Wheel Bearings

Lane and Michael

Lane and Michael

Junior Ranger
Donating Member
Lane and I are enjoying our camper tremendously, and we have both been impressed with the care and quality of construction it exhibits as I think we have said several times in other posts.

We will be taking a long trip next month and I thought I'd check the wheel bearings. In the past when I have checked them, I haven't removed the dust caps. Not sure why I did this time as the play seemed about right. I'm glad I did though, because the tab that is supposed to be bent in between the turrets of the nut to prevent the wheel from falling off was only pressing against the flats of the nut. I thought it was probably an oversight on just the one side, but sad to say, the other wheel was set up the same way.

Given the obvious care and skill of the workers at Camp-Inn, mine might be the only trailer with this particular glitch. However, as it such a potentially dangerous mistake, I didn't want to pretend it didn't happen. It's an incredibly easy thing to check and fix if necessary.

Really hate to post a comment that sounds critical in any way, but I'd hate even more to hear that someone had an awful experience just because they hadn't known to make this simple check.
 
That is a bit weird, that doesn't sound like I remember my bearings. After reading your post I pulled off the bearing cap on one wheel and there is no retaining device other than a cotter pin going through a hole in the axle and the castles of the nut and bent so it stays in place. If you have a picture it would be helpful to understand your setup.
 
The old style uses the pin, but the bearings on my trailer have a washer that fits under the castle nut with two tabs. The axle also has a flat cut into the side so that the washer cannot turn. You bend a tab in between the turrets of the nut which keeps it locked. I grew up with the pin and like that system better, but this is progress, I guess.

It's dark now, but maybe I will go out and try to get a photo. The grease makes it difficult to see the tabs. No guarranty that the photos will be prize winners.
 
Here's my entry for the prize. I guess it's the old style.
IMG_20180630_175646.webp
 
The red circle barely shows the prong which hasn't been pried over the gap between the turrets of the nut, and the square, again barely, my apologies, shows the prong bent into the space on the nut. Perhaps the other view of the washer with prongs makes it possible to visualize what's going on. The flat spot on the washer locks over the corresponding flat ground into the hub. Make any sense?
DSC_4402.webp
DSC_4404.webp
 
This just might be the way that the bearing assemblies are now made. I checked my 2017 kayak trailer, and it also lacks the cotter pins. I think it might be better to have the tabs rather than the pins to allow for finer nut adjustments.
 
I have to change my original post as I was wrong. The prong was bent as it should be on the driver's side, but not on the passenger side, leading me to believe it was a one-time error and nothing to worry about. The grease tricked me. Maybe I didn't have my reading glasses on. That both of them should be wrong seemed completely out of character with everything I know about Camp-Inn. So, I am very glad to have been mistaken about this detail.
 
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