Problem with wheel bearing and cotter pin

[micwtx]

Bought 2012 36 RL on 10/27/12. Had issues with dealer - not impressed with walk through or the lack of manuals/paperwork they gave us for all the products. No manual or paperwork of any kind on the Tri-glide hitch or the axle and wheel bearings and who knows what else.
Have pulled it about 2800 miles so far - pulls like a dream. Had major problem yesterday that we are still trying to resolve.
Stopped to get diesel and when we stopped and put the truck in park there was a loud pop/bang and something shook the camper. Could not find anything wrong and after filling up we left the gas station. I heard a grinding noise coming from behind us but there were lots of vehiclse and was not sure if the sound came from us. We drove about 2-3 miles when someone pulled along beside us and pointed behind our tailer. We pulled over and when I jumped out I saw smoke coming from under the camper. I knelt down and saw smoke coming from the drivers side rear wheel but not the tire, from "behind" the wheel. Hubby got out and felt all around the wheel. The tire was cool and the smoke had disappeared. We tried pulling it again very slowly - 20 to 25 mph. We only got about 1/2 mile beforeit started smoking again so we stopped. Hubby felt inside the wheel and it was so hot he almost burned his fingers. The time was 6.45pm and we could not get hold of anyone. We decided it would be safer and closer to make our way back to where we can as there was a Walmart next door.
We drove about 3-5mph for 3-4 tenths of a mile at a time and then would stop and let the wheel cool off before we started again. Got to Walmart parking lot and parked the unit for the night. Glad we had a generator so we could run the furnace and keep warm.
Started making calls at 8am, first to Redwood and while we were waiting for a return call, to towing services, RV dealers in the area, and tried to look for authorised service centers near us. (Would love to see something on Redwood website like the Crossroads website where you can put in your zip code and look up authorised service centers as well as dealers).
Closest service place listed on Crossroads site - 43 miles away, non listed on RW site
Closest RV dealership 2 miles away - no mobile tech service and couldn't fit us in until Monday.
Spoke to another dealership that had mobile service but because it was raining they said they would not come out to check things out.
Spoke to the extended warranty service people (we bought one when we bought the camper) and they wanted an estimate before they would tell us if they would help us get it towed somewhere.
Local towing service said by law they could not put the camper on a trailer to move it as it could not be taller than 13'6".
Spoke to Linda and Brian at Redwood and they told us about Coachnet. They said we could go to the RV dealershio 2 miles away or the one 43 miles away, whichever Coachnet would take us to.
Coachnet sent someone to "chainup" the wheel and take us to the nearest dealership but when we told him we couldn't go until Monday he said he couldn't leave his chain with us that long. (the dealership had told us that we could not park in their lot as they did not have the room for us to wait there until Monday). The guy sent by Coachnet did pull the wheel to put the chain on and found that the COTTER PIN HAD BROKEN! The broken pin had allowed the nut to come undone and the bearing had come loose. The back bearing was completely shredded. He did not wipe the grease away to check the axle or anything else.
We called Brian at Redwood back to ask for any more suggestions but have not heard back from them yet.
Called Lippert and spoke to lovely Michele who put us in touch with a Technician. He told us that the repair would be covered under warranty and Lippert would work with any business that worked on Axles, whether it was an RV service center or an Auto Service center. They will even work with a Truck Service Center.
Called a Truck Service Center that has 14 bays and they said if we can get there they will work us in tomorrow. They were unsure about doing the warranty work but said if Lippert will work with them they will work with Lippert. They may have to order parts but the service guy, Rod, that we spoke to was very nice and actually wanted to help us. If they have to order parts I hope they will let us stay in their parking lot until the parts come. Got all our "stuff" and two dogs with us.
Leaving wonderful Walmart parking lot home of 2 nights at 6am to drive 3 1/2 miles at about 5mph with a chained up wheel and a WHOLE heap of prayers.
Keep your fingers crossed for us!

[Dave&Ginny]

WOW....I'm sorry to hear of your problems and wish you were closer to me so I could help you. Good Luck

[Adamsvr]

Incredible - sorry to hear about your problems! Good luck on getting it fixed. But that brings up a good point- anyone know what the service interval is for repacking the wheel bearings?

[Tobys Home]

Wow is right Dave. You gave me an Idea. We were FMCA people for many years and they had a feature where you could call on fellow members in that area for some help and references if all else fails. Even sleep overs if you had the space. This could be something we could have on this forum. A (Buddy list) This could be guarded with a registration only using your four number vin code. You could enroll and be protected after joining the forum. No number, no access no crap from spammers. SUGGESTIONS Please!

