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vikingboy1 · 12-03-2018, 09:59 AM

hello everyone,

New to this world and would like to know if anyone can give me guidance on the correct operating temperature of axle hubs while underway. I have a twin axle 2013 DRV Mobile Suites that weights about 14,000 lbs with Dexter #8000 axles with oil bath lubrication. I plan on checking the temp of hubs while underway about every 50 miles initially with an infrared digital thermometer but was looking for a baseline.
Any help would be great

Jerry

Jon_C · 12-03-2018, 11:38 AM

Never measured temp on mine but i can hold my hand on hub so my guess is 130f or less on mine.

I had metal in oil on one side of mine and replaced bearings and races with new and temp seems to be same on both sides.

aknavy · 12-03-2018, 01:32 PM

Depending on outside temp and if the sun is shining on them, I run between 120-140 most of the time. I check multiple times during the towing day with an infrared thermometer. Mostly, I'm looking for an outlier that would indicate a possible issue.

RoadDogYVR · 12-03-2018, 01:40 PM

The Unscientific-As-They-Come "rule" for axle hub bearing checks on tractor trailers (I'm a Class 1 commercial fuel tanker driver) is "if you can hold your hand above the hub assembly for an extended period of time or touch it, you're fine"

Of course, take that with a grain of salt but wheel-off failures require a SIGNIFICANT heating of the axle bearing.

Now, for the ultimate life expectancy of said bearings, maybe a little more scientific method could be used but checking for leaky seals and the hand test works for those of us who pull 140,000 lbs around daily. Oh, and routine maintenance/filling.

Of course YMMV...

mobilemike · 12-03-2018, 09:46 PM

Your going to pull over and stop to check your hubs every 40 min of driving?

You are being too paranoid. Service the bearings properly when you are supposed to and forget about them. Check them if you feel like it whenever you stop for another reason is all you need.

bddadles · 12-04-2018, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobilemike

Your going to pull over and stop to check your hubs every 40 min of driving?

You are being too paranoid. Service the bearings properly when you are supposed to and forget about them. Check them if you feel like it whenever you stop for another reason is all you need.

I have to agree with Mike about being to paranoid. Check when you start and then when you take a break if you want. Otherwise, wish them well. I TPMS will also keep a check on temp.

aknavy · 12-04-2018, 08:43 AM

I've been told that if you sit for a long time, you have a higher chance of bearing issues due to the oil dripping off and possible increased moisture in the oil. So, now, if I sit for a long time, I'll jack up the sides with the leveling jacks and spin the wheels a few times to pre-lube. Then, during that day's travel, I'll check a few times.

If I'm traveling daily, or every few days, I check once in awhile, but don't really worry about it. I've put about 40k miles on in the last 18 months with zero bearing issues, and consistent temps.

twinboat · 12-04-2018, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aknavy

I've been told that if you sit for a long time, you have a higher chance of bearing issues due to the oil dripping off and possible increased moisture in the oil. So, now, if I sit for a long time, I'll jack up the sides with the leveling jacks and spin the wheels a few times to pre-lube. Then, during that day's travel, I'll check a few times.

If I'm traveling daily, or every few days, I check once in awhile, but don't really worry about it. I've put about 40k miles on in the last 18 months with zero bearing issues, and consistent temps.

Since the rear bearings are the same design are you doing that with the rear wheels.

Not sure who told you that the oil drips off, but if you were to open up and pull the bearing, there will be an oil coating it.

Moisture will settle under the oil. It will show up as milky oil after driving a few miles.

aknavy · 12-04-2018, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

Since the rear bearings are the same design are you doing that with the rear wheels.

I'm not sure what you're asking here - it's a fifth wheel, I do it with all the wheels. Lift each side, spin the wheels, go on about my business. But, this is only after an extended stay.

RGulley · 03-03-2019, 03:25 PM

Wow, I just read this entire discussion on bearings. How interesting.

I just returned from a 2.5 week trip from Illinois to New Orleans to Texas. Coming home from texas on OK border I had a bearing failure. Destroyed the spindle of course and everything attached.

