93 sunline 26ft wheel bearing

roempty · 07-03-2011, 06:42 PM

Hi Everyone and thanks in advance for any help.I just bought this camper and have to move it tomorrow.My concern is the camper has been sitting 10 years.I don't have to move it but 10 miles.I'm wondering about wheel bearing being dry.There is really no way to work on it were it sits.Do you think I'll be ok or should I maybe try to put it on a trailer.

Steve Collins · 07-03-2011, 08:50 PM

If you try to move it and there are bad noises from the hubs, you will either need to trailer it or repack the bearings.

If it moves fairly silently, pull it for a few hundred yards and check the hubs for heat. If you find a hot one, repack or trailer.

If the hubs are cool after a few hundred yards, you will probably be ok, but check them every mile or so.

Do you have a tow vehicle with a trailer brake controller? If not, you may have problems stopping it, even at low speeds.

And, if you do have a brake controller, your trailer brakes may still give you problems. They can bind up and cause overheating as well.

After a trailer has sat for that long, almost anything is possible.

**JohnB** · 07-03-2011, 09:36 PM

Hi roempty

Welcome to Sunline Owners Club and congrats on your new coach!

If the bearings where packed correctly when it started to sit, odds are better in your favor. You may end up fighting a frozen brake more so then the bearings. The frozen brake may be more that it just plain will not work verses frozen stuck on but anything is possible. If it is stuck on, try backing up it might release. My son bought a used pop up, a 98 and he towed it to my house from the dealer about 50 miles away. The 1st thing we did was pull the wheels and drums. The grease was hard but not brittle hard thank goodness. Have no idea when the last repack was but by the looks of it I would say ~ 6 to 8 years maybe some more.

Having moved trucks and open trailers that sat for years out in the weather, some 20 plus years, as long as they had a good quantity of grease in the bearings the odds where better.

Stopping and checking for heat is a good prudent measure. You will get some heat but it spit fries that is way too hot and axle damage may come soon after. If you can hold your hand on the hubs it is not too hot. Be careful and "feel" for heat. Meaning rest your hand about 1/2" away and feel for radiant heat before touching. It if is really hot you will feel it 1/2" away. Ideally a infrared heat gun if you have one or a surface thermomter but feeling for heat works too just fine in this case.

The best thing you can do is go slow. 30mpg to 40 mpg is plenty and approaching 50 - 55 might be pushing your luck too far until you know what is inside.

I'm making a wild assumption the tires may be over 10 years old too. Pump them up close to max side wall cold pressure before heading out on the road. Riding them soft being old will create an issue real quick.

Once you get it home, go through the entire running gear and new tires will need to be in there too.

The good news this is not a boat trailer that has not been towed for 10 years. That can be more of a free for all dealing with the submersion of the trailer and not knowing how filled the cavity was. Did some of them for the Boy Scouts and it's a wonder they did not disintegrate by the time I made it to the house. I think what saved them was the sail boat was so light we did not have a lot of weight to deal with.

Good luck and looking forward to hearing and seeing more about your Sunline camper and camping adventures. Yes we like pic's!!

Hope this helps

John

PS Take a tool kit to deal with unknowns..... Better to have it and scare away any problems...

roempty · 07-04-2011, 05:01 PM

Drove her home with no drama

Thanks for your replies.No seems I have a refrig problem coils get hot but not cooling-have It level and I can hear it gurgling alittle I guess I;ll give it over night

**JohnB** · 07-04-2011, 07:17 PM

Well you past step 1. It's now home!!! YEH Glad everything came out OK.

The fridge, it will take a full 8 plus hours to cool it down even when it is working right.

Good luck

John

Jim-Bev-2363 · 07-05-2011, 03:49 AM

JohnB, When a fridge has been sitting for a very long time, unused, and would not start, have you heard of taking it out and turning it upsidedown for a day and then turning it back upright and have it werk properly?

jim

Steve Collins · 07-05-2011, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim-Bev-2363

JohnB, When a fridge has been sitting for a very long time, unused, and would not start, have you heard of taking it out and turning it upsidedown for a day and then turning it back upright and have it werk properly?

jim

Jon (SunLineFan) and a couple of other users had a discussion about reviving older RV fridges a while back. The "turn it over for a day" method featured prominently in that exchange.

**JohnB** · 07-05-2011, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim-Bev-2363

JohnB, When a fridge has been sitting for a very long time, unused, and would not start, have you heard of taking it out and turning it upsidedown for a day and then turning it back upright and have it werk properly?

jim

Jim

That one I do not know and have never tried or even thought to try. Or have a need to try.... Steve's note was right on. There was talk about this on SOC maybe 6 to 8 months ago.

roempty · 07-06-2011, 04:08 AM

Has anyone ever tried this with any success ?? I'm going to give it a try if I can get the frig this weekend