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This is why my wife and I are so excited to get into the RV lifestyle. The people I've seen on your videos as well as others. Just incredible, the kindness and community. God bless
Marcus, you will find no shortage of good people in the RV community. In fact, after traveling the country for two years, we constantly tell people that we've found so much good out there! It's wonderful to experience first hand. We appreciate you watching and wish you well!
Thanks much for sharing... I am curious to know how many miles you had driven before this happened. It is so obvious... you have an angel watching over you! This experience is a great reminder to us all. Todd from NRVTA shared that you should never use the bearing grease zerks as maintenance. He says they should be used to get you to the next exit when you sense an issue. Another important travel practice he preaches is to use an infrared thermometer on each hub on EVERY stop along your trip. You're looking for any hub that is running 40-50° hotter than the others. That's the identifier that something's not right. Safe travels. bg
Thank you so much for commenting! You make excellent points that are absolutely right. Case in point, our bearings were injected with the Zero valves 3000 miles before this happened. There were several contributing factors, but that was one of them. Thanks again and we wish you well!
We too lost an outer wheel bearing on our dexter axles, the wheel stayed on ,but we lost half our brake drum. It's a helpless feeling to be on the side of the road like that. I now carry inner and outer bearings, axel nut , brass keeper, brake drum -the works. Both of our stories really highlight how important it is to learn all the systems in your RV. Every pee stop I place my hands on each hub.🤣Thanks for sharing your story cuz I'm sure it will help someone!
It seems more common than I realized, dangerously so. I'm glad to hear that you pack a whole arsenal to "wheel" you out of sticky situations! Thank you so much for commenting! Wishing you well!
I too carry an extra set of wheel bearings including the seal. In addition, I carry 2 spare leaf springs, shackles, bolts, equalizer and U-bolts. The way they build these things, you have to have an extra trailer just to haul the spare parts and tools!!
Hey Glynn, Just commented on your bushing replacement video the other day. Thanks for the response. Revisited this video because this exact thing happened to us in the campground at 1mph , thank God! Getting ready to do all wheels. A Canadian named Daryl assisted us on the one wheel just as Steve did for you. Such a great community of people out there! Really enjoy your videos ! Hope to see you on the road someday. Kevin and Debbie
We appreciate the kind words and agree, the RV community is a special group of people. We're so fortunate to have found such a great group. We definitely found bearing failure to be more common than expected. It was a fortunate lesson passed on to many. Thanks again Kevin and we hope to see you on the road!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Excellent response and very calm reaction. You took one step at a time to evaluate and fix the issue. The expert help from Steve saved the day, and he had all the parts. Like how you showed him packing the bearing, properly torque it down and then properly backing-off the axle nut. Lesson learned. . . At least one complete bearing kit will be in my spare parts bin.
Wow!! Crazy and scary that this happened to you. So glad that it happened in the situation that it did, so you all stayed safe!! You handled the whole situation well. Thanks for taking us on the hike too... seeing those palm trees up in the cliff rocks must have been so wonder-inspiring! That's what we call a "wonderment"!
So true! And yes, losing the wheel in this situation turned out to be a real lucky situation. We made friends with a great family and learned several new skill sets. It's the people of this planet that add the spice to the beauty one finds hidden in a "Palm Canyon." Thank you for commenting!
I'm really impressed by your ability to do this while filming. I always have trouble continuing to shoot when there are major issues going wrong. Having the extra distraction of shooting just throws me for a loop. Great stuff.
Thank you Joseph. Rose has the habit of always rolling the camera and there have been occasions when I have pushed it away. This particular incident, I was just numb. I didn't know what to do, but knew this situation required some time to think. I'm so glad it happened the way it did. Not only did we learn how to fix it properly, but we made really good friends. Thank you so much for commenting and we wish you well!
And we thought we were prepared for anything... alas, no one is born with the knowledge. Those who learn from the mistakes are those who rise! It turned out to be an amazing outcome anyway.
I didn't sort through all the comments, but I carry an infrared heat thermometer with me and when I stop at rest areas or safety breaks I walk around and shoot the wheels looking for differences in heat signature. Great channel folks.
Sincerely appreciate the kind words Hans! Good point. That's something everyone should make a habit of doing. I've always felt each hub at every stop and did so for the 3000 miles after the brake change. This particular trip was only 60 minutes away, so no stops. This is one of those instances where a TPMS with temperature gauge would have paid off. Again, thank you so much Hans and we wish you well!
