Discovered all for brakes had grease in them...

[lwg]

Quick background. Bought the Redwood in August of last year, probably have towed about 2,000 miles thus far, mostly flat. Took her in to Camping World to have a couple of items fixed and thought I'd have them "inspect" the bearings and brakes. Of course they don't inspect anything so we decided to go ahead and have them repacked and the brakes adjusted. I did this to ensure my brakes are working properly as we'll be heading through Colorado on I-70 later this summer. Having lived in Denver for 10 years I'm well aware of how steep Vail Pass & Eisenhower Tunnel really are!

So Camping World called this afternoon to ask for an additional 1.2 hours to finish up as all four brake drums had grease in them from the wheel bearings! They are documenting everything and submitting to Redwood for warranty coverage but I'll likely have to pay for it initially unless I want Camping World to hang onto the trailer until it gets approved.

I recall someone else had this issue recently so I thought I'd post up. This might be much more common than we anticipated on these units...

[mhs4771]

This problem is not unique to RW. Read just about any of the RV forums and lots of folks having the same problem right from the Dealer. Our 1st state inspection on our Montana failed as we have one brake totally covered in grease. You can clean up the Brake Drum, but generally new shoes are in order.

[Blenhardt]

I had the same problem, but unlike you lwg, I had used the EZ lube feature and blame that for my grease on the brakes problem.

[atom ant]

I think Andy had that issue as well, and I think Redwood covered it.

[lwg]

Fingers crossed that they cover it! Otherwise it'll cost me $560!!! I had to pay that a amount to take the trailer tonight as we Fulltime. I think I'll call Redwood tomorrow and try to explain further in hopes of getting reimbursed for it.

[travelin' texans]

Found all 4 of mine contaminated while a fellow RW owner & I did an inspection of bearings (Chinese crap), replaced myself & got reimbursed by Crossroads. It's the crappy seals they use is what we found as new ones were noticeably thicker.

[jrgkfg]

Ours were all covered in grease also. In all my years as a mechanic I have never found so much grease in the hubs. Redwood sent me all new brake assemblies and one drum. I sleep better knowing I have brakes again and my bearings are properly packed. Disc brakes coming soon!

[0nTheRoad]

Is this a problem only with 7K axles, 8K axles or both...anyone know?

[atom ant]

I checked mine and they are good (8K). I have the disk so they are easy to see. I don't know if that means anything.

[jrgkfg]

I've only heard of 7K axles with drum brakes.

[lwg]

I would assume either can have drum brakes as I recall they were optioned separately from Redwood. You could get either 7K or 8K axles, and add Disc Brakes, but as I understood it 8K axles didn't already come with disc brakes.

Either way depending on what happens later this year I might be calling Titan Guy for a disc brake kit for my rig!

[0nTheRoad]

The disk brakes are an option regardless of 7K or 8K axles, the RW comes standard with drum brakes.

My question is whether the grease issue is specific to only the 7K axles of if it is a problem with all RW's? I have 8K axles with drum brakes and have not had a problem with grease on the brake drums/pads.

[Dave&Ginny]

I haven't had any problems with mine but I've got disk brakes. Someone last year said they all had the same seals

[johnboytoo]

That's probably why my IBC was set on 6.5 for a while and worked fine
but now at 10 doesn't stop as well...
it's a difficult decision though, as I don't want to give up the rv for 4 months again like last service visit...
heyer in da sowth and particularly hot texas,
we don't rv during the summer, only spring and fall, so I'd be once again losing a whole camping season

So for now, I will just drive extra cautiously...

[atom ant]

Grease in the drum actually makes the brakes stop or lock up more abruptly because the grease breaks down the composition of the shoe lining. Usually a brake the locks and drags when the others don't is a sign it has been "greezed".

At least that has always been my experience back when I was turning a wrench for a living and cars still had drum brakes.

[jrgkfg]

If you've had to turn up your brake controller it's a given you have grease on the brakes. My hubs were completely full and the shoes were worn out and paper thin. I have a turbo brake on my truck and between it and the Allison trans I probably use my brakes less than most people. I did NOT pump grease in them as I believe in hand packing every 10,000 miles. I never felt anything out of the ordinary, never had a wheel lock up, just had to turn up the controller. I would urge you to pull the hubs and check before you pull it another foot, johnboytoo. It's no fun when they don't work.

[Blue Dogs]

Wouldn't you be able to see wet grease just by looking at the back side of the brake plate where it meets the axle short of pulling the hubs? Seems like it would get hot and leak out.

[Blenhardt]

Originally Posted by Blue Dogs

Wouldn't you be able to see wet grease just by looking at the back side of the brake plate where it meets the axle short of pulling the hubs? Seems like it would get hot and leak out.

Not really, on mine there was no indication of grease on the outside. On one of the four grease had permeated deep into the brake shoes. Had to change that one out. The other three cleaned up OK.

[lwg]

Originally Posted by Blenhardt

Not really, on mine there was no indication of grease on the outside. On one of the four grease had permeated deep into the brake shoes. Had to change that one out. The other three cleaned up OK.

Same here, no external indication of grease.

[Blue Dogs]

Thanks for the feedback!