I greased my Bearings

[spepi]

I finally got around to greasing my bearings in my 08 Rockwood 2701ss. we picked this up in March of 07, and have only used it 7 time so far...so my concern of not doing maintenance wasnt that big of a deal, but we are getting ready to head out to High Meadow CG in Hershey PA, so I figured better be safe than sorry...well, my assumption was right and wrong...Forest River really packed in the grease...i could have gone another 10 trips. The bearings are in great shape, but..I was in there, so I proceeded to repack all of them. The only issue I encountered was the cheap plastic center caps are "CHEAP"...2 of them broke behind the wheel, so they no longer will stay on.....I have found some stainless replacements, so they should last a while....just thought Id share.

[NDJollyMon]

Nice work. It's a messy, but necessary job.

[rockwood06]

FYI, Forest River buys the wheel assembles from Al-KO, Al-KO packs the wheel bearings. I had a problem with this issue and had to contact AL-KO my self.

[eandsphotography]

Funny this topic came up today. I''m planning a weeklong trip in a couple of days and I was checking the lug nuts and tire pressure and when i took the center cap off of the wheels, 2 of the caps that keep the grease in, weren't even put on from the factory. i dont think it's a big deal,but it's just a lack of attention to detail at the factory that causes some of the problems that give us all headaches at times.

[rockwood06]

The caps help keep dirt out of the bearings and contaminating the grease. If you see or fell dirt and grime in the grease, you may be headed for trouble.

[eandsphotography]

Thanks Rockwood. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. The trailer is only a month old and i've only had it out on one trip so far, but i'll definitly be replacing the caps soon.

[rockwood06]

Originally Posted by eandsphotography

Thanks Rockwood. I'll keep an eye on it for sure. The trailer is only a month old and i've only had it out on one trip so far, but i'll definitly be replacing the caps soon.

The thing is, It may have been towed that way from the factory to your Dealer in this condition. I don't know what kind of grease everyone else is using but I use HONDA MARINE MULTI-PURPOSE EXTREME PRESSURE GREASE. It is design for high load use and excellent water resistance properties, I know the camper is not backed down a boat ramp but If I decide to I will have a good felling that the grease will resist water

[pacernut]

I have the bearing buddies on mine. Is it sufficient to just put grease in there once or twice a year? If so how much from a grease gun. Does one need to actually pull the bearings out and repack them completly occasionally? The buddies are sure easy, but I was wondering if they do a complete job.

Thanks

[rockwood06]

Originally Posted by pacernut

I have the bearing buddies on mine. Is it sufficient to just put grease in there once or twice a year? If so how much from a grease gun. Does one need to actually pull the bearings out and repack them completly occasionally? The buddies are sure easy, but I was wondering if they do a complete job.

Thanks

One thing about pulling the bearing is that you can see how much grease is in the bearings. On the equipment I work on, If there is a grease feed tub to a bearing that is located on the far side of the service area, we remove the tub and grease the bearing directly. How would you know if the bearing is greased properly? Time will tell when it is too late and you are reaching deep in your pocket. Just when you think everything is ok is when it will come back and bit you in the ??? Blind work is no good!

[KyDan]

I had bearing buddies on my boat trailer.
I removed them at first and re-packed them.
After that I never did it again for 14 years.
I simply added a shot of grease in each one at the
start of every season.

One caveat about bearing buddies-- if one of your grease seals fails (and it WILL
fail eventually) the bearing buddy will put grease into your brake drums ;-(

YMMV
My 2¢