Surviving a botched wheel bearing service

[oldryder]

new to us 7 year old 5th wheel. "just to be safe" had new tires and wheel bearing service at my usual tire place before leaving home. 1700 miles later as we were nearing my daughters place a trailer wheel caught fire and almost fell off. got the fire out and into a restaurant parking lot just a few minutes from our destination. EXTREME good luck the restaurant was ok with camper staying in their parking lot for several days so no towing required. turned out the cotter pin to secure the wheel bearing castle nut had never been installed. took a day to make a plan which included a replacement of the axle as the spindle was damaged and the inner bearing races were pretty much welded to the axle from heat. (I thought the axle was salvagable but the service tech and the guy at the axle place all thought that was a bad idea.) Owner of my usual tire place at home said he'd cover costs. Lippert parts for hub and brakes assy ordered thursday. new axle supposed to be installed today. hopeful at this point (monday morning.) we were planning on a 4 day stop here at my daughters so if this is resolved today we're only delayed 1 day vs. schedule.
for a hobby I had a small 18ah lithium battery along. was able to use this as a charger to keep the camper battery up so camper reefer didn't have to be unloaded.

wondering how a 5th wheel with a bad axle/wheel bearing would be towed.

 

[Rene T]

They may need to back it onto a low bed trailer like they use for excavators and dozers.
Are they going to make the repairs right in the parking lot or do they need to bring it to the dealership?

 

[Domo]

Sad story - but I'm glad to hear the owner of the tire shop took responsibility (hopefully without heated discussion).

 

[oldryder]

Owner response was "send me the bill". I am concerned he will choke on the mobile service bill which I estimate will be near $1000 given the time spent by the Tech but they also eliminated the need for what would've been a very expensive tow.

 

[Rene T]

Owner response was "send me the bill". I am concerned he will choke on the mobile service bill which I estimate will be near $1000 given the time spent by the Tech but they also eliminated the need for what would've been a very expensive tow.

Read post #2. I added a question to my post

 

[oldryder]

They may need to back it onto a low bed trailer like they use for excavators and dozers.
Are they going to make the repairs right in the parking lot or do they need to bring it to the dealership?

Axle removed. Parts to make new axle delayed so trailer place is going to weld a new spindle on the existing axle. Remove and replace axle in restaurants parking lot. Still supposed to be completed repair today.

 

[Rene T]

I hope they have some way of checking the spindle for correct alignment and proper penetration of the weld.

 

[oldryder]

I hope they have some way of checking the spindle for correct alignment and proper penetration of the weld.

I asked about that specifically. They said they do it every day and guaranteed it for the life of the axle so I'm assuming they know what they are doing.

 

[Rene T]

I asked about that specifically. They said they do it every day and guaranteed it for the life of the axle so I'm assuming they know what they are doing.

I would never assume that. I would call Lipoert the experts and get their opinion.

In your 1st post you said” I thought the axle was salvageable but the service tech and the guy ant the axle place all said they thought that was a bad idea”. What changed?
Does the spindle have a square flange on the axle end which allows the spindle to bolt onto the axle?

 

[oldryder]

No flange. Original "salvage" idea was reconditioning the damaged spindle. Alternate was entirely new spindle.

 

[Ray-IN]

I've seen trailers with a seized bearing towed on a axle dolly normally used for towing a car that is locked and emergency brake set, and illegally parked.

 

[oldryder]

Update - got it reassembled Monday afternoon. Checked all the other hubs to make sure they had cotter pins. Did 400 miles Tuesday with temp checks on hubs and tires every time we stopped. No issues. Total was about $1750. I hope the owner of my home tire place doesn't balk at the cost.

 

[Onyrlef]

Update - got it reassembled Monday afternoon. Checked all the other hubs to make sure they had cotter pins. Did 400 miles Tuesday with temp checks on hubs and tires every time we stopped. No issues. Total was about $1750. I hope the owner of my home tire place doesn't balk at the cost.

It's really not rocket science, its a wheel/hub welded to a piece of pipe. Those mobile welder guys are good. Since it's not a chamber for nuclear fission you probably don't need the beads x-ray'd.

 

[oldryder]

Update. Provided the repair receipts to tire place owner and he paid without argument. I own a business and have occasionally had to cover the costs resulting from a real bonehead mistake by an employee so I was glad the owner stepped up.

 

[jackiemac]

Update. Provided the repair receipts to tire place owner and he paid without argument. I own a business and have occasionally had to cover the costs resulting from a real bonehead mistake by an employee so I was glad the owner stepped up.

That's very admirable. Well done him for covering it with no arguments.

 

[Oldgator73]

$1750 seems pretty reasonable for the work and being done offsite. Glad it happened so close to your destination and you got to spend that time with your daughter.