Wow! You guys did get lucky and how awesome it was not to lose your cool. My wife are I weekend warriors and this video completely has me thinking about our rig. Although its only 2 years old still has me concerned. Once the weather breaks its going in the shop just for preventative maintenance. We have blown a tire in the UP last year and that was the first thing I remembered - stay calm, these things will happen. Thank you for sharing…
Your comment is heartwarming, thank you! I hope we can inspire a lot of people to stay on top of preventative maintenance on things that are not so obvious. It can really pay off in the long run. And of course we never imagined this could happen to us, but we're quickly learning, it's not if, it's when. Again, thank you so much for commenting and we wish you well!
If the rig is properly maintained, and it is only used a few weekends a year, and provided the bearings and such are just the right tension, they last for years and years.
The fun really begins to start when you are heading down the highway, and a tire is bouncing off in the next lane overtaking you. The 'poink' sound they make on every bounce becomes a meme for years to come.
@@ResetYourJourney The 'poink' has never happened to me directly. I have heard stories of people being overtaken by a trailer wheel. And they always recall them in a kind of comically hysterical manor that conveys the befuddlement of their predicament. The "is this real life?" feeling seeing the tire bounce by. For you thankfully it was a little less dramatic. The tire was just 'tired'......... . ...... . . (yes i am a dad) When I was a little kid, I was with my mom at the ford dealership to pick up her Bronco ][ from service. This was a pretty new vehicle, maybe a year old. And they didn't torque the front drivers mag down properly, In fact, I don't think they even barely finger tightened it. and we made it only about a mile down the road when the tire came off and the vehicle plowed into the road, caving in the front fender and wheel hub. The tire bounced down the road for a few hundred feet until it hit the side of another drivers truck impacting his door panel. The man brought the wheel back saw my mom completely hysterical and me trying to chill her out. I had to explain vaguely what happened and someone else went to the dealership to explain what happened. Eventually they brought out a flat deck and picked up our vehicle, and had to repair both our ride, and the other guys door who was also a customer of that dealership. Very costly mistake for the shop hand.
So glad to hear it never happened to you, despite the story about your Mom's debacle. What a memorable story though! And yes, our tire was "tired." Nice one!
The reason that they say not to use the zerk fitting is that if puts alot of grease pressure on the seal. If the seal leaks back towards the axle then it can get on the brake shoes and cause the brakes to fail. Grease and brakes do not mix. I have used my zerk fittings and I always raise the wheel and spin it while slowly pumping the grease. This helps but because you can't see the brakes it is impossible to know it any grease is getting to the brake shoes. I frequently check my hubs for heat to see if the bearings are getting hot and I always carry a spare bearing set and all the tools to replace it including a grease gun. Important! The zerk fitting will not grease the outer bearing until the entire hub has filled with grease. That's a lot of grease! I think you are right about the nut torque causing the problem. Must be just right as your friend showed you.
We've learned so many of these lessons the hard way Joseph. But alas, it means they are never forgotten and always respected. We appreciate your input and thank you for following along. Wishing you well.
Thank you for posting an awesome video!! From watching other RVer's and the problems they had while traveling, this is the reason I carry extra spare parts for the suspension. I carry two new leaf springs, bolts, shackles, U-bolts, equalizer and a new set of wheel bearings. The problem is not fixing it, it's getting the parts when you are in the middle of nowhere. I carry 3 jacks and impact tools. It's sad I have to carry all this stuff, but I'm not getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. Just having spare parts could save your butt. Even if you didn't know how to fix something or have the tools, at least by having the parts some shop could fix it for you provided you had parts. I have a tandem axle like you do and believe it or not, I even carry 2 spare tires. I figure if one blows, it could take out the other tire too. These things are built like junk. You have to be prepared!! BTW, I like your AT shirt. I hike the AT back in the late 70's from N.Y. to Mt. Katahdin. Again, good video!!
Gary, thank you so much for your thoughtful comment! You're level of preparation is by no means overkill. In fact, it's wise in every way because you are so right. We have certainly beefed up our arsenal of parts and tools. We've learned so much from so many great people like yourself. And I can certainly appreciate hiking a portion of the AT. Well done. Thanks again and we wish you well!