[COLJDM]

Great idea, we support that initiative. We should have that type of forum login anyway. That would allow owners to post issues and non-owners to read about our Redwood issues both good and not so good. As for the buddy assist system, we are in! We can accommodate a 40 ft Redwood at the end our our driveway with 50 amp service, and water. Can also rig a black tank clean-out using a shurflo pump if necessary. Also have a spare room as long as our Grand Kids are not in it!! I am at the Redwood factory and I will ask about modifying the login to include last four of vin

[5th_Time]

Wow, what an experience... That's a nightmare situation that's difficult to preempt and can happen to anyone. I confess that I've never even had the wheels off of mine, but I think I'll have my tires rebalanced (just to verify my dealer) and repack the wheel bearings for my winter prep.

BTW, what part of the country is this and what was your actual purchase date - this October or last?

[Tobys Home]

I forgot to ask about the hub cap, does that pry off to inspect and grease? I just did the suspension last week but was wondering what's behind the hub cap.

[5th_Time]

They usually pry off or use water pump pliers. Call Brian to find out the exact grease they use. Use large socket to reinstall.

[COLJDM]

we had a t ire wear very bad and had to replace it. The technician pried off the hubcap when changing the tire/wheel with the spare. Tire wear was caused by faulty axel cambering/alignment. One note of caution, if you do any work on the axels, get permission from lippert first, preferably in writing. Word to the wise as we had an issue but Redwood fixed it for us.

[5th_Time]

When I am towing my RL, I look in the mirror and compare the road stripes looking down the side of my trailer. It doesn't seem to track straight. It might be an optical illusion, but I would gladly pay to confirm it.



I often read where owners or dealers discover the axle alignment is off, but where can you have this specialized work completed? Don't you need specialized laser alignment equipment to do this?



When I toured the factory, I didn't see this type of equipment which means they rely on Lippert to do this before they receive the chassis. I'd like to verify this alignment independently.Edited by: 5th_Time

[COLJDM]

I would contact Lippert, find an authorized service dealer in your area. Get them to provide authorized dealers via email message to you and I would also get them to agree to the service, even if you are paying for it.If you read our Redwood owners manual, alignment, cambering, wheel balancing is our responsibility. I had my wheels balanced in May 2012 prior to traveling but did not even think I had to check the alignment/axel camber since my coach was new. Shame on me as the axels needed adjustment/cambering and my one tire wore down to the steel tread on the inside of the tire. We were advised by Redwood to have our axels re-cambered to fix my issue. Unfortunately we did not have a specific authorization from Lippert in writing or otherwise as such they instructed Redwood that my warranty on the axels was null and void. Redwood stepped up to the plate and replaced the axels with new ones so the axels would remain under warranty. We are extremely pleased with Redwood support and service and honoring their word but have severe issues with the integrity of Lippert regarding their warranty. We were in an area without any authorized dealer, and we could not travel with a tire having the steel tread exposed nor should we be forced to travel on an mal-aligned axel which would wear a newly purchased tire in the same manner as the one it replaced. On my old 1996 Holiday Rambler tri-axel, I never had it aligned/cambered in the 10 years I owned it, I did have all wheels balanced and the hubs and bearings checked annually. Hope this helps

[5th_Time]

Which begs the question, if you are at the factory this week, and Redwood just changed your axles (amazing), did they have equipment to check the alignment of the new axles? Sometimes they areout of alignment because the spring hangers are welded slightly off. Unless they aligned them, how can you be sure that your new axles aren't in the same alignment as your old ones were?

[TravelinAnderson]

Wow... sorry to hear you had such a problem but glad to know that nothing came apart and caused damage to the trailer or worse, an accident.

For future reference you can take your trailer to any Crossroads Authorized Service Center to have work done on your trailer. Here's a link to find a service center near you.
http://www.crossroadsrv.com/buyers/service_center.asp

Also, Brian at Redwood is very good about authorizing non-Redwood service providers. The only problem is getting a hold of him... very busy man.

For road side service we use Good Sams. I have had to use them twice for tire issues and highly recommend them. The ytell you when to expect a service tech and call to make sure they arrived and took care of the problem.

As far as manuals go you're better off going to the component manufacturer's website and downloading the user manual there. Most use the PDF format.

Any chassis related component such as the frame, axles, pinbox are Lippert products so it's a one stop shop at www.lci1.com

I wish you much better luck going forward

[lillyputz]

After reading about your bearing problem, I checked ours. It took alot of grease, just under a tube, before the grease started coming out of the outter bearing on all four. I would suggest, everyone check there's. Still have three zerts on the suspension, that won't take grease.



Lillyputz

[RollsRoyce]

Lillyputz have you tried a reall small screwdriver or paper clip to push in the ball on the zerk severawl time to see if it has any movement?

[lillyputz]

Originally Posted by RollsRoyce

Lillyputz have you tried a reall small screwdriver or paper clip to push in the ball on the zerk severawl time to see if it has any movement?

No, I didn't. Good idea. I'll try it.

