Scamp 13 slight lift

[Eddie Longest]

I wanted to slightly raise a 2005 Scamp 13 for a little more axle and plumbing clearance. The original axle was not worn completely out and the brakes appeared not to have been used at all. I ordered a blank axle and reused my bearings and brakes. The specs. were the same as the original but I went with a 0 degree axle instead of a 22.5 up angle axle. The axle cost about $225. picked up from the distributor.
The specs said I should get a 2" lift but with the wear on the original axle I actually gained about 2.5". The mod. worked out really well for me. I could have gone with a steeper angle axle but it would have raised the hitch and door threshold too much. I just thought I would pass on the information.
Eddie

[Roy in TO]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

reused my bearings

Why?
Other than saving a few $$?

[Eddie Longest]

Roy
The old hubs and brakes were like new and the trailer seems to have had very little use. I cleaned, inspected and repacked the bearings and hubs and matched the bearings to their old race. There was no pitting and the surfaces looked like great. No more than a normal repack. The only issue was finding double lip seals for the #9 EZ lube axle.
Eddie

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by Eddie Longest

Roy
The old hubs and brakes were like new and the trailer seems to have had very little use. I cleaned, inspected and repacked the bearings and hubs and matched the bearings to their old race. There was no pitting and the surfaces looked like great. No more than a normal repack. The only issue was finding double lip seals for the #9 EZ lube axle.
Eddie

Nuthin' wrong with reusing good bearings. If properly lubed they will last just about forever.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Roy in TO

Why?
Other than saving a few $$?

Why not? They'll go for several hundred thousand miles, if cared for. We had a lot of vehicles over 200k, up to 400k, think they all had original bearings.

[Roy in TO]

OK, I understand now. I was taught to replace the small stuff that wears out when replacing the big stuff.

[Jared J]

The only time I've had to replace trailer bearings was because the seal failed and let water in. I do not reuse dust seals, ever. I know some people do, but the a rubber wear part, and new ones are cheap prevention, IMHO.

I also don't believe in ez lube axles, or lacking them by pushing old grease out with new. Remove all grease, clean in solvent tank, spray with brake clean to remove any solvent that could harm new grease, then repack.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Jared J

The only time I've had to replace trailer bearings was because the seal failed and let water in. I do not reuse dust seals, ever. I know some people do, but the a rubber wear part, and new ones are cheap prevention, IMHO.

I also don't believe in ez lube axles, or lacking them by pushing old grease out with new. Remove all grease, clean in solvent tank, spray with brake clean to remove any solvent that could harm new grease, then repack.

They're real , trust me!(and they work great!)
You are right about one thing, grease seals are cheap, I paid big money for some new "brand name" seals which were barely worth installing. I can't find any with a flange, for a straight spindle axle.

[Jared J]

Oh, I have an ez lube axle, but it'll never see a grease gun.

[Kinslayer]

Originally Posted by Jared J

Oh, I have an ez lube axle, but it'll never see a grease gun.

You're argument is similar to the argument between synthetic oil vs natural dino oil - people say you can run synthetic longer but the cost is higher..

The argument the other way is that it's better to change your oil four times regardless of the oil 'quality' than it is to have a better oil you change less frequently.

You aren't going to re-pack your bearings every time you go out or probably not even every season. If you do you are a nutter or you go Bolering too much (not possible)

On the other side of the coin, it's easy to grab your grease gun and give your axles a shot every couple of trips and even though it's not the ABSOLUTE BEST POSSIBLE THING for your bearings, it is a lightyear away from the worst.

[Jared J]

I clean and repack my bearings on my trailers the first time they're used every year. It's quick (only takes 15 minutes or so per wheel), I know the condition of my bearings/seals/brakes, and there's no risk of pushing grease into my brakes.

Each to their own, that grease zerk will never be touched on mine.

[mike g]

bearing buddies are a great help in maintaining steady grease to the bearings

[Donna D.]

Hi Mike, to FiberglassRV, we're glad you're here

Bearing buddies are designed for boat trailers, it keeps the water out of the bearings. I don't advocate bearing buddies on axles for travel trailers... I'm sure others will offer their opinions as well.

However, my Scamp does have an EZ lube axle, which is VERY different than Bearing Buddies.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by mike g

bearing buddies are a great help in maintaining steady grease to the bearings

Oh no!
Another discussion of boat trailer hardware used on travel trailers! Do we really need to do this again?

Bearing Buddies are to keep water out of the bearings of boat trailers which are submerged in water; they are not to provide a continual supply of grease, which is not needed. They risk pushing grease into the brakes of trailers equipped with them. They are completely unlike Dexter's E-Z Lube or similar grease-flushing systems from other axle manufacturers.

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by mike g

bearing buddies are a great help in maintaining steady grease to the bearings

And brakes, they never wear out! At least the ez lubes don't keep constant pressure in the seals.