I've bought many a used trailer over the years, and the FIRST thing I always do is get new grease seals then fully repack the wheel bearings. It's a good time to service electric brakes, at minimum you probably need replacement magnets (these are a wear item.) It's also a good time to make sure the brakes are adjusted well. Never had a bearing failure on the road, but I've seen many happen on other peoples' trailers. One failure I DID have on the road was a leaf spring breaking! I touched the brakes activating the trailer brakes, and suddenly the trailer tried to exit the freeway on its own initiative. It was the rearmost axle, which tucked the wheel on that side under the body locking it tight, and turning the opposite wheel relative to the front axle. After laying down 300 yards of black skidmark I got it stopped at the curb on this offramp along the Grapevine section of I-5. An hour later we were under way with the bad axle strapped up by ratcheting tie straps on the broken side, both wheels removed, riding on the front axle only and occasionally sparking when the dead rear axle touched pavement. Made it 90 miles home that Sunday night after all!
Wow, what a story! That's something no one forgets! Glad you made the 90 miles safely. Fortunately, our brakes are new (assembly and all) and during the total revision with our road hero, Steve, we properly set the brakes. All good now. Ne suspension tomorrow... Thanks so much for commenting and we wish you well!
We just picked up a brand new Grand Design TT. Not our first time. But as of late I’ve read countless stories surrounding bearing & spring failures. I now own 2 sets of bearing and 2 axle springs. Along w all hardware to install. Bearings are packed and stored in a soup can. Ready to go! Consider carrying a cordless impact gun.
You are well prepared! We're with you all the way. And your "pre-packed" bearings in cans is genius! We just may have to adopt that method. Enjoy your new Grand Design! Thanks so much for commenting and we wish you well!
I had a simular situation (trauma) way back in 76'. Since then I am absolutely emphatic about my bearings & wheel maintenance. I was on a busy road 25-35 miles from any services on a 4th of July no less. Had to make several trips back & forth to get the correct parts. 10 hours later I was up & out but it was very nerve racking. To this day when ever we stop I go around feeling the tires and wheels checking the heat. Every trip before we leave i address the bearings. I learned the hard way!
You and us both! Bearings will always be at the forefront of preventative maintenance going forward. At least we had a wonderful opportunity to learn the ropes from an expert (Steve, the road hero).
@@ResetYourJourney I just watched that show. GREAT instructions & video. We boon-dock most of the time as well and have become 'snowbirds' in the AZ desert. With all the blowing wind & dust its a good practice to keep an eye on the bearings & grease. I carry a grease gun and an extra tube with me at all times. Shoot a couple of pumps every few weeks.
Wow! That's crazy. Thankfully it didn't happen while going down the road! After numerous incidents and tire failures over years of hauling trailers for work and RV's, I am a strong advocate of having TPMS on all trailers (and carrying a set of tools/floor jack). A good TPMS system would have given a "lost signal" warning as soon as it got out of range, and the temp sensors may have given a warning if it was heating up the wheel/tire while driving... Crazy stuff happens, I had a cotter pin shear once and the crown nut started coming loose, almost came off. Pre-trip walk around luckily caught it because I noticed one wheel was loose when I gave it a kick, jacked it up and found it was REALLY loose. Good to know great people in the community, and paying things forward pays off on the back end. Break downs always seem to happen at the point of a trip furthest away from any auto/trailer parts stores! Glad it all worked out with no major damage!!!
You definitely have some serious experience and a wealth of information! Thank you for sharing! Bearing maintenance is definitely something to be taken seriously. Thank you so much for commenting and we wish you well!
What do you do when your trailer wheel falls off? You “ResetYourJourney” of course!! Your calm response, as well as Steve and Becky’s coming out to help were lessons for all of us! I love how close RVers get and am especially glad to be part of the ORV Family. On top of that we - through you - were able to experience the beauty and magic of Palm Canyon! Thanks for sharing! Adventure is out there!!
Hi Kevin. When we were looking for our ORV on the east coast a few years ago, we had no idea what a great community with which we were getting involved. We feel very fortunate to be part of of this group! And yes, Steve and Becky could teach many some real life lessons. Thank you for commenting and we wish you well Kevin!
