Please - anyone towing a van - get your wheel bearings checked and filled with grease. Had mine done today and they were dry. Now have Wheel bBddies installed so I can do it myself. So close to a disaster had one collapsed on me! Didnt know about these things! When I think of the rough roads (sealed!) that I have been on lately.......
jetj said
10:17 PM Aug 10, 2012
Good advice from experience. When they collapse, it's a bugger.!
turbopete said
11:35 PM Aug 10, 2012
be very careful with the amount of grease you pump into the bearing buddies.too much grease will blow the seals,, really bearings only need to be checked once a year say 40/50 thousand k Peter
spida said
12:35 AM Aug 11, 2012
turbopete wrote:
be very careful with the amount of grease you pump into the bearing buddies.too much grease will blow the seals,, really bearings only need to be checked once a year say 40/50 thousand k Peter
thank you Peter - he did mention not puting too much in and blowing the seals but I thought he said every 3000km or so. Way more often than you suggest. I will just get a man/garage to do it anyway At least I am very aware now and think I may have had a lucky escape - Perth to Queensland and 13,000km! You would think they would have been done when I bought the van (2006 and from a dealer) and should be fine still! Makes me wonder.
wendyv said
02:34 AM Aug 13, 2012
Another thing to have checked is the electric brake magnets. We found we got about 30,000 km out of a set of magnets - but that was a mix of dirt and sealed roads, and small single axle van. We always carried a spare set of magnets - they never "go" in civilized places!
beiffe said
04:14 PM Aug 15, 2012
A good way to keep and eye on your bearings is to use a infrared thermometer to check you bearings when you stop. Only takes a few seconds as you walk around your rig. You also check your tyres as it will show any tyre under pressure as it will be hotter than the others. great for other things such as checking the ground temperature the temperature of your cooking utensels as well as lots of things in your travels.
Regards Brian
Cruising Granny said
04:41 AM Aug 16, 2012
It's a simple maintenance thing. If you do the tug, you do the van, especially if you've done a lot of long trips with long breaks in between. If you're on the road full time with only short breaks, once a year is good as long as you monitor. Most of the time it requires repacking with grease, not necessarily new barings and seals.
03_troopy said
03:08 AM Aug 18, 2012
beiffe wrote:
A good way to keep and eye on your bearings is to use a infrared thermometer to check you bearings when you stop. Only takes a few seconds as you walk around your rig. You also check your tyres as it will show any tyre under pressure as it will be hotter than the others. great for other things such as checking the ground temperature the temperature of your cooking utensels as well as lots of things in your travels.
Regards Brian
Or even feel the temperature with your hand on the non hubcap type wheels. Something I often do as force of habit when I stop for fuel or whatever.
Cupie said
08:34 PM Aug 24, 2012
As a part of my routine maintenance. When home for at least 4 weeks, I put the van on stands & take the opportunity to remove all wheels, check the magnets & repack the wheel bearings.
I have had the same running gear for >!50,000KM of blacktop driving ... It's all about maintenance & driving habits in my opinion.
Please - anyone towing a van - get your wheel bearings checked and filled with grease. Had mine done today and they were dry. Now have Wheel bBddies installed so I can do it myself. So close to a disaster had one collapsed on me! Didnt know about these things! When I think of the rough roads (sealed!) that I have been on lately.......
be very careful with the amount of grease you pump into the bearing buddies.too much grease will blow the seals,, really bearings only need to be checked once a year say 40/50 thousand k Peter
thank you Peter - he did mention not puting too much in and blowing the seals but I thought he said every 3000km or so. Way more often than you suggest. I will just get a man/garage to do it anyway
At least I am very aware now and think I may have had a lucky escape - Perth to Queensland and 13,000km! You would think they would have been done when I bought the van (2006 and from a dealer) and should be fine still! Makes me wonder.
We found we got about 30,000 km out of a set of magnets - but that was a mix of dirt and sealed roads, and small single axle van.
We always carried a spare set of magnets - they never "go" in civilized places!
Regards
Brian
If you're on the road full time with only short breaks, once a year is good as long as you monitor.
Most of the time it requires repacking with grease, not necessarily new barings and seals.
Or even feel the temperature with your hand on the non hubcap type wheels. Something I often do as force of habit when I stop for fuel or whatever.
As a part of my routine maintenance. When home for at least 4 weeks, I put the van on stands & take the opportunity to remove all wheels, check the magnets & repack the wheel bearings.
I have had the same running gear for >!50,000KM of blacktop driving ... It's all about maintenance & driving habits in my opinion.