Hub grease leak

[bakken]

Originally Posted by herk7769

This has also worked well for me.

I always think back to "the old days", when the front wheel bearings on cars could be greased/changed by the do-it-yourself mechanic. I would pull the bearings at about 50,000 miles, clean and check them, and usually just stick them back in with new grease.
So I really don't know why we should be worried about doing much more than giving our camper bearings more than a few pumps now and again.
After our 3000 mile trip to Wyoming, two pumps on the grease gun and the "old" grease was already coming out.
But of course, I won't wait until I have 50,000 miles on my camper to remove, clean, and check my camper bearings, but I won't be doing it every year either. Maybe when I figure it has about 10,000 miles, maybe not. Depends on whether or not the bearings begin to need tightening on a more regular basis, which would indicate they are beginning to wear.
For those who don't do their own maintenance, the 10,000 mile mark would probably be a good time to get them checked.

[rbq]

I had the same problem that I see in the 2 pics. If you pry off the rubber cap you will find that there is a hole in the cap. As you drive the grease is forced out the hole smearing around the wheel. Simple fix is go to RV parts store & get new rubber cap. Wipe the grease off the wheel & you're good to go.

[08flagvlite]

Hi lbrjet. I knew the bearing was shot when the hub castle nut was above center in relation to the drum. Also, the hammer on metal dust cap was gone, as well as the plastic wheel cover. Once I jacked it up, the wobble was quite obvious. The trailer supply parts guy said the hub/drum was more than likely bad if the new dust cap that they sold me for 5.00 just falls off without any problem, and it did just that. That indicates the drum/hub got hot, and the metal expanded. Another mile or 3, and things would have really gotten MUCH worse. I consider myself VERY LUCKY. Randy