My husband and I are full time RVers.. We can Identify with you regarding your wheel bearing issue. It happened to us when we were driving to Texas. Our bearing burned out and our wheel fell off. We sat on the side of the highway for 10 hours waiting for help from Road Assistance. We couldn't get help thru AAA because it was Sunday night. AAA finally found a small shop about 100 miles away. We finally got help at midnight. The guy was able to chain the axle in the air so we could tow it to the shop. Lots of damage required lots of parts to fix. It costs a lot to repairs. Before we left California to travel to Texas we had all the bearings greased. It was not done correctly. It was quite a learning experience.
Oh man, what a story! I'm sorry it turned out so complicated. We've both learned some very important lessons in several ways. May it never happen to either of us again. Thank you so much for commenting and we wish you well!
Sorry to hear about that bad experience! A lot of mechanics overtighten wheel bearings. You're supposed to tighten them once with a tool and spin the hub to make sure the bearings are correctly seated, then back off the nut, tighten it finger tight only then back off to the next castellation on the nut to install the cotter pin. If you make it finger tight then tighten more to line up the next castellation, it will be too tight and become even tighter at peak operating temperature.
Hello Glynn and Rose!! Holy cow....I am counting my blessings that you all are ok. That could have easily happened out on the open road....and who knows how that would have worked out. Yikes! As a brand new ORV owner, but really it doesn't matter what brand, I am in the lamenting phase of trying to prioritize which $300-$500 items to get first. As you know, it seems like it can be an endless list of those. I am now going to reshuffle that list and put "the stuff that will kill you" up on top! TPMS, any additional hitching items I may need, a real tire inflator vice the $25 kobalt item from Lowes that I have, etc etc. That is really incredible of your buddy Steve to come out for assistance!! What a great human! I assume he basically did a service job and reinstalled everything so as to get you going....and that you will go for a complete inspection of all hubs back in Yuma? Safe travels and really happy that all of you could escape for those days. What a beautiful place you went to!!
Hey Alan. What an epic even that we dealt with! And it really clarifies how much good there really is in this world. Steve and Becky are such good people overall. And we made new good friends as a bonus. Good call on prioritizing your list for keeping your ORV safe. I wrote a quick article about the experience and made a list of the tools I now carry going forward. It's here: resetyourjourney.com/why-did-one-of-our-wheels-fall-off-our-travel-trailer/ There is a part two to this video coming soon, which includes how we redid all the wheels. Again, we're so thankful this happened where it did instead of the highway. Thanks so much for commenting Alan!
@@ResetYourJourney Hi Glynn....holy fook! That is a great write up! Thank you for sharing those tips. I see my homework is to somehow figure out what axles we have so as to be able to get the correct components. Good comment about not mixing 2 types of grease. I have to assume there are 2 types of rv'ers out there....those with mixed grease and those that have no grease hehehe. Oh...and maybe .00001% know the deal and remove all grease before adding new grease. Safe travels!
I hope this never happens to us but I am glad u guys got good people there in Yuma. We actually saw you guys this weekend at Applegate cove campgrounds in Oklahoma and I knew you looked familiar. It didn't dawn on me until I seen you guys pull out and noticed your RU-vid channel on the back of your RV. Hope you enjoy your trip to the next place.
Hi there! Yes, we were very fortunate to be around new friends! Wish we had been able to meet you at Applegate! That was a quick layover for us. Making our way East back to our homebase for a little bit. Thank you for commenting! We wish you well!
I had that happen about 50 miles out of Rapid City on my fifth wheel on the interstate. Long story but when I limped into a welding shop the next Monday, the owner told me that he gets a lot of repair work from "Easy Lub" axles. I destroyed the spindle and had to have a half axle installed. Now I never lubricate my wheels without removing the wheels and hand pack the bearings and install new seals.
Dennis, I feel like your story and ours needs to be told to everyone with these axles. Or Dexter needs to stop producing this type of axle. It's such valuable information. Our are all replaced and done correctly (the next video will show the process). I hope these videos can have enough influence to influence individuals to check their bearings and pack the correctly at regular intervals. Thanks so much for commenting and we wish you well!
@@ResetYourJourney and as Paul Harvey used to say, the rest of the story. As my wife and I were leaving the trailer repair shop in Rapid City, she calmly looked over at me and asked, well how much did that cost? My reply back. A little over $800. He replaced two of my four brakes, installed a half axle and labor. She then asked, how much if you had packed your bearings before we left? Around $40 for new seals and grease. Nothing else was said. I now repack my bearings every year!!
