m efforting that as we speak

[Astles]

I crawled under the TT and found the build # (similar to serial #) and called dexter axle and they emailed me my build sheet which showed everything you need to know about the axle, brakes, etc. Then I referenced the hub size and bolt pattern to find the actual bearing #’s and ordered 4 kits (bearings, races, seal). You only need to find the axle manufacturer by calling the RV manuf or looking in your rv’s Owners information. It’s eaiser than it sounds...but it’s good to have the build sheet for your axles. A wealth of information. Good luck

[adarklake]

Someone mentioned uncoupling their TT and leaving it on the side of the road to go fetch a part. In another thread where I was asking about marker lights, someone else suggested keeping a flasher (for auto directional lights) in your "just in case" box. If you plug the flasher into pins 3 and 4 of your 7-way, the marker lights and brake lights will flash, alerting other drivers to the disabled trailer on the side of the road. Sounds like it would work great for those emergencies where you have to leave your trailer behind. (the marker lights will run off the house battery)

[camper1999]

I do the same

[camper1999]

Originally Posted by atcbrownie

I keep an extra two sets of bearings, grease, and all the tools to fix in my tt front storage. Have I ever had a bearing failure on my tt? No. But I want to be able to take care of it quickly when/if it happens so it doesn't ruin our trip.

[QUOTE=camper1999;2012300] I keep an extra set of bearings if I needed to swap them out.

[Paulie1138]

Nice tip adarklake! Thanks