Hot caravan wheel hub with binding noise

[mealsonwheels]

Our 16 month old single axle caravan offside wheel hub has suddenly started getting hot when towed the slightest distance and is accompanied with a binding noise. We've jacked the van up and the wheel seems to turn fairly freely. The handbrake goes on and releases ok.

We towed the caravan several times last year, with no problems. It had it's first service in the winter. We've spoken to the service department to ask if it could have been over torqued on the service, but they said if it was over torqued, the wheel wouldn't spin. They suggested it could possibly be a high spot and a build up of brake dust. We know from reading previous posts, there are technical experts on the forum and we would be pleased to have any views on this.

Pauline.

 

[rayc]

Pauline, I suspect it is brake binding and not the wheel bearing. To get to the bottom of it the drum will have to come off for an inspection of the brakes and their component parts e.g. return springs. In days of old of course this was very easy and any competent DIY car mechanic could do it. It is still fairly ubncomplicated but the one shot bearing nuts used these days are done up very tight.

If you are not competent then your only choice is a caravan dealer or friendly mechanic.

 

[rayc]

Pauline, I suspect it is brake binding and not the wheel bearing. To get to the bottom of it the drum will have to come off for an inspection of the brakes and their component parts e.g. return springs. In days of old of course this was very easy and any competent DIY car mechanic could do it. It is still fairly ubncomplicated but the one shot bearing nuts used these days are done up very tight.

If you are not competent then your only choice is a caravan dealer or friendly mechanic.

Pauline, further to my post it is interesting that prior to the service it was ok since then it has not been used. The brakes may have been adjusted on the tight side and there has possibly been a build up of rust on the shoes over the winter. The rust and dust may be laying in the drum and getting between the shoe and the drum. anyway it would appear that the drum has got to come off.

 

[RogerL]

Pauline, you don't say what make your chassis is, but Al-Ko (the main supplier) recommends that the brake linins are checked for wear and adjusted every 6,000 miles or 12 months. This can be done using the inspection and adjustment holes on the back of the brake drum. The hub does NOT need to be dismantled, avoiding replacement of the "one-shot" hub nuts.

The only times the hub needs to be dismantled are a) for wear in the bearing itself which is normally good for very high mileages, probably the life of the caravan or b) to clean out brake dust which accumulates over 10s of 1000s of miles towing.

I'm aware that caravan workshops, including Approved ones, clean the hub out at annual service but in 99% of cases, this is unnecessary.

I think it highly unlikely that dust would build up in just 16 months to cause these problems. If the wheel spins freely it's not the brakes binding, through over-adjustment. A high spot can be felt rotating the wheel as there will be more resistance in one particular place.

In your position, I'd be reluctant to accept your service department's diagnosis but the hub will need to come off for examination and it will then be difficult to prove whether faulty workmanship during the first service was the cause. It would be well worth writing to the caravan manufacturer, before having further work done, expressing your concerns and asking their advice.

 

[mealsonwheels]

Many thanks for your suggestions and advice. We are taking the caravan back to the dealership which did the servicing, to investigate the problem, tomorrow. Will let you know their findings!

Pauline.

 

[mealsonwheels]

We left our caravan with the service engineers to investigate the problem. The wheel was stripped down and everything appeared normal, with no sign of brake dust and nothing untoward. A slight adjustment was made to the brake, which has solved the problem of the hot hub. The engineers towed our caravan on a test drive and said the high pitched noise was absent. We then collected the caravan, but before leaving, asked the engineer if he would come with us in our tow car, for a short run to make sure the noise had stopped. He did and no sooner were we out on the road than the noise started. He was completely baffled and asked us to go back to the dealership and got us to hook up and tow a brand new caravan, the same make as ours, and would you believe it, the same noise appeared whilst towing that!

We automatically thought the hot hub and noise were connected, but obviously there were two separate snags. To eliminate the possibility of wind noise, we even removed the spare wheel and carrier when we got home, to see if it was that which was causing the noise and towed the caravan round the block, but the noise was still there. It is a high pitched metallic noise, which only happens when towing the caravan and it now seems possible that it could be the tow car which may be making the noise. We tow with a new Freelander TD4, and wonder if any anyone has any ideas.

 

[mealsonwheels]

We left our caravan with the service engineers to investigate the problem. The wheel was stripped down and everything appeared normal, with no sign of brake dust and nothing untoward. A slight adjustment was made to the brake, which has solved the problem of the hot hub. The engineers towed our caravan on a test drive and said the high pitched noise was absent. We then collected the caravan, but before leaving, asked the engineer if he would come with us in our tow car, for a short run to make sure the noise had stopped. He did and no sooner were we out on the road than the noise started. He was completely baffled and asked us to go back to the dealership and got us to hook up and tow a brand new caravan, the same make as ours, and would you believe it, the same noise appeared whilst towing that!

We automatically thought the hot hub and noise were connected, but obviously there were two separate snags. To eliminate the possibility of wind noise, we even removed the spare wheel and carrier when we got home, to see if it was that which was causing the noise and towed the caravan round the block, but the noise was still there. It is a high pitched metallic noise, which only happens when towing the caravan and it now seems possible that it could be the tow car which may be making the noise. We tow with a new Freelander TD4, and wonder if any anyone has any ideas.

EUREKA!

Problem solved.

It was.......... would you believe it..........

.......wind noise going through a gap in the offside towing mirror!

In desperation, we attached them to the Freelander, without the caravan on the back and drove a few yards when the noise started...put a finger over a hole in the fitment and it stopped.....took finger off.....and the noise started. Amazing how we had wracked our brains over this one, wondering what on earth could be the cause of all the noise.

 

[RogerL]

Nice to hear that you've got both problems fixed.

Noises can be notoriously difficult to eliminate. They're difficult to pinpoint, particularly if they're outside the passenger compartment.

Some manufacturers fit "audible brake pad wear warning" devices, they're just a thin piece of metal which rubs on the disk when the pad is worn to replacement point. They sound a bit like a tuning fork. I only found out about them because I thought the noise was a failing wheel bearing!