Today’s plan was to travel from the south side of Indy to Mom’s place in Michigan, only about 200 miles. Before hooking up I went to a local station and topped off with fuel, $2.29/gal. We say fuel as high as $2.77/gal today.
Lake Haven Retreat - Greenwood, IN
Then it was on to Mom’s.
About 30 miles north of Indy, maybe 50 miles into our days
travel, a stake truck pulled up beside us and the guy in the passenger seat
used his hands to make a circle with his fingers and thumbs. The he pointed
back at our trailer. I pulled off to the side of I69 and saw that a wheel
bearing had failed. We were a mile from the next exit so we slowly drove along
the shoulder to the exit. Forutnatley for us there was a Love’s truck stop at
the exit. We parked out back with the semi’s and this is what we found.
On the front axle, drivers side, the outer wheel bearing was
in pieces. (Last year in WV I had problems with the rear axle on this side.
(BTW-I had greased the SuperLube bearings while in WV last year and again this
year before leaving home.)
This is what I found removing the drum. The axle nut was
still so hot I didn’t want to touch it for long. The brake assembly was intact
but coated with grease. It was going to require major degreasing and new set of
brake shoes before being serviceable.
After further removals I was at the stage of hoping the spindle surface was still in good enough shape that I wouldn’t need a new axle.
Our son Doug came up from Indy and acted as my Uber driver and parts runner. I found an RV place about a 20 minute drive from us. They had a hub assembly in stock. I "polished" the spindle with some emery paper and didn't think it looked to bad.
After Doug’s second parts run I told him it was OK for him to go home. As I finishing up and ready to put the new axle cap in place I realized a new one wasn’t include with the hub assembly. No problem because I had thrown an extra one in with my “stuff” before leaving. Found it after 15 minutes of searching. It was one of the ones I had bought in WV that wouldn’t fit (it is going in the trash can so that this doesn't happen again).
I unhooked the truck and Kathy became the parts runner. While she was gone I jacked up the other 3 tires and spun them to see if I heard any suspicious noises, I didn't.
It took us around 10 hours to make our 200 mile day. While setting up
at Mom’s I needed a flashlight to finish up.
What do I take away from this experience:
The guy at the RV place claims that the EZ-Lube/SuperLube
axles don’t really fully grease the bearings. He said wheels still need to be
removed and bearings pulled to repack them properly. He also claimed that
pumping grease into the zerk until you see it oozing out, as the directions
claim you are to do, tends to blow the seal.
We were fortunate that the guy in the truck passing us noted the problem and pointed
it out to us.
We were fortunate that we were close to an exit where we
could park for several hours and not be exposed to constant 70 mph Interstate
traffic.
We were fortunate that an RV parts place, with everything we needed in stock, was within 20 minutes of us.
Most importantly. I don’t know why the Lord allowed this to
happen. I do know that it wasn’t some chance “luck”, it was part of His plan.
He looks after those who follow Him and NOTHING happens to us that isn’t part
of His plan. While still here on Earth I may never know why this event
occurred, but I do know that, as the old song goes,
Why should I feel discouraged, why
should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long
for heav’n and home
When Jesus is my portion? My constant
Friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know
He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know
He watches me.
God cares about even sparrows, and He cares much more about me, and others who are His. Matthew 10:29-31.
God is good. May He bless you and yours, and may we all
recognize that He is blesses us, even when we sometimes don’t understand how.
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