Wheel bearings - Montana Owners Club

gkbutler · 10-06-2006, 03:11 PM

Getting ready to make our annual trek following the geese to warmer climates. Everything is packed away in the basement; tires inflated to 80psi; torqued to 120#; and lubed with one shot of grease into the zerts.

While I was lubing the wheels, I got to thinking, how often should I get the bearings repacked? We only move twice a year right now and put about 3000 miles a year on the Monty. I had some warranty work done this past summer but didn't think about the wheel bearings at that time.

How often should I repack the bearings?

OntMont · 10-06-2006, 03:28 PM

The advice I have received is not to use the grease fitting on the axle, or at most just one very slow squirt. You did not mention the brakes, but you should be checking the brake mechanism and shoes at least once a year, and at that time it is not much more trouble to repack the wheel bearings. One RV repair man told me that he fixes many more axles that have been overlubed than underlubed. I try to get our brakes and wheel bearings checked once a year, before we head south.

LonnieB · 10-06-2006, 03:39 PM

Gary, no more miles than you put on it, I would think every 3 years should be sufficient. You will probably get differing opinions on this though. My rule on my other trailers, boat, utility, horse, etc., has always been this. The only time I differ from this is when there is a problem like, overheating, loose bearings, or when I change the brakes. So far I've been lucky and never lost a bearing on a trailer.

Montana Sky · 10-06-2006, 03:58 PM

I just went on my 3rd summer of use in my coach. I had the bearings checked this spring as I too add approx 5,000 miles a year on my coach. The bearings each took 1 squirt of grease. I also had the brakes adjusted at that time, shop said they were ready for an adjustment. Remember this is after 3 summers of use and approx. 15,000 miles. I guess alot depends on how many miles you put on each year.

ken · 10-06-2006, 04:38 PM

Gary
Like everything else. When you start worrying, maybe its time to have them packed. Maybe I am a little more paronoid, but we put about 8000 miles a year and have the bearings packed once a year when were in Florida for the winter. Its called insurance. Guess i got that while I was in the service. Maint was a big issue in the army. Campers World packs them cheaper than i can have it done in Va. So i make arrangements to have it done when we go south. I am pleased with their service. We have been doing this for two montanas and have never had a problem.

Wrenchtraveller · 10-06-2006, 05:15 PM

I like to do my own maintenance and I am an industrial mechanic so bearing maintenance is part of my trade. I have always done them every second year for every trailer I have owned and they always looked like they could have gone for another couple of seasons but I wanted to check the brakes. Always replace the seals when you repack the bearings. The original seals on my last two trailers were very poor quality and did not even have the little spring around the rubber lip. The Dexter axle book and website has very good instructions on how to clean and repack your own wheel bearings and if you are handy it is a pretty simple task.

ols1932 · 10-06-2006, 05:29 PM

It depends on the mileage. For fulltimers, I recommend repacking the wheel bearings once/year. That way you don't have to worry about it. Plus, Dexter recommends it.

Orv

gkbutler · 10-07-2006, 02:02 AM

Thanks for the advice. There are several CWs on our way south, just may see if one of them can squeeze me in.

ols1932 · 10-07-2006, 04:42 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by gkbutler

Getting ready to make our annual trek following the geese to warmer climates. Everything is packed away in the basement; tires inflated to 80psi; torqued to 120#; and lubed with one shot of grease into the zerts.

Gary,
I'm curious about the amount of torque you're using on the lugnuts. I believe that previous threads mentioned 100 lbs. My dealer, Ketelsen RV in Hiawatha, IA and Mor/Ryde in Elkhart, IN both use 100 lbs. Can you clarify for me?
Orv

mallardjusted · 10-07-2006, 06:33 AM

The torque values most likey will be different for different type/year of wheels? Mine are also supposed to be torqued at 120 lbs.

sreigle · 10-08-2006, 04:14 PM

At the rally, Keystone said 120 lb for the Montana and 150 for the Cambridge. I believe the manual for our Dexters also says 120 lbs. I'd have to dig out the manual to verify that.

noneck · 10-08-2006, 04:42 PM

Agree with previous posts, I pull my drums once a year to check the breaks...always wash out the bearings and check the cups -n- cones for wear. Repack them by hand and provides a sense of comfort knowing they are AOK. This runs counter to knowing that all my cars/trucks get neglected for 100,000 miles without concern for repacking the front wheel bears! Oh, well I'm only human...

Chuck

bsmeaton · 10-09-2006, 07:38 AM

Strictly my own opinion,

but bearings are one area I get a little paranoid about workmanship of others. It is a critical maintenance job that gets messy, so it's usually the newbie that gets assigned the work. Too many things can go wrong such as improper cleaning, dry spinning the bearing with compressed air, improper installation of the new grease, improper grease, even wrong setting of the nut.

I end up doing my own work, and as a consequence it ends up being about every third year on both the boat and Montana. That way I know exactly what grease is in there so I can add through the zerks. For some reason, I would rather extend the interval knowing it was done right. Might change someday if I found a service area I could be confident in.

sreigle · 10-09-2006, 08:28 AM

I, too, recommend once per year but let it go for two years and 30k to 35k miles this last time. The brakes were 2 years old and had 50% lining left. The wheel bearings still looked good but they repacked them anyhow since they had them out. I had put in two squirts into the zerks once per year as I was instructed by our dealer.

A word of caution. The brake linings looked good this last time. But 2 years prior they had 50% lining left but had stress cracks and the magnets were worn. He replaced both. Our dealer said I had the brake controller cranked too tight. I backed off slightly on the controller and this last time had 50% lining left after 2 years and at least 30k miles with no stress cracks. So keep that in mind when adjusting the brake controller.

wileecoyote985 · 10-20-2006, 02:16 PM

Just repacked mine a couple of weeks ago. We got the rig in Oct of 2004 so it was 2yrs. Mine were in great shape, as were the brake shoes/magnets. I kind of felt like it was a wasted effort as they really didn't need the repack. Problem is - you just don't know until you get in there and check them out.

The up side is that I know I'm ready to rock and roll for another season.

BTW, I'd seen drawings of the Dexter EZ lube axles, but didn't have first hand experience with them until I serviced mine. The grease is actually delivered between the seal and the inside bearing. What that means is that IF your seals are in good shape, the grease should migrate toward the outside bearing which is opposite of what happens with a Bearing Buddy. That should make it less likely