ausie607
white lake
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Joined: 04/30/2011
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tonikunkeljimmykunke wrote:We have a 2008 Rockwood fifth wheel and are have trouble with our wheel bearings failing at about every 2000 miles for the last 3 years. Is there anyone else having this trouble?
Seems highly unusual. What sort of failure are you experiencing. Crushed bearings, broken races, what color are the used bearings? Is it happening to all bearings or just one?
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diesel man 03
the north country
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Cannot be the bearings,the type of grease alone with the way they are installed will determine how long they last.
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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I have the same bearings on my Rockwood as came from the factory (70,000 miles ago). I lube them every two years or 30,000 miles, whichever occurs first. You may have defective spindles that is causing your bearing failure. I'd also recommend you review your traveling weight for possible overloading.
Good luck / Skip
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aruba5er
Neenah Wisconsin
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Even defective bearing should last more than 2000 miles. Somebody doesn't know what they are doing. Wrong grease, bad seals, too tight or too loose. Get someone that knows what they are doing. I got a car with over 140,000 miles on it and wheel bearing have never been touched.
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sirdrakejr
Las Vegas, Nevada
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Moved from 5th wheels to tech issues.
Frank
2011 Palomino Maverick 1000SLLB on a 2004 Dodge Quadcab CTD Ram3500 SRW long bed equipped with Timbren springs, Stable Load bump stops, Rickson 19.5" wheels/"G" range tires and a Helwig "Big Wig" rear anti sway bar.
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joe b.
Florida
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I have a 2011 Rockwood with about 5,000 miles and no problems with the bearings. The tech at my dealer told me to grease the bearings every 2,500 miles and cautioned me to use only the specific grease. Mine are the Al-Co ones, with torsion mounting, no leaf springs. I had to look at a couple of auto stores to find a grease that met the requirement. One was put out by a company called Green Grease and was a synthetic and the other was a Lucas Oil Company product, Red - Sticky #2 grease. Mine are the grease gun lubed but aren't the old Bearing Buddy types.
Something is sure amiss with the OPs rig as he isn't getting acceptable service from his bearings.
joe b.
Stuart Florida
Formerly of Colorado and Alaska
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chuggs
Florida
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You guys made me paranoid...
I just finished repacking my bearings...
Here's a couple of resources you might find handy...
Dexter Service Literature
Etrailer.com demonstration videos
Anyway... I found both grease seals on the right side had leaked...no leaks on the left side. But, I've cleaned and relubed everything...replaced the grease seals and put everything back together. I'll take the rig out on the road for a 200 mile journey tomorrow and see how they run.
My brakes look pretty good. I've got 10,000 miles on the rig right now...I'm wondering at what point I should order new brake kits to have on hand... I'll probably swap out the entire brake assembly since you can get them cheaper than replaceing just the pads or magnets.
As I look at my bearings...I just think someone is leaving those axle nuts torqued down too tight. If you compress the bearings too much...I think it will wind up starving the bearing of grease...no room form any to squeeze in there.
Hope those references help...if you're doing it yourself.
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liborko
Surrey, B.C.
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I think there is chinese bearing conspiracy going on. I did not have a bearing failure in 40 years until few years ago. I lost bearings on right side on boat trailer 2 years ago. My daughter lost front hub bearings on both sides on her 2006 Chevy Uplander. I lost right front hub bearings on 2008 Jeep Liberty(under warranty). Last summer I lost bearings on left side of the boat trailer. Some of these bearings are sealed for life and not serviceable, some need to be serviced. All made in China.
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Bubtoofat
Westland, Michigan
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Junk Chinese bearings or someone is over tightening them or both. My wife repacked our bearings every spring when we had a TT and we used Timkin bearings. No problems in 13 years and 40/50 thousand miles.
Mike
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Ron3rd
Upland, CA USA
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Bubtoofat wrote:Junk Chinese bearings or someone is over tightening them or both. My wife repacked our bearings every spring when we had a TT and we used Timkin bearings. No problems in 13 years and 40/50 thousand miles.
Mike
You have a good wife.
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