How to Repack Wheel Bearings- 2009 Scamp 13'

[fieldphoto]

Ok, I am sure this question has been answered before, but in searching the forums I couldn't find my answer in exactly the form I am hoping for, so I will pose it here.

I am a new scamp owner. I need to repack the wheel bearings and would like to do it myself. I am pretty handy, however I have never done this before.

I have some very specific questions.

1. What tools will I need to complete this job? I imagine a torque wrench, a jack (can I use the one from my car for changing a spare?), plyers, towels, screwdriver? chisel?

2. What parts do I need for this job? Is this the right bearing kit? Do you recommend another one?
Wheel Bearings

The end caps on the hub are pretty dry rotted. Is this something that would replace them?
Bearing Buddy

Hopefully this link works... this is a shared album link to photos of my current dry rot axle covers. https://goo.gl/photos/1U5Y5jr3jbrYxnAA6

3. Are there any tutorials or YouTube videos or links that you all can share that will provide step by step directions? I follow instructions well.

Thank you!!

-Ginny

[Darral T.]

Very simple...just go to Youtube and type in "repacking wheel...." and they start popping up.

But, I'll go ahead and post this as it lists several vids on repacking. I would watch SEVERAL as different folks have different ideas. Dont watch a poorly video-taped one where somebody is just wanting air time. You can quickly tell the difference between those who know what they're doing and others that want notoriety.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ngs+on+trailer

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

... I would watch SEVERAL as different folks have different ideas. Dont watch a poorly video-taped one where somebody is just wanting air time. You can quickly tell the difference between those who know what they're doing and others that want notoriety.

...[/URL]

Darn good advice.. I have watched a lot of online videos for trailer bearings and brakes, and even I know some of what people have said in the videos is just plain wrong.

Also be sure to identify exactly what you have (bearing buddy for example) and then go to the manufacture for instructions. If dexter, perhaps http://www.dexteraxle.com/i/u/614960...d_Bearings.pdf is your best and most reliable instruction but look for the links that pertain to the equipment you have.

And look for generally trusted sources such as etrailer.com

[GregandTeresa]

To heck with youtube videos, I'll just invite Darral and the missus over for dinner when mine needs done

[stevebaz]

http://www.timken.com/en-us/products...ments/6347.pdf

Repacking Trailer Tire Bearings - Trailering - BoatUS Magazine

Bearing Down: Repacking RV Wheel Bearings

Always make sure the trailer hub seal is a double lip seal and replace it every time when you repack your bearings. Always replace the bearing cone in the hub when replacing the roller bearings. Carry spare bearings, wheel seals and cotter pins. Carrying a spare grease cap is good to. When you have the time grease up a set of bearings cone and race and cotter pin, and a grease seal. Add a big blob of grease all in a zip lock bag. Then place this in a clean used butter container or tupperware with several pairs of rubber gloves and hide it in your trailer for a rainy day. A failed bearing in the middle of nowhere and you will be glad you did this. Don't buy the cheapest bearings you can find. Got to a trailer supply or a bearing store and try to buy a name brand bearing or at least an upgrade bearing. Your bearing parts have numbers on them. A good bearing supplier can reference that to get you the proper bearings.

[Darral T.]

Nooooo... I just plan on coming over and sitting in there and enjoying what a REAL camper should look like . Wow... Then I just plan to walk by and google-eye at the new wheels and bearings that just need running! ....lol.

Shoot! Come to think of it...I dont want to do my own! (And havent in 6+ yrs )

(Tell'm to hurry up! )

Originally Posted by GregandTeresa

To heck with youtube videos, I'll just invite Darral and the missus over for dinner when mine needs done

[Johnny M]

First, with the trailer properly jacked up and supported by jack stands for safety. If you know how to get the wheels off you will then see a cap on the end of the hub. Carefully remove this without bending or damaging it (it should just pull off). Then there will be a nut behind it called a castle nut which has a cotter pin through it. Remove the pin and nut. The hub should then slide off the spindle. You may have to work it off with a little effort. Now one bearing should easily come out the front. Set it aside. The other bearing will come out the back but you must remove the seal from the back of the hub for it to come out. Use a punch and carefully tap it out from the front with light taps while the hub sits on a block of wood. Now the other bearing should come out easily. With a parts washer or rags and mineral spirits thoroughly clean both bearings until all grease is removed. Dry with a clean rag and roll them by hand on the rag to remove residue and/or blow out with an air compressor. Keep them clean and free of any grit or dirt. Now with a rag clean the spindle and the smooth metal races the bearing rid on inside the hub. Also clean any old grease off the nut, pin, hub, etc. Inspect the bearing, spindle and races for any damage. Replace any worn or damaged components with new ones or proceed if there is no damage. Damage would be pitting, gouges, rub marks, deformation, etc. Now get some hi temp wheel bearing grease for disc brakes (for about $3.99) in a container. Put some grease in the palm of your hand and push the edge of the bearing down into the grease to pack it in the bearing openings until it pushes out the opposite end. Slowly do this around the entire bearing until clean grease is pushed all the way through. Put some clean grease on both races and the spindle. Place the bearing back into the hub correctly orientated and tap in the old seal (after cleaning and if there is no visible damage or then replace the seal). Re-install the hub in reverse order. Tighten the hub castle nut until it stops and the hub can spin by hand with effort. Then loosen the nut until you can put a new cotter pin in (be sure to bend the ends of the pin so it can't fall out.) Check to make sure there is no movement or play in the hub that would allow the wheels to tilt and that the wheel/hub can turn freely. So tight that you can't rotate it by hand is too tight, too loose that the hub rocks is too loose. The castle nut torque has to be in the middle. Now put the hub cap back on (lightly tap until evenly seated). Then re-install the wheels.

