I purchase a 2021 35RLB last year. In preparation for bearing maintenance, I discovered the bearing caps appear to be the grease or oil bath type. There is grease in there now, but I’m considering converting to oil bath. I’m wondering if anyone has done this and if there were any issues with doing so. Thanks!
I had them in a 2012 DRV and got to a campground and 2 days later the seals were leaking on the inside. Had new seals put in and a couple bearings. $1200. Later talked to Drv dealer in Phoenix ( Whiskey Mountain RV ) and they said they always tell people to go back to grease because oil seals drying out on Rv’s because they sit to much. They use them on trucks because they are usually moving.
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That makes sense. Thank you for the information.
Also, if you start looking into it, you’ll find that although the hubs use the screw on cap and CAN be either greased or oil bath, those caps are for grease only. You’ll need diff caps to switch to oil bath. Also, oil bath uses a different, more substantial back side seal. The grease seal won’t work for oil bath.
Thank you for the information. I did find that out after I dug in a little deeper. I was able to find the oil bath caps and oil seals on Amazon once I tracked down the right numbers. I completed the conversion over the weekend. I’m very diligent about keeping an eye on things. I routinely check bearing temps and seals for leaks while traveling. I’m still planning to inspect the bearings every 10k miles, but now I can easily change the gear oil annually versus repacking with grease. I’ll hang onto the grease style caps should I decide to convert back to grease.
Cool. I’d like to hear how they work out. I was considering it myself. We’re full-timers & travel continuously so I don’t think sitting long enough for oil seals to dry out would be an issue.
I’ll provide an update on how it works out. We are retired and use our 5th wheel often, so I’m hoping it doesn’t become a problem. One thing for sure is the oil seals are much more robust than the grease seals. They are a two piece seal versus a lip seal on the axle shaft.