Spring Cleaning

We're planning to head to Carlsbad NM at the end of March, for our second outing with our 560 (we're calling her Bear Paw after our Yosemite adventure), and I want to check what is recommended for service:
1. Do we need to worry about greasing the wheel bearings at this point? (First owner put about 2,500 miles on her, and we have put about the same.)
2. We noticed that the leveling jacks are feeling a bit dry. What grease should we use on them?
3. We'll be removing the RV antifreeze from the tanks for the first time. Do we need to do this at a dump site, or can we just do it in our driveway?

 

Unfortunately many owners have had problems occur after getting the bearings greased just as a preventive step. I'm not real mechanical so I'm happy to be corrected if what I say isn't quite accurate but my understanding is that the torque has to be set very precisely and this type of bearing is different from your typical boat type trailer. It is often put back together too tight and the bearings over heat and eventually lock up in a spectacular failure. Fortunately they are built to last quite a while - I believe the recommendation is to repack when the tires are changed or 50K (please correct me if I'm off here!).

The leveling jacks are much simpler - this is usually done at least yearly. It's easy to do. I used an all purpose grease from walmart and used rubber gloves to apply it. Using a cordless drill makes the whole raising and lowering of the jacks much easier - you can find the correct size socket real easily on line or many of the big box stores.

I suspect that your RV antifreeze is propylene glycol which is non toxic. I don't think it is a problem to drain it to your driveway. I'd probably rinse it away with water from a garden hose if you can.

While you're considering spring maintenance, greasing the locks with a silicone spray would be a good idea too.

 

Silicone grease is a great stuff, many many applications.

 

I always run multiple tanks of water through after draining the antifreeze. I use vodka with food coloring but there's still the problem of the lingering taste of whatever you use. Even after the multiple tank flushing you can still taste the stuff.

I've pondered installing an inline water filter just to get rid of the antifreeze taste, as well as the occasional funky campground water taste. Not much space under there but I think I could make a small one fit.