I was told by a rv repair shop don't use the ezey lube fittings to grease the bearings. Remove the hub remove the bearings clean all parts and repack the bearings with new grease...
The reason I don’t use the E-Z Lube zerk. Take them apart and inspect everything and grease them properly. Are you certain that it’s a Dexter axle and not a LCI Lippert axle? There’s a tag/sticker on the center of the axle.
It's definitely dexter. After replacing all bearings and races, it was determined that this particular wheel lacked a dust seal and more importantly, the nut was too tight after the brake replacement. Going forward, the bearings will be repacked by hand at regular intervals. We all learn different lessons in life. What's important is we turn that lesson into a correction going forward. Thanks so much for commenting and we wish you well!
We had the same thing happen to us in Arizona on the way to Louisiana in may. It is frightening when you see your wheel bounding down there freeway. Check your bearing grease every 10000 miles just like your breaks. We limped it to the next exit with three wheels.
Yeah, that's super scary! Glad you were able to limp into a place to get help. The importance of bearing maintenance cannot be stressed enough. Thank you for commenting and we wish you well!
I have never have had a catastrophic bearing failure on the road like you did but on the off chance that it occurs, I bought and carry an entire hub assembly c/w bearings seals nuts, etc. All repacked with grease. Providing the axle spindle doesn't get damaged I can swap it out without hardly getting dirty. It's about 130 bucks for the parts but well worth it. And since 3500 lb axle assemblies are very common I can help someone else out if they are in a bind.
Story sounds and looks like a nightmare but fortunately you are not driving fast/highway. It happens to me too, that I tightened a bearing too much at my car. After driving short distance the tire was almost glowing (extremely hot) and I recognized also that I did something totally wrong. Your explanation makes totally sense! By the way your video really funny and very interesting for me personally because I ordered a Back Country 24KRS and F250 in order to start my journey end of 2022.
Thank you for commenting. What an important lesson about bearing for all of us! And congrats on your ORV and tow vehicle order. Good choices! We wish you well!
Funny how each generation learns things. Time was when driving and towing required knowledge and skill that most today have never delt with. Needed to know how to set the choke when cold, or how/when to manually shift gears, doing pre-flight checks and mid flight check-ins to make sure nothing was showing signs of trouble. People are so used to 'turn the key and go' that their CHECKLIST comprises things to secure and put away before travel. Something as simple as putting a finger on the trailer hubs alerts you to high friction. Those bearings were howling and smoking long before they melted. It takes about 1500 degrees to do that.
Thank you for commenting Reuben. Many lessons are learned the hard way and oddly for 3000 miles, I consistently checked the hubs with no heat issues. Regardless, the problem has been corrected and will not be repeated. Of course until there's something different outside our skill sets that we may know nothing about. But alas, trying new things leads to rewarding outcomes while introducing challenges to overcome. Thanks again for commenting and we wish you well.
Generally I like to carry a pair of bearings, outer races, seal, and grease, and a scrap of roof membrane, adhesive, lap sealant- related tools. Not a bad practice to check hub temperatures when you park. Anyhoo, glad no one was hurt.
@@ResetYourJourney Yeah, I’ve learned some things the hard way. Those quick lube axles are kind of a mixed blessing. On one hand for some people that’s the only way the bearings get fresh grease. On the other hand you don’t get to lay eyeballs on the rollers, brakes, and get a fresh seal. Bits of the case hardened surface spalling off. Even if you do check them, sometimes they just fail. Anyway nice looking unit, and nice video. Have a happy thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, many of the RU-vid videos on bearing maintenance are wrong also. I have towed everything from farm equipment to semi trailers for over fifty years and never a bearing failure on anything I maintained. I have also been a mechanic for that long also. Biggest mistake is not leaving adequate bearing clearances on all the failures I have seen. Dexter has videos online on how to service their axles. Never torque down used bearings. Only torque the bearing when a new race has been installed in the hub. This is only to make sure the race is fully seated. After that, you only finger tighten the nut firmly and back it off around 1/3turn but never less that about 1/8 turn. Leaving zero clearance forces metal on metal contact. Leaving proper clearance allows the grease to keep a film of lubrication between the race and the rollers. If you grease the hub with the grease fitting, pump the grease in very, very slowly while turning the hub to keep from blowing out the seal. Also, on these seals, I always use a sealant like Permatex gasket sealer to give additional holding power to keep the seal from blowing out. Lastly, every time you stop, check the temp of the hubs. They should all be the same temp and if you can’t keep your fingers on one of them or one is significantly hotter, you have a problem, and a warning. Good luck.. and check the clearance of your other bearings as soon as possible.