[fieldphoto]

OK.
1st, thanks for all the suggestions. I feel completely confident that I can do this, but I will feel better after I have done it once!

I called my local NAPA parts store and they have 2 bearing kits for me. The kit includes cotter pin, gasket, inner and outer bearings. I will also need some additional grease.

As for tools, this is what I have gathered from the links you all provided, please tell me if this is correct:

1. Torque wrench- Required (to remove wheel)
2. Packer- Not required, but useful. Can pack grease by hand
3. Large Screwdriver/Chisel- Required
3. Pliers/Channel Locks- Required
4. Hammer- Required
5. Punch to remove Race from Hub- ? I saw this mentioned in one explanation but not another. is this something I need?

A bearing Buddy seems like a good option so that grease can be added in between replacements. Am I understanding it's function correctly? It would replace the dry rot rubber caps, correct?

Anything Else?

(PS. As for watching videos... I am with you all.. there are some really bad ones out there! I tend to watch several, and look for consistent themes)

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by fieldphoto

OK.
1st, thanks for all the suggestions. I feel completely confident that I can do this, but I will feel better after I have done it once!

I called my local NAPA parts store and they have 2 bearing kits for me. The kit includes cotter pin, gasket, inner and outer bearings. I will also need some additional grease.

As for tools, this is what I have gathered from the links you all provided, please tell me if this is correct:

1. Torque wrench- Required (to remove wheel)
To remove wheel? First, Never, Never, Ever use a torque wrench to "bust loose" a tight nut. You will ruin it. Use a "breaker bar" if you can't get it loose with a standard wrench or socket wrench.
2. Packer- Not required, but useful. Can pack grease by hand
3. Large Screwdriver/Chisel- Required
3. Pliers/Channel Locks- Required
4. Hammer- Required
5. Punch to remove Race from Hub- ? I saw this mentioned in one explanation but not another. is this something I need?

A bearing Buddy seems like a good option so that grease can be added in between replacements. Am I understanding it's function correctly? It would replace the dry rot rubber caps, correct? Not correct. Unless you have a boat trailer, you don't want to completely fill the spindle/bearing void space full of grease. And people who use "grease guns" to force grease into the void will pay for it down the road. All bearing and axle manufacturers will tell you not to fully pack the void space with grease. The spindle/hub/bearing needs to have a certain amount of "air space" inside in order to dissipate heat. If you completely fill this void with grease (as most everyone with a grease gun does) you take away the ability to dissipate heat. Further, you risk squeezing grease out through the grease seal, which will not only ruin the grease seal, but will also probably puke grease into your brake drum onto the brake shoes. Your brakes won't appreciate the extra lubrication since they work on the principle of creating friction.

Anything Else? Yes, never drive the new races or bearing seals in with a hammer or a piece of steel. If you can't get your hands on a proper setting tool, at least use a piece of wood or soft metal (copper/brass) to seat the new races and seals. If you beat them in with a hammer, you just ruined them too.

(PS. As for watching videos... I am with you all.. there are some really bad ones out there! I tend to watch several, and look for consistent themes)

Stay away from ALL of those stupid half-baked U-Tube videos. They are made by idiots who don't know S#!*, but want to be on "tv", and don't know diddly about anything. 99.9% of U-Tube videos are total crap and mis-information.

[fieldphoto]

Greg,

I TOTALLY meant torque wrench to put the wheel back on... not to remove it. My apologies for the confusion. Standard wrench to remove lug nuts.

Great explanation of the Bearing Buddy and grease. From what I hear you say, the grease that I will apply to the bearings following the proper directions above will be the appropriate amount. No additional grease needs to be applied.

I read on some threads here that folks are replacing/repacking bearings annually, but adding grease throughout the year if there is heavy usage... it sounds like you find this to be overkill?

If all of this is the case, it sounds like I should skip the bearing buddy and just get a new little cap for the axle end instead.

As for the hammer to set the races/bearing seals, I did not intend to use the hammer directly, but instead use a wood block to distribute force.