Thanks Lillyputz

[micwtx]

Thought I'd post an update on our situation.
Left the Cadillac Michigan Walmart parking lot at 6.30am with rear wheel "chained up" and actual wheel in the truck. It was really nerve wracking to see the RV lean to the left. We had 3 1/2 miles to the service center with 3 right turns and 3 left turns. Speed of travel - 5-6pmh. Got there before service time but an employee was there getting the shop ready and was kind enough to open a bay for us to pull into. We had to pull in by turning left and we had to back up twice to try again - the RV was leaning SOOOO far to the left the top edge was about an inch from catching the side of the bay going in! But we made it. I almost threw up seeing that lovely RV leaning so bad. I thought the second wheel bearing had gone on that side also but it seems not.
We called the service center after about 2 hours and the technician was still working on it. He said the spindle was salvageable and thought the hub was too, but would need to replace the bearings and the raceway. He thought they could get them locally. We were excited at not being stuck for the weekend.
Brian called us about an hour later saying he was trying to ge the nearest Rv service place to get to us before Monday but was not having any luck. Was very glad to hear that Lippert had stepped up to the plate and with their approval we had at least got the RV in to be seen.
About 45 mins later we got a call from Lippert, saying that they had spoken to the technician and that indeed the spindle was good but they were sending a hub, bearings and raceway overnight to the service center. With this being Friday they would not get there till Monday. If the hub had not been needed they would have given the bearing part numbers they wanted used to the service center so they could be sourced locally but the hub itself was broken.Lippertalso authorised the pulling, inspection and repacking of the other wheels not only to be on the safe side but we are near/at our service time. We called the service center back and the technician said the hub WAS broken but that Lippert insisted that they provide all the parts.
Either way, we are stuck in a motel for 3 nights with 2 small dogs until the repairs can be done. Coachnet does not cover trip interruption unless you are in a collision. Our RV insurance has agreed to cover the motel if we should need it, but who wants to make a claim for $205 and have their rates go up by that much or more?
We purchased our RV on 10/27/2012, the build date was 10/4/2012. We were members of Good Sam but let it lapse - may have to change our minds on that. We have Progressive Insurance on the RV and they would have covered towing up to 150 MILES no matter the cost. The biggest problem in that is the fact that we could not be put on a trailer of any kind due to height, and the broken area was the rear axle so pulling it anywhre was very limited. The other problems were weather, time of breakdown (6.45PM) and distance to any repair facility. Lippert were the ones that gave us the greatest flexibility in allowing us to go to somewhere that worked on axles and bearings without being an RV dealership/service center. Lippert saidthey canauthorised any place that specialise in what ever part/problem you have, and that is what helped us.Those RV service centers near us did not seem to care too much about helping us at all. Mind you, one guy did help us out with lots of phone numbers to all sorts of places which was nice, but he didn't want to come out in his moble service truck in the rain to help us.

I have seen references to the REDWOOD OWNERS MANUAL but in looking at our paperwork we don't seem to have one. As mentioned before there are several things we did not get in the paperwork from the dealership. I have been downloading things from Lipperts website on items we have but some of the things are generalized and not specific to our items. For instanceI could not get anything on an EZ lube axle but did find something on bearings. I did not find anything on "grease zerks" as mentioned on this forum and am still trying to find pictures and information on those grease zerks. I am the reader in the family and if it wasn't for reading on this forum about 3 hidden grease zerks on the Trailair Tri-glide hitch we wouldn't know about them (no manual received on that either). The picture in the Lipper info doesn't help too much as I have looked where they indicate and can't see anything. Will have to get triple eyeglasses on my face and a very strong flashlight and look again when we get the RV back.
We in for helping a stranded traveller but as we are fulltimers it would be where ever we are at the time and in our rig. Good Sams do have "Standby Sams" and they can help stranded travellers with information and other kinds of assistance.
We are also in for adding a PDF library to the forum for a central information center. Although not sure of how to do it, would be willing to learn and do any work necessary to get it done.
It is SO IRONIC that we were/are on the way to the factory for service work to be done when this problem happens. Our appointment is not until 10/31 so had time to fill but didn't want to fill it this way!
Didn't mean to get off topic but this problem raised a whole lot of issues for us and has the mind working overtime. Thanks for listening.

[micwtx]

Hi TravelinAnderson, thanks for the infor on the Crossroads service center website. Had already been there (found out about it last year) but the nearest place it showed was 35 miles away (they said), 43 actual miles. There is no way we could have made it, we barely made it 3 1/2 miles! That is why we are glad of the help from Lippert and the internet it getting something resolved.

[TexasRider]

I am all in for a support system! I am in the DFW area. I have the Hobby Hauler, which is perfect for me, and travel for work and pleasure, sometimes solo. Always with dogs. I am having issues with the Explore USA service Department in Denton, Tx as they have several repairs that have been pending for a couple of months and continue to tell me they are waiting on parts. Anyway, I live on a farm and have places for short term parking if anyone is in need as well as an RV you can stay in!

[TravelinAnderson]

Is there some sort of mapping program or mapping website that allows multiple users to place a push pin at their location? That might be a good way to see where we all are at any given time.