Up on Blocks for the winter

[mitch]

I put my camper up on jackstands for the winter to take stress off the axle and tires.  When I spin the tires by hand I hear a faint intermittent scraping that I assume is the brake pad on the drum.  Is this normal?  I'm pretty sure I remember it doing the same thing last year and when traveling this year the wheels didn't get abnormally hot but it seems to me that the tire should spin completely freely. 

[solds88]

[font size="3"]This is usually the case andyour assumption is probably correct. However, if you are still concerned, jostle the wheel and check for abnormal play. Look at the inside of the wheel for signs of grease escaping from the seal. If either of these conditions exist, you should have some concern. I did wheel/bearing maintenance once and found that some of the "Chinese" bearings had turned blue, indicative of excess heat and/or inferior steel. There was no noise or indication of failure and the bearing was full of grease. Most sources will tell you to inspect and repack your bearings once a year. I carry spare bearings and seals in my tool box when I'm on the road. I can replace these, myself, on the road. But now days if I start to do something like this my arthritis says "No don't do this, you'll be sorry". Bottom line, you can usually find someone to do the work, but finding the parts on a weekend, in the middle of nowhere can be difficult.           [/font]

[mitch]

Thanks for the input.  I should probably have the bearings done next spring although the trailer only has about 4,000 miles total. I've watched it done on Youtube but never done done it myself and it's one of those jobs that should probably be right the first time around.

[mjhall]

Mitch, when I checked my wheels on my 21BHS I heard brake noise when rotating. I looked up Dexter Axles on Livin Lite's website under warrany and on Dexter Axles website and followed the Instruction sheet for Hubs /  Drums / Bearings. It says the bearings should be lubricated every 12 months or 12,000 miles for grease packed type bearings. They also list the appropriate grease to use with the bearing type.    http://www.livinlite.com/pdf/600-8K_DexterAxleServiceManual.pdf 

The Dexter Axle service manual is really well written and easy to follow, I used it to readjust my wheel bearings and to make sure everything checked out before a recent long trip. 

Pete

[mitch]

Thanks Pete, I'll definitely check that out.