[Darral T.]

Scamp's site has about 20 helpful videos that's YT's.... Dexter Axle's site- to whom they've also been referred- has about 11 YT's... and that's just to name two companies. I guess these companies are all idiots.

Originally Posted by Casita Greg

Stay away from ALL of those stupid half-baked U-Tube videos. They are made by idiots who don't know S#!*, but want to be on "tv", and don't know diddly about anything. 99.9% of U-Tube videos are total crap and mis-information.

[Glenn Baglo]

I'd never watch YouTube videos.
I'd go to a RV forum. You can get any answer you want and a lot you don't.

[Casita Greg]

You seem to have a pretty good handle on it. As far as "Bearing Buddies" go, I don't like them for travel trailers. As far as their use goes, they are mainly found on boat trailers. The reasoning behind them in that application is not the same reasoning for cars, trucks or travel trailers though. They are designed to completely fill the void with grease as a stop-gap to allowing water entry into the hub. Whenever you run an axle for a period of time, you will create a certain amount of heat. When you back a boat trailer down the ramp to launch your boat, you just introduced instant cold temperature to the wheel hub. As everyone knows, cold causes contraction, which could pull water into the hub. It is, at best, a compromise for boat trailer wheel hubs, but not really all that applicable to travel trailers.
As far as repacking bearings annually, I also feel that this practice is overkill too. Do you repack your car or truck axles every year? And I would guess that you probably put considerably more mileage on those vehicles than you do with your trailer. It doesn't hurt to do it every few years, but it really isn't necessary every year just because it is a trailer.

[Casita Greg]

Originally Posted by Darral T.

Scamp's site has about 20 helpful videos that's YT's.... Dexter Axle's site- to whom they've also been referred- has about 11 YT's... and that's just to name two companies. I guess these companies are all idiots.

I'm not talking about manufacturer's videos. I'm talking about the "home-made" ones by some back yard shade tree mechanic wanna-be who doesn't have a clue, (which probably includes 99.9% of them.)

[Raz]

I called my local NAPA parts store and they have 2 bearing kits for me. The kit includes cotter pin, gasket, inner and outer bearings. I will also need some additional grease.

A 2009 trailer should not need the bearings replaced.. A spare set perhaps? Also don't forget the seal. Like you, I had never done bearings until I got my first trailer. I stuck with the Dexter manual. It even recommends the grease to use. Good luck, Raz

[fieldphoto]

Greg,

Thank you for verbalizing what I have thought for a while about the frequency required in repacks (I just didn't want to say much as a newbie)...
I see both sides... as far as I understand it, car axles from the manufacturer are far tighter sealed, and less likely to dry out or have issues- so of course they shouldn't need to have that seal un-necessarily broken and exposed if not needed. But, cars get a lot more miles than our little scamp will. To me there seems to be a balance of common sense and precaution here.

In our journey home after buying the camper (if you followed our original thread, which I believe you have) we were concerned about getting home without the bearings being replaced. We talked to a mechanic at a Love's Travel Stop and he talked to us about heat buildup- so, we at least started hand checking the heat of the axle at each stop to see if it felt hot to the touch. Not the most accurate method i'm sure, but it did give us some consolation in our trip home of possibly being able to detect if we were on the verge of a disaster. I have read that some people carry a laser heat gun and check the temp that way while driving. Overkill?

[fieldphoto]

So Raz, you are suggesting I clean (and inspect) the existing bearings and repack? I was just operating under the assumption of "If I am going to bother to disassemble, I might as well put in new parts since they are cheap"....

[Casita Greg]

If they are those "blister pack" bearing kits, I'd tend to shy away from them. They are notorious for being made from very inferior quality materials. FWIW, I would rather buy a good set of Timken bearings and races in lieu of those "pre-packaged kits".

Also, a good set of bearings, (Timken,) along with the associated races and seals, will run you close to $50.00 per wheel for the complete set. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Clean them real good with Kerosene and repack them by hand. If they're in good shape, why replace them? It wouldn't hurt to have, and keep, a spare set in your travel kit just in case, but I wouldn't just replace them to replace them.

[Raz]

Originally Posted by fieldphoto

So Raz, you are suggesting I clean (and inspect) the existing bearings and repack? I was just operating under the assumption of "If I am going to bother to disassemble, I might as well put in new parts since they are cheap"....

If the bearings have been properly serviced, yes. I do mine yearly. There is usually a little contamination at the seal, the rest looks like I just did the job. On the other hand, if I found dirt, burnt bearings, etc, I'd replace them. At 30k I redid my brakes . I bought a brake plate and a drum kit. The drum kit came with new bearings and races already installed. So at 30k I got new bearings not because I needed them but because the kit came with them. The old bearings are in a baggie, greased as suggested. Just in case.

[floyd]

You don't say what year your Scamp13 is or if the axle has been replaced.
Do you have brakes?