Thermal Incident During a Family Trip to Rocky Mountain National Park

Four years. About 4,000 miles. One failed wheel bearing on the road to a family vacation.

Three generations of a Nebraska family were headed toward Rocky Mountain National Park with their travel trailer. They had plans to enjoy the mountains together and a date they needed to be back on the road. On the climb through Big Thompson Canyon, the driver-side wheel on the trailer’s rear axle suffered a thermal incident—the RV industry term for a fire. The heat damaged the axle beyond repair.

They made it to Jellystone campground, but the trailer could not safely make the trip home in that condition. That is when they called Colorado RV Service.

A few pumps of grease before every trip

The trailer was about four years old and had only around 4,000 miles on it. The owner told us he had put a few pumps of grease into the hubs before each trip. He was trying to take care of the trailer, and it was a perfectly understandable thing to do. But adding grease through a fitting is not the same as removing the hubs, inspecting the components, cleaning and properly packing the bearings, installing the correct seals, and setting the bearing adjustment.

When we opened the front axle hubs to repack them, it appeared the bearings had not received any grease from the factory and had only the grease the owner had added before trips. We cannot verify the original factory condition four years later, but what we found shows why low mileage and regular shots of grease are no guarantee that a trailer's bearings are road ready.

Getting the family back on the road

The rear axle could not be repaired. We removed it, and Iron Bear Trailer built a replacement axle. While that work was underway, Colorado RV Service serviced and repacked the bearings on the front axle. We then replaced the damaged rear axle with the newly built axle so the family could leave on schedule.

While we worked on the trailer, the family was able to enjoy Rocky Mountain National Park. A breakdown that threatened a three-generation vacation became a repair they could put behind them before the drive home.

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The lesson from Big Thompson Canyon

A bearing service is more than a few pumps from a grease gun. A qualified technician can pull each hub, examine the bearings and races for damage, check the spindle and brakes, clean and repack the bearings, install the right seals, and set the adjustment correctly. That hands-on inspection can reveal a problem before heat and friction turn it into an axle replacement.

If you have a new-to-you trailer, do not know when its hubs were last opened, or have been relying on grease fittings alone, schedule a professional bearing inspection and repack before a long trip. Colorado RV Service performs mobile trailer bearing service and axle work along Colorado's Front Range and near Estes Park. Call us before your vacation becomes a roadside repair.

Colorado RV Service — Keep the wheels turning and the vacation going.

Mobile RV bearing service and axle repairs along Colorado’s Front Range and Estes Park.

Phone: 303-525-7894

Email: Donny@ColoradoRVService.com