Do Not Wait Too Long When You Notice Something Is Not Right!

larrygon

Getting my T@B ready for the Durango get together, I took it into the shop due to the brakes grabbing and squealing. Good thing I did. Even though my unit is only a year old and about 3000-3500 miles on it, I had a bad wheel bearing seal and the bearings needed to be repacked. The brakes were a simple adjustment. I had a boat trailer have a wheel bearing fail and cost a fortune in a new trailer axle. If I was not going to go through a mountainous area, I might have waited for the brakes but good thing I did because the wheel bearing issue was found! Watch out Durango, here I come!

ericnliz

Bearings can be a nightmare waiting to happen. Keep 'em packed and properly adjusted. not something to ignore, they will leave you stranded. Noises are usually a warning sign, not to be ignored. Really glad you found the problem before your trip! Happy trails, and have fun!

Nomad

A seal on my passenger side was leaking the first time I had them repacked - 6-7k miles.

Normfun

Just replaced my bearings @20k miles. Lubed every 5k along the way. Bearings and cones looked new. No wear. I replaced anyway. Seals had both leaked slightly. It was time. 

GrandmasKid

Whoa! I'm leaving on a long (5 week) 6K mile camping trip with a new Outback. I figured I might get an oil change for the TV, but I hadn't considered any maintainence for the T@B. Do I need to rethink that?

Nomad

Maybe bearings greased when you get back. Have you had the tires balanced? They come from the factory unbalanced.
Since it's new, shouldn't need anything. Mine didn't, did 9k direct from the dealers lot, had bearings greased at 6 on the road.

GrandmasKid

Thanks PXLated, We leave in three days and are very excited. I'll call my local mechanic we've gone to for 25 years and get the balancing. I just read about brake adjustment. My dealer didn't tell me. I don't see how I'm going to get the brakes adjusted before we leave unless my local guy can do it. We've only driven it about 25 miles to drive it home.

Photomom

We had our brakes adjusted at around 400 miles (later than we ideally should) and the trailer guy said they were REALLY loose.

I would think most mechanics could adjust the brakes and your guy will have the wheels off anyway to do the tires. (Make sure he knows not to put the jack under the axle!)

Brake adjustment info is in T@B owner manual if your mechanic needs it. Our dealer didn't tell us anything about maintaining the trailer.

Photomom

Oh, and if you've adjusted your brake controller you will need to repeat the process after the brakes are adjusted. 

GrandmasKid

Thanks folks. I would have been really messed up bad without this forum. I plan on listing my mistakes as a new owner and hopefully make a contribution for the next newbie.

Photomom

GrandmasKid said:

Thanks folks. I would have been really messed up bad without this forum. I plan on listing my mistakes as a new owner and hopefully make a contribution for the next newbie.

I had the advantage(?) of waiting 7 months for my trailer to be delivered so I had plenty of time to read the ENTIRE forum!

fiddlefoot

Oh, so where do you put the jack, if not under the axle?  And I was told there is no owner's manual, just component manuals.

Nomad

You put it under the frame....Here getting bearings greased...

ScottG

fiddlefoot said:

Oh, so where do you put the jack, if not under the axle?  And I was told there is no owner's manual, just component manuals.

Don't believe everything you are told.

The owner's manual--such as it is--can be downloaded from the T@B home page under the "Customer Resources" link.

From the section on electric brakes: "Elevate the camper by positioning jacks under the frame 12” to 20” behind the axle. Use the jack stands under the frame to support the camper any time it is elevated."

In addition, the component manual that comes with the AL-KO axle says, "Never use the axle or any portion of the suspension to lift or support the trailer."

GrandmasKid

  said:

Oh, so where do you put the jack, if not under the axle?  And I was told there is no owner's manual, just component manuals.

The dealer didn't give us an owner's manual. I was told I could "Google it." I did download and print it, at which point I found out my expensive Epson printer was lousy even after using a lot of ink going through the maintenance steps. Then on the Sunday before Labor Day, by luck I came across the requirement for a brake adjustment at 200 miles. I drove into the North Georgia Mountains on Labor Day to attain the mileage, and hope I can find someone to do the adjustment today. We head out in the morning to camp and catch a train at the Grand Canyon. The dealer could have saved me a lot of worry by mentioning the brakes and battery maintenance when they sold me the trailer. I hope my local mechanic can do it. I really don't want to drive through our horrible Atlanta traffic to beg our dealer to do the maintenance today, but I will if I have to.

Ratkity

PXLated said:

You put it under the frame....Here getting bearings greased...

What's nice, is the mechanic has taken "Just say NO to crack" attitude 

Nomad

Grandmaskids - Some dealers are knowledgable, some aren't (mine wasn't) - Some dealers do service, some don't (mine didn't). I'd not do the drive thru traffic unless you verify your dealer can/will do it.

Photomom

If I were a dealer I'd offer a maintenance program. Give the customer a maintenance schedule, bring em back periodically, stay in touch and keep them coming back for not just service but accessories & supplies, etc.

Do any dealers actually do this?

fiddlefoot

Thank you so much, PXLated and ScottG, I'll see about the download and read more.

ScottG

Glad to help. Unfortunately, there is no single simple comprehensive go-to reference for these kinds of things. You learn by piecing together info from various sources (including this forum) over time.

ChanW

Photomom, I'm pretty sure that Camping World does that.

Photomom

ChanW said:

Photomom, I'm pretty sure that Camping World does that.

Interesting. That may be because they are in the business of selling service and accessories, not just trailers.

ChanW

Imagine that! B-) 
It's too bad that a huge corporate chain is setting the bar higher than the small independent dealers. But at least the bar is being set!

Photomom said:

ChanW said:

Photomom, I'm pretty sure that Camping World does that.

Interesting. That may be because they are in the business of selling service and accessories, not just trailers.