# 4 Year Maintenance Suggestions



## joeymac (Aug 19, 2010)

Well my OB is coming up on its 4th season. Before the season begins, can someone suggest a maintenance plan ?
Every year I lube the axle, check to make sure the brakes work, and clean and lube the stab jacks, and inspect the roof. 
Starting to see some of the caulk fade and bust near the crappy decorative plastic wheel wheel. So need to strip and re-caulk, other than that can you recommend anything else ?
Trailer has about 3,000-5,000 miles on it, so I think the brakes should be ok.


----------



## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

Have you actually pulled each wheel and repacked the bearing and visually inspected the brakes or have you simply added a couple of squirts through the zerk?


----------



## joeymac (Aug 19, 2010)

H2oSprayer said:


> Have you actually pulled each wheel and repacked the bearing and visually inspected the brakes or have you simply added a couple of squirts through the zerk?


Just a couple of squirts every year....


----------



## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

i would pull hubs and replace bearings ....time consuming dirty job but relatively inexpensive.....
Dricor caulk and tape the roof seams with eternabond.
check springs and u bolts on axle.
New HW Anode rod
New tires

thats about all i can think of .......


----------



## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

joeymac said:


> Have you actually pulled each wheel and repacked the bearing and visually inspected the brakes or have you simply added a couple of squirts through the zerk?


Just a couple of squirts every year....
[/quote]

A couple of squirts is not adequate to completely lubricate the inner and outer bearings. The EZ Lube system first introduces grease to the inner bearing, then through displacement, to the outer bearing. So a couple squirts will at best service the inner bearing, the outer bearing will still have old grease.

I pull my drums every year. Inspect the brake pads, pay special attention to the wires that feed the magnet inside the brake drum. This is a common failure point, look for chaffing on the clips and the area where the wires might contact the hub. Clean out the old grease as best you can, inspect the bearings and the races for wear and damage, replace if damaged (I have 10k plus miles on my bearings and have never had an issue). Reinstall the drums and bearings, then re-lubricate. Re-lubrication should take numerous pumps of grease. Keep pumping grease into the bearings until you see clean grease being expelled from the outer bearing on the hub. If all is working correctly, you will have to wipe away a significant amount of dirty grease while servicing. I use at least two tubes of grease every year during my re-lube maintenance.

One note on the Zerk fittings, I had to replace all of them on my 2012 trailer. None of them would accept grease. If you have problems squirting grease into the hubs, look into replacing these fittings.

Don't be afraid to remove the hubs, it is not a big deal. Just make sure you keep everything clean, no dirt or debris in the bearings. Then lube the hell out of them, all clean grease every year.

DAN


----------



## joeymac (Aug 19, 2010)

TwoElkhounds said:


> Have you actually pulled each wheel and repacked the bearing and visually inspected the brakes or have you simply added a couple of squirts through the zerk?


Just a couple of squirts every year....
[/quote]

A couple of squirts is not adequate to completely lubricate the inner and outer bearings. The EZ Lube system first introduces grease to the inner bearing, then through displacement, to the outer bearing. So a couple squirts will at best service the inner bearing, the outer bearing will still have old grease.

I pull my drums every year. Inspect the brake pads, pay special attention to the wires that feed the magnet inside the brake drum. This is a common failure point, look for chaffing on the clips and the area where the wires might contact the hub. Clean out the old grease as best you can, inspect the bearings and the races for wear and damage, replace if damaged (I have 10k plus miles on my bearings and have never had an issue). Reinstall the drums and bearings, then re-lubricate. Re-lubrication should take numerous pumps of grease. Keep pumping grease into the bearings until you see clean grease being expelled from the outer bearing on the hub. If all is working correctly, you will have to wipe away a significant amount of dirty grease while servicing. I use at least two tubes of grease every year during my re-lube maintenance.

One note on the Zerk fittings, I had to replace all of them on my 2012 trailer. None of them would accept grease. If you have problems squirting grease into the hubs, look into replacing these fittings.

Don't be afraid to remove the hubs, it is not a big deal. Just make sure you keep everything clean, no dirt or debris in the bearings. Then lube the hell out of them, all clean grease every year.

DAN
[/quote]

Taking the OB to a trailer shop on Monday, and getting the bearings re-packed and brakes inspected. (Would do it myself, but just don't have the time). For $140 it's worth it for me.

One more question, what do you do for the slides mechanisms ?


----------



## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

joeymac said:


> Taking the OB to a trailer shop on Monday, and getting the bearings re-packed and brakes inspected. (Would do it myself, but just don't have the time). For $140 it's worth it for me.
> 
> One more question, what do you do for the slides mechanisms ?


Tell you the truth, it would take longer for me to tow the trailer to the shop and back than it does to relube the bearings. I can do all four hubs in a couple hours.

As for the slides, I use spray lubricant made for lubricating the slide mechanism. I lube the gear a couple times a year.

DAN


----------



## KTMRacer (Jun 28, 2010)

TwoElkhounds said:


> Taking the OB to a trailer shop on Monday, and getting the bearings re-packed and brakes inspected. (Would do it myself, but just don't have the time). For $140 it's worth it for me.
> 
> One more question, what do you do for the slides mechanisms ?


Tell you the truth, it would take longer for me to tow the trailer to the shop and back than it does to relube the bearings. I can do all four hubs in a couple hours.

As for the slides, I use spray lubricant made for lubricating the slide mechanism. I lube the gear a couple times a year.

DAN
[/quote]

A tip on the slides from my dealer. Use a piece of cardboard above the mechanism when you spray. If you get lube on the bottom of the slide floor, it can make a mess on the carpet or anything it touches or drips on inside the trailer. All you want to do is lube the moving part of the mechanism.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

KTMRacer said:


> A tip on the slides from my dealer. Use a piece of cardboard above the mechanism when you spray. If you get lube on the bottom of the slide floor, it can make a mess on the carpet or anything it touches or drips on inside the trailer. All you want to do is lube the moving part of the mechanism.


This is a really good tip or you will be very upset at the drag marks on the carpet.


----------



## Insomniak (Jul 7, 2006)

Speaking of slides....what's a good product to lubricate the rubber slide seals? Ours are starting to complain when moving the slides in and out.


----------



## Bill & Kate (Apr 28, 2012)

They sell products specifically for treating the slide seals, but we have always used Aerospace 303 with good results. For the slide gears and pinion and the stabilizing jacks we use a dry Teflon lubricant to avoid having sand or grit stick to the surfaces.


----------

