Wheel Bearings and Hot Water Heater - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-08-2008, 11:33 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 1998 17 ft Casita Spirit Deluxe / Red F150 X-Cab
Posts: 378
Seems like I've heard wheel bearings should be repacked every other year. Wouldn't it really depend on how many miles you tow your trailer as to whether it needs to be done every year or two or three?

Secondly, I've never drained the hot water heater in my 98 Casita SDX since buying it last year. How often should this be done? I haven't looked at it to figure out how either. Any tips?
Lisa M. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2008, 08:51 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
BobB's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2004 Bigfoot 17 ft ('Beastie')
Posts: 564
Registry
Hi Lisa,

You should drain the WH during cold weather because it might freeze and damage the tank. I would drain it at the end of each camping trip, but you don't have to. You need a 1-1/16" socket wrench to get the plug/anode out. A more user friendly set-up would be a universal anode/petcock combination, which you can get at an RV parts store. You might want to have it installed if you decide to go that route.

I wouldn't do the wheel bearings for another year. I had them serviced twice and they looked great each time. The brakes were adjusted just before you bought it. They should be good for another year as long as they seem to be working OK.
BobB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2008, 09:11 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Dan Meyer's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2000 Scamp 16 ft Side Dinette
Posts: 728
The problem our trailers face are two fold.

First, they tend to suffer from lack of use. They sit outside, and temperatures change. This sometimes results in moisture condensing on the camper. If the bearings are not perfectly sealed, there could be moisture condensing in the wheel bearings also. The easist way to deal with this is to repack the wheel bearings and replace the seals every year or two on your schedule, not on the side of the road when they fail - or worse, having to have the camper towed into a garage on a flatbed to have the old bearings cut off because they were run without grease and they have fused themselves to the axle.

The second issue out trailers deal with is neglect. I know, many here take fastidious care of their campers, and I try to as well. The truth is, at least for me, my trailer will sit in the back yard for weeks and I will hook up on Friday evening and hit the road without checking everything I should. I may have noticed a minor problem the last time I parked the trailer, and with the best intentions tell myself the problem will be fixed within a week. Then some other minor crisis happens. The trailer doesn't get fixed, and the problem is forgotten until it is noticed again during the next trip. Sooner or later this will bite you.

Bottom line: If you do nothing else to maintain your camper, monitor the wheel bearings closely. If almost anything else fails on your camper, you will still be able to hitch up and take it home. With failed wheel bearings you will likely get towed on a flatbed to the nearest garage.

As for the water heater; mine gets drained at minimum once a year, in the fall, when the trailer gets winterized.

-- Dan Meyer
Dan Meyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2008, 10:04 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
Roger H's Avatar
 
Trailer: Y2K6 Bigfoot 25 ft (25B25RQ) & Y2K3 Scamp 16 ft Side Dinette
Posts: 5,040
Lisa, Dan offers good counsel. The only thing I can add is regarding the water heater. If I plan to let the trailer sit for more than a couple of weeks, I allow it to drain. That does a couple of things; first it allows the tank to dry out. Water heater failures occur because of rusting at the weld seams with heatup/cool down cycles. If the seams aren't wet, it's much more difficult for them to rust (in a steel tank, anyway). Second, things grow in water that sits including water heaters. Third, I allow the water heater to flush for a couple of minutes when refilling it prior to taking off again on the next trip.

It's worked OK so far for me.

Roger
Roger H is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2008, 07:57 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 1998 17 ft Casita Spirit Deluxe / Red F150 X-Cab
Posts: 378
Thank you all for your advice! I will drain the water heater this week. I guess it would have been better to be doing it after each trip. A trucker friend just helped another trucker friend of ours repack his wheel bearings, showed him how so he could do it himself next time. So I've got a couple friends to teach me when the time comes.

Bob, here I try not to bother you with questions all the time (don't want to make you sorry for selling your Casita to me!) and you're the one who always chimes in first with an answer. Thanks!
Lisa M. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2008, 08:40 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Pete Dumbleton's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 3,072
Send a message via Yahoo to Pete Dumbleton
Once you have the WH drained, consider putting in a by-pass kit. Allows you to drain it for winter, yet fill lines with anti-freeze. Wally, less than $20.
Pete Dumbleton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-09-2008, 08:45 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 1998 17 ft Casita Spirit Deluxe / Red F150 X-Cab
Posts: 378
That sounds different from what Bob was talking about. Can I do both? I'm not sure that it's really necessary where I live. It only dropped below 32 degrees for a few hours a night a few nights this winter. A couple I met at Lake Casita who live in Fresno (near me) said they never winterize, it's not a problem. Last winter it probably would have been a good idea because it was very cold, so I guess I should learn how for the future and watch the weather report!


Quote:
Once you have the WH drained, consider putting in a by-pass kit. Allows you to drain it for winter, yet fill lines with anti-freeze. Wally, less than $20.
Lisa M. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2008, 11:22 AM   #8
Senior Member
 
Pete Dumbleton's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 3,072
Send a message via Yahoo to Pete Dumbleton
I posted that for general info, but you put CA in your info and that can mean CAnada also...
Pete Dumbleton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-10-2008, 09:12 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 1998 17 ft Casita Spirit Deluxe / Red F150 X-Cab
Posts: 378
Very good point, Pete! Most people have never heard of Hanford, where cows outnumber people ___ to one. It does freeze big time in many parts of CA so you were right on...
Lisa M. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2008, 11:36 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Pete Dumbleton's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 3,072
Send a message via Yahoo to Pete Dumbleton
There's a Hanford up here in WA (or down here if one is in the other CA) that's rather infamous...
Pete Dumbleton is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-11-2008, 11:58 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
Byron Kinnaman's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 7,056
Registry
Quote:
There's a Hanford up here in WA (or down here if one is in the other CA) that's rather infamous...
Ya! the WA Hanford is famous for it's glow in the dark rabbits.
__________________
Byron & Anne enjoying the everyday Saturday thing.
Byron Kinnaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
wheel bearings thomas kaz Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 6 06-15-2009 10:53 PM
Wheel bearings JOE DRISSEL Care and Feeding of Molded Fiberglass Trailers 39 05-16-2006 10:57 PM
Wheel Bearings. General Chat 0 01-01-1970 12:00 AM
Wheel Bearings General Chat 0 01-01-1970 12:00 AM
Wheel Bearings and Hot Water Heater Lisa M. General Chat 0 01-01-1970 12:00 AM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:53 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.