Warning . . .
Finished repacking all four bearing and did not find any more loose bolts thank goodness. Did find a couple of spring shackle bolts that needed tightening but not bad. As the bearings go, I was not impressed with the packing job from the manufacturer. The bearings had very little grease in the bearings themselves but plenty between the inner bearing and seal and behind the outer bearing. You could tell whoever packed them likes to use the ezelube. Problem is the grease seldom gets to where it is needed in that type application.
When we picked up our new 2015 Heartland Prowler P292 last Friday, I asked if they did a check on the wheel bearings to make sure they were packed and greased good.
They said that they had indeed.
Now, I made sure they knew beforehand that we had just dropped a small fortune on our trade in (2013 Heartland Trail Runner) after having a wheel bearing burnout 1000 miles from home, then having both axles replaced with upgraded ones, along with upgraded springs and five new larger wheels and tires, so wheel bearings was a important thing for me on the new trailer.
I've only towed it (new Prowler) about 40 miles from the dealership to our side yard, and we don't have a planned trip with it until the July 4th weekend (about 50 miles from home), but I think I may take the new trailer to the shop where I had the Trail Runner repaired before we make a trip that is more than a few miles from our house and have them do a once over on the wheel bearings just to be on the safe side.
Two things I learned from all of our exploits with the 2013 Trail Runner (which I shed a tear for when I turned it in for trade) . . .
1) Keep an overly detailed record of
ALL work you have
EVER had done to your RV . . . and keep a detailed copy of everything with you while on the road!
2) Follow all
'recommended maintainence procedures', even though you know they are not really needed as often as recommended by the manufacturer, and as I said above, keep a detailed record and all copies of all receipts for all work and parts with you in the RV while on the road (and video of you doing it if you did the work yourself).
Most especially if you are relying on an extended warranty to pay for your issues.
Otherwise, you'll be on your own when the emergency arises.
By the way . . . we did not get an extended warranty on our new Prowler . . .
As it turned out, the extended warranty we purchased from the dealership on our 2013 Heartland Trail Runner was a cash cow for the warranty provider that was hindered in legaleze that basically made the warranty salesperson's monthly BMW payment . . . but didn't really cover the person who was paying for the warranty!
Old and new:
Notice the missing hubcap in the first shot . . . that was in the Camping World of Flagstaff, AZ in January, 2015, where I stopped to buy a new hubcap as I seemed to have lost a hubcap (I'm not a mechanic, so I didn't know any better - but I do now!) . . . and after having the service desk manager come outside and lean over the tire to look directly at this . . . and he didn't tell me I needed to get this trailer in the shop, but instead sold me the correct hubcap . . . and less than 200 miles later . . . a wheel bearing burnout while driving through Phoenix, AZ!
Footnote: after having this happen, I no longer take the scenic route (I'd probably still be out there waiting for help had I taken the scenic route), but now
ALWAYS drive the major highways so that I don't find myself out in the middle of nowhere in case something major happens.