I have a 2017 DRV FULLHOUSE. 3-8K dexter axles. I removed the entire spring suspension, and replaced with a trailing arm, 100% air ride system with fluid filled shocks. Everything is welded in, solid as a rock. Tires are Goodyear G114 17.5 wheels. Weight on axles according to Cat scales is 21,743 lbs. Tires and/or axles are rated for 24K. Now you have the info on the rig.

Before I left for said trip, I greased all bearings thru the "bearing buddy".

SO, now that you have the foundation, I will continue. We limped into a place in OK 3 miles from border that was a RV repair. That had a "axle expert" on staff that did the evaluation on the wheels and bearings. he found 3 other wheels that were loose. I explained I greased before trip. He said I may have put to much grease in and blew the seal on the back? Anyway, I told him I wanted to get rig home, so pull remaining 5 wheels and do whatever nesessary (new bearings/repack/inspect/retighten, etc) to make sure they r perfect. $500 dollars later he said everything is perfect. Bearings were fine, inspected and re-greased, seated and ready to go.

I was driving 65 (5 miles under limit due to 5 wheels instead of 6) on a very smooth I-44 and in-between Joplin and Springfield it burnt another bearing set on same side. Now Im down to one tire on drivers side. Made several calls, limped to a place where the man is an individual working on axles for a living. Between him and another man, will be giving me options next week.

He thought the RV repair place may have tightened them too tight? Also said that the time frame they billed me for (3 hours)it was impossible to remove all 5 tires, calipers, drums and bearings, inspect, re-pack and reinstall.

We are now contimplating oil bath bearings as well as welding in 9K spindles.

So now, thoughts?
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Jon_C · 03-03-2019, 03:57 PM

I have no explanation for what your experiencing. Normally wheel bearings are extremely robust and trouble free with just normal maintenance. I did replace a bearing set on front of my MH due to metal in oil due to water entry into the oil bath hub caused bearing surface to flake off but even with that i couldnt tell anything while driving just close examination of the oil. There is a torque spec and runout spec and i checked both using special tools to make sure everything was correct afterwards. About 2.5k miles on since and alls good.

I packed countless Bearings working at RV dealership and we never had any come back.

I would keep each set of bad bearings and look for clues as to cause of the failure. There are folks in the industrial world that specialize in analyzing bearing failures maybe you can reach out to them. If you find out the root cause please let us Know. Best of luck. And glad you made it safely.

Jon_C · 03-03-2019, 03:58 PM

I have no explanation for what your experiencing. Normally wheel bearings are extremely robust and trouble free with just normal maintenance. I did replace a bearing set on front of my MH due to metal in oil due to water entry into the oil bath hub caused bearing surface to flake off but even with that i couldnt tell anything while driving just close examination of the oil. There is a torque spec and runout spec and i checked both using special tools to make sure everything was correct afterwards. About 2.5k miles on since and alls good.

I packed countless Bearings working at RV dealership and we never had any come back.

I would keep each set of bad bearings and look for clues as to cause of the failure. There are folks in the industrial world that specialize in analyzing bearing failures maybe you can reach out to them. If you find out the root cause please let us Know. Best of luck. And glad you made it safely.

vikingboy1 · 03-04-2019, 09:27 PM

So I don't understand what might be causing your problem but I am the one that started this thread regarding oil bath hubs. I am new to this world and was looking for some guidance regarding the proper operating temp of these oil bath hubs. I have since traveled from Michigan to Texas and I am getting ready to jump over to Florida in a couple days and then back to Michigan. I have logged about 2000 trouble free miles on these oil bath hubs and I am being told there should be no problems at all. I Make sure to check the hub oil level in sight glass on the end of the hub at days end and I just put my hand on the tire and rim near the hub looking for any wheel that is significantly different from the others at gas stops via infrared thermometer. Mine stayed about 75 to 95 degrees depending on the outside temp. Never saw a difference wheel to wheel of more than 10 degrees. A visual inspection looking for leaking oil on the tires is a sign of possible trouble but other than that they work great and I don't think the lubrication can get any better than oil bath.

these are my thoughts

vikingboy1
2011 F-350 6.7 Def delete tuned turbo Diesel SRW crew cab long box

2013 DRV Mobile Suites 38RSSB3