Basic Maintenance

[Hemling]

Our Travel Trailer just turned 5 years old. I am beginning to keep a close eye on things like tires and brakes. I have 'Trail King' (original) tires and have not looked at brakes or bearings or anything like that at all. I've put about 10,000 miles on the unit total. From what I've read, 6-10 years is a good interval for tires, no matter what. Mine are about half worn down, but will probably dry rot and age out before wearing out. How often do you guys repack bearings? I've poked around underneath a little, and the stock drum-style electric brakes don't look too daunting to tackle. The campground that we frequent that is kind of near to home for us allows 'light' camper work/repair, and I'm no stranger to packing a standard wheel bearing or servicing a drum brake unit, but I have to admit this is new to me. I'm used to maintaining cars that are driven regularly, not ones that sit for months and months. Should I be more on top of this type of thing?

[deltabravo]

When it comes time to replace the brakes, upgrade to Dexter Dexter Nev-R-Adjust brakes

I have them and they are awesome.

[Gdetrailer]

Grit dog wrote:
Op, yes all those things are due for a look see.
Tires replace.
Bearings, repack or at least shoot them some more grease.
Brakes, if they’re working fine, there’s no maintenance needed. But if you’re going after bearings you’ll have them apart anyway.

Actually, brakes should be physically assessed periodically for wear and damage. Brake lining can and will crack, break or wear uneven just like an automobile. Some cracks may be harmless depending on location and depth but cracks near edges or missing pieces definitely require replacement.

This is acknowledged by Dexter and is noted in their maintenance manual found HERE

I am including the maintenance chart from Dexters manual in the link above for reference.


Click For Full-Size Image.

Brake adjustment should be done 3K miles or 3 months.

Brake shoe inspection should be done 12K miles or 12 months.

Brake magnet inspection 6K miles or 6 months.

Hub/drum/bearings should be inspected for wear 12K miles or 12 months.

Generally in practice checking all internal brake components once a yr should be sufficient and if you are in the use it very little mileage category once every 2 yrs should be fine.

[Grit_dog]

Op, yes all those things are due for a look see.
Tires replace.
Bearings, repack or at least shoot them some more grease.
Brakes, if they’re working fine, there’s no maintenance needed. But if you’re going after bearings you’ll have them apart anyway.

[deltabravo]

Hemling wrote:
From what I've read, 6-10 years is a good interval for tires, no matter what.

That's way too long for tires. They should be replaced at about 5-6 years, "no matter what"

[scbwr]

We had pop-ups and then two travel trailers over a 25 year time span. Based on my experiences:
1. Get new tires and go with one of the better brands such as the Good Year Endurance or Maxxis tires (Maxxis tires worked well for me).
2. I had brakes checked and serviced at least every other year, and would definitely have the checked/serviced before a high mileage road trip.
3. Check all seams yearly and seal as necessary. It's usually a good time to do it when you are giving the roof a good cleaning, checking AC units, etc.
4. Check and clean out the access areas for the water heater and refrigerator yearly. I had forgot about checking the refrigerator access panel on our MH for quite some time, and I recently opened it up and it definitely needed cleaning....quite a bit of dirt and dust. Visually check the gas flame to make sure it looks like it is burning properly. Watch out for spiders building webs in the refrigerator flue pipe (I think that's the right term). Can brush it out with a small brush...it may require removing a metal shield.
5. Check under the camper to make sure all wiring is properly attached (not dragging, hanging down, etc.). If the underside is covered, look and feel for any indication of water pooling or collecting.

Hope that helps!

[mr_andyj]

Yes, the brakes are easy. I would do that and just replace the brake pads while you are in there, they are not so expensive that while u have it all apart u can pop new ones in.
At very lease get brake cleaner and clean the brakes, there will be a lot of brake dust. If pads are not worn then leave them in though.
Your brakes will need adjustment. That brake adjuster tool is worth gettin, but a flat head will work too. Youtube is your friend for how-to.

Hub bearings are very needy. You should jack up the wheel so it spins free and grab the tire and try to rock it to see if there is any play in the bearings. Adjustment is easy, and some axles need adjustments every few thousand miles. Grease is cheap as the old mechanics say, but careful not to get it on the brake pads or drums. You will adjust the hub with the wheel still on so that is a bonus

Leaks is the biggest concern. The Lap sealant made by Dicor is what you want to use on all "caulking" places. There is regular and self-leveling. Self leveling is esp good on the roof and it will flow into crevices. Regular is good on the walls as it will not run. Its about $9-12 per tube.