Hey Calvin. We really appreciate your informative comment and the fact that you took the time to write such detail. We did end up replacing all the races and bearings and everything you said is what the individual (Steve in the video) told me during the full workup recently. We determined that when I replaced the brakes, I left the nut too tight on that and one other wheel. A lesson learned the hard way. Again, your information is so valuable to anyone towing a trailer. Thanks again and we wish you well!
If you packed the bearing, did you torque the axle nut to spec once you put it back on? I'm only curious because often times when I see bearing failures like this, it's the result of an over torqued axle nut. Too tight and you compress the bearing race to a point where it doesn't permit the bearings to roll without generating insane amounts of friction, irrespective of grease. Too loose and the bearing picks up debris, dirt and the spindle play worsens and fails over time. .. and I just got to the end as I was typing this where you mention over tightening. Lol. Wheel bearings are no joke. Do them right, and they'll be trouble free for miles... Do them wrong and well.... Don't let this discourage you from continuing to do your own work. Learn from your mistake and invest in a reliable torque wrench. Travel on!
Thank you so much for commenting! You nailed it. Thanks to Steve, we not only learned a valuable lesson, but also left with the knowledge to do it right going forward. We still talk about how glad we are that this happened based on the long term outcome. Oh, and a good torque wrench was the first purchase after this debacle. We only hope this video helps emphasize the importance of proper bearing maintenance to others with trailers. We appreciate you following along and wish you well!
Lol. That’s horrible y’all. But man crap happens. Lol. You can always count on RVers to help though ! For my 2 cents…. You see a lot of people using ezlube axles and pumping grease into to them until the old grease is displaced. That’s all well and good but what’s it’s done is ruptured the rear seal. Causes issues. Not saying you did that. Just info for the future. Glad you guys got it all fixed !
Loving your outlook and appreciate the kind words! All bearings are replaced and were packed by hand (next video). We also figured out several possibilities for the failure. The ez lube axles should be discontinued (if I can state my opinion). Thanks so much for commenting and we wish you well.
So glad you had that done Margaret! We're really learning the importance of doing all of the maintenance correct the first time. May your journeys go "smoothly" (pun intended). Wishing you well.
@@ResetYourJourney Thank you! The "fix it guys" did tell me that some of the bearings were well warn. PS: I know nothing about this stuff. After my next journey I will have my breaks done. Promise. 😊
The wheel that failed because of the bearings had some brake pad damage. Ultimately, we replaced the brake pad on that wheel. The brake mechanism was fine. And since all the brakes were new, all is fine now. Thanks so much for commenting Jacque! Wishing you well.
The same thing happened to me last night Luckily, we were only 40 miles away from home and able to make it back. I'm also going to replace all 4 of my hub bearings.
It probably would have Brad. Our TPMS didn't even show disconnected, but it's not exactly the best on the market. That said, we habitually do a temperature feel of the hubs every time we stop. This trip just happened to be less than an hour, so there were no stops. At least the wheel waited to fall off where we were planning to camp. So many lessons learned! Thank you for commenting and we wish you well!
We're not sure where he has land in Alaska. You have a great rig to fulltime in for your journey. Very exciting for you! Thank you for commenting and we wish you well!
We've since added one to the collection. It's especially handy for weight distribution hitch adjustments. Shoot, it's awesome for a lot of jobs! Thanks for commenting and we wish you well!
A valid question ZeebNinja (awesome handle BTW). We have a TPMS system and sadly it doesn't detect temperature. For that reason I always check hub temperature at almost every stop. The sensors are on the nozzle, so there was no indication. But alas, we've learned SO much from the experience. Thank you so much for commenting and we wish you well!
That's exactly what I said in my post. I even carry extra leaf springs, shackles, U-bolts, equalizer and hardware in addition to impact wrenches and 3 jacks. I don't want to be stuck on the side of the highway for 12 hours waiting to get towed. I hate hauling all this stuff with us, but if something with the suspension or bearings goes bad on a trip, I'm prepared.
Thank you for commenting Todd. We actually have one on the trailer and it faulted. That's why I was so dumbfounded. Although, it doesn't measure hub temperature. We habitually palm check our hubs at every stop. That drive that day was only 50 miles, so there were no stops. But alas, we're really glad it happened because of the chain of events following and the new friends. Wishing you well Todd.
@@ResetYourJourney no most do not measure hub temp but the air temp should have been up from the hub, this is why I always watch my display to see if anything is out of normal. Glad everything worked out for you and happy camping 🏕 😊
Thank you Todd. The lessons learned were priceless. And hopefully it helps others recognize potential hazards. Don't blame you for keeping an eye on the gauges. Smart move. Happy camping!
I don't understand what you said when you greased it yourself you stuck the hose in and pumped it in a little bit what did you mean you tighten it too much what did you tighten too much you said the brakes can you clarify it for me
Dexter axles are supposed to be easy to maintain Ustick Tahoes in and pump some grease in there that's all you need to do what did you mean you tighten the brakes
We thought the same thing Mark, but by pumping in the grease it blew out a portion of the seal, leaking grease into the hub around the brakes. It was a small amount, but enough to cause s problem. Now I understand why mechanics frown of the ez lube system so much. Also, the castle nut may have been improperly torqued. I hope that clarifies things for you. Wishing you well.
@@ResetYourJourney thank you for clarifying that I want to be a pain but I took my RV to Florida and back and I want to put some grease in there I don't know how much to put in there maybe I'll just put a couple pumps in each one
@@ResetYourJourney I'm a little confused with the ez lube system after reading some responses. Are you saying that they shouldn't be used? I just bought 4 tubes of Lucas grease to do mine with. Now I'm a little hesitant about using them to inject the grease in my bearings. I had a friend tell me that you should do it on a hot day so the grease is a little more thinner and it gives it a better chance of being pushed through the bearings. The only way I can see blowing out one of those grease seals by using the ez lube zerks is if the grease is thick by being cold and really pumping the grease gun like crazy to inject it. The grease seals look like they are a pita just to get out when you do a bearing job, let alone just by injecting grease with a hand held grease gun.
Not be an expert on the matter, I'm hesitant to give too much direction. I can only convey what happened to our wheels. We kept the wheel in motion while injecting, used the suggested grease and pumped slowly and some of the seals still leaked. That said, the wheel that failed was due to overtightening of the nut and a lack of dust seal. Even though it's a little more work, I'll be doing them all by hand going forward and more frequently. I'm not sure if this helps your decision, but I do wish you all the best.
@@ResetYourJourney yup I carry extra propane regulator, bearings, bolts n screws, seals, water pump, brake parts, 2x tires for spare and most important things to bring tools. Its to extreme but I traveled from California to Florida to Oregon etc. You don't know when you break down. Just being prepared
You are so right! I keep meaning to add a spare water pump to the arsenal and will pick up when convenient. You travel like us and are well prepared. Thank you for commenting and we wish you well.
We love how robust and well built our ORV is and we've definitely put it through the wringer! Not sure if there is a perfect rig out there for full-timing, but ORV is definitely in the top 5!
Yes, doing the brakes myself because no one could take us for service in our timeline and improperly torqueing the nut was partially responsible. Or one could say that injecting the zerk valves the previous month was a mistake. Who's at fault, Dexter Axle making that possible or myself? We also checked the hub temperature at regular intervals for 3000 miles with no issues. We are not born with a wealth of information and learn by doing. Despite the outcome, I'm proud to say I was willing to take the risk and do something out of my comfort zone. Thank you for commenting and we wish you well.
What "Stupidity!" Can't believe you have been RV'ng for over a decade and let your wheel bearings fail! I mean you really have to be ignoring a lot of things for it to get bad enough for a wheel to fall off!
On the contrary Mitch, we've been RVing for 1 year. And mistakenly injecting the Axles rather than packing by hand may have caused the issue. We are not born with a wealth of information, but please know that the maintenance was not disregarded. In fact, it was done to Dexter Axle's specs 3000 miles before this happened. Our hope with this video is not to invite ridicule (since we've all been less than intelligent at times), but to influence others to manage their bearing correctly. Thank you for commenting and we wish you well.
The bearings had just been repacked 4000 miles previously, but the missing dust seal allowed a lot of the dust into the outer bearings leading to the failure.
Agreed, but after redoing our bearings with higher end replacements it was determined that the lack of dust seals or potential over-torqueing of that wheel was responsible for the failure.
