We are heading west and located a nice looking national park near Onanole Manitoba, a reasonable 3-1/2 drive from Lilac Resort (the surreal RV resort we are currently staying in).
No excitement until… we turn into the park entry road and I notice that one of Rosita’s wheels is on a rakish tilt (generally not a good thing to see in a wheel). A quick check reveals that the wheel bearing is no longer functioning as it should and that the wheel needs to be removed for further inspection.
We slowly, very very slowly, limp into our campsite only to find that it is so unlevel that we don’t have enough levelling blocks to get it flat enough, so more limping to get across the road to a more level (relatively) campsite. We finally make it without the wheel falling off, so a collective sigh of relief.
Removing the wheel leads to the discovery that the outer wheel bearing is missing. It must have jumped ship somewhere along the road.
After digging through the grease (fun) I discovered bits and pieces of the outer wheel bearing along with a heavily scarred axle spindle.
Some google searching and calling reveals that the only trailer service and parts stores are in Brandon, which is about a 1 hour drive away, and are not open until Monday (today being Friday).
Can’t do anything to help Rosita until Monday, so might as well enjoy the weekend. There is some nice hiking right from the campground, and a short drive gets us to a hiking trail along the edge of Clear Lake. Most lakes in the area have a lot of tanin, making the water appear brownish, but the water in Clear Lake is actually clear. And very cold. There is still ice on part of the lake near the shore.
We were told that there are lots of black bears in the area, and a relative mentioned that she was chased by a black bear in this same park, so bells on the kids and a note to buy bear spray ASAP.
Monday rolls around, so it is time to drive to Brandon to find replacement wheel bearings. I can’t fix the axle spindle (it is welded in place), so the plan is to install new bearings and hope that the scarring on the axle doesn’t destroy them while we tow the trailer into Brandon for a more permanent fix.
I found Penner Trailers in Brandon and they had a wheel bearing kit for $25 (great). A quick stop at the local Princess Auto for some related stuff: grease, gloves (lots of gloves), industrial thickness paper towels, grease remover for parts and greaser remover for me. Back to the campsite.
A few hours of grease removal, banging on old parts to get them off the wheel, and banging on new parts to get them onto the wheel and then reinstall the wheel.
A homemade dust cap (several layers of aluminum foil held in place with zip ties) is required as the original dust cap is long gone (somewhere in a ditch along the road) and I tried a replacement dust cap at Penner Trailer, but the wheel hub was so ground up that the dust cap wouldn’t fit.
And Rosita is back in action! I hope. We’ll find out tomorrow.
We have to be at Penner Trailers before 9am and it is going to be a slow drive, so we set the alarm clock for the first time in a long time.
We tentatively set out. A few km/hour until I am sure the wheel is going to bind up or fall off. Gradually increasing speed until we hit 80 km/hour beyond which I don’t really want to go. After 15 minutes or so we pull over to check the wheel. The homemade dust cap is still on (bonus). The wheel is not wobbling (bigger bonus). The wheel is not even hot (even bigger bonus). Things are looking good for our emergency trip to the repair shop!
We make it to Penner Trailers at 8:45 and the wheel didn’t fall off even once!
Penner takes the trailer right away and we head off to Timmy’s for a well earned coffee and breakfast.
Penner called us after they disassembled Rosita’s wheels, axle and suspension. During a trip to Florida, pre-covid, we hit a huge (really huge) bump in the road when we were driving at least 60 mph. Between the damage caused by this bump and the destroyed wheel bearing we need new everything. Axle (bent and damaged spindles). Brakes (soaked in grease). Leaf springs (bent).
Fortunately for us (not our wallet though) Penner custom makes axles on-site, and has all the parts required, so we give them the go-ahead and hope that Penner can get everything done today (or we will have to find a place to spend the nite with the dogs).
Just before 4pm I am getting worried, so I check in with Penner and am told that they are just testing the brakes and then they will be done. Most Excellent!
Back to Penner’s to pay the piper and we are amazed. $1500 for everything (including GST). Penner did an amazing job in a short period of time and the cost was very reasonable. Can’t say enough good things about Penner Trailers!
Trip Summary:
Depart: Lilac Resort, near Manitoba) 11:15 am May 12; Odometer: 224658 km
Arrive: Riding Mountain National Park Manitoba 4:00 pm May 12; Odometer: 224990 km
Gas Summary:
Neepawa (May 12): 63.14 l @ $1.64/l (CAD$103.48) – ODO 224905