Scrape off the old caulk and apply new Lap sealant. 5 years is a lot to ask of the sealants, and sometimes needs it more often. Don't go 2 years without looking closely at the caulking. Vents are esp vulnerable, scrape off and re-apply. Remove the vent shroud if you have one as it will hide the vent.
For scraping a 5-in-1 tool is handy.

[valhalla360]

Check the manufacture date on the tire sidewall. The trailer may be 5yrs old but the tires may be 6-7yrs old if they sat around for a while first. At 5-6yrs I would be looking at replacement.

If you are comfortable with bearings and brakes on a car, should be no issues doing it on a trailer. Youtube a few how to and have at it. This will also give you a chance to check the brake conditions. Don't forget the magnets on the brakes.

You should be checking and touching up the roof seams annually (6 months would be even better).

[kellem]

I'm one of those " anal " RV owners.

1. Tires replaced every 5 years
2. Bearings repacked once per year
3. Roof inspected every 6 weeks while applying 303
4. Tires inspected and inflated to max psi before each trip.
5. Water system sanitation twice per year
6. Entire trailer and rubber gaskets gets an application of 303 every 6 weeks.
7. Fix what breaks.

[Lwiddis]

"I am beginning to keep a close eye on things like tires..."

No close eye on five year old tires is necessary. You won't likely "see" anything regardless. Replacement time!

[falconbrother]

Having endured a blowout on my previous RV, a motorhome I'm gun shy about letting tires go too long. To each his own but, after 5 or 6 years I'm buying a new set of tires. I have the EZ lube axles so I just do that. They are far better than the old days when you had to pull everything apart to "pack" your bearings. Adjusting the brakes is super easy and I do that once a year. It never needs much adjusting. The roof is what I pay the most attention to. Our first travel trailer was in 1991. Personally, I've never had a bearing or axle issue and never known anyone too. However, I'm certain that the bearings can fail if neglected or, have a manufacturer defect, or get water in them and rust up.

[wowens79]

I'd replace those tires before a long trip, 5 years is all I would trust on chinese tires. I had one blow at 3 years, and did some minor damage to the camper, so I put some GoodYear Endurance on. Tires is a place I don't skimp.

[Hemling]

That's about what I figured - thanks. When we moved to Miami three years ago, the camper had to go to a storage facility (field) when not in use, and this is two hours away, so the only real time I have to do any of this work is when we are actually at a campsite. Just no room for it, and storing it in Miami would be very, very expensive. We are planning a major trip next summer, so I will have time to get around to all the maintenance items before then. Been super fortunate, biggest issues are minor items (doorknobs, loose trim. . .), and my spare tire cover blew off somewhere in Iowa four years ago.

[NamMedevac_70]

Every year or more often on my TT I cleaned the roof and applied Dicor Rubber roof liquid coating that also covered all connections and flanges to roof fittings using a long handle roller brush. For me it was easy and relative mess free. Sometimes it was just certain areas I felt needed new liquid roof. Also replaced any old caulk with best quality caulk to outside areas. Used a trailer shop to re grease and repack wheel bearings with synthetic grease and I watched them do it. Cleaned outside of trailer with a good quality RV wash/wax and did this several times a year in the shade.

Used only Maxxis trailer tires with never any problems in high heat and applied rubber protection liquid from outdoor marine and no cracking on the tires and also did this several times a year in the shade.

Spent a lot of free time checking and inspecting including ladder time. No major problems in many years. Stop using propane appliances a long time ago and instead went electric only with shore power and/or inverter generator. Most of it was fun. I went by a long list that is now somewhere in my stuff. Did not do this all at one of course.

[MFL]

Glad you have not had any issues to date. Yes, the tires may go a while yet, if no cracks, bulges, curb damage, or overload. I would take a close look at bearings, give them a repack, with quality grease. In my experience buying new trailers of any type, the factory is very skimpy on the grease. If you have not adjusted the brakes since new, you will be surprised how much better they work after adjustment.

Some people are anal about maintenance. IMO, you should check things right away after purchase, even when you get a new trailer. After that, again IMO, bearings should go at least 3-4 years, depending on miles towed. Don't forget roof maintenance, and caulking around windows and seams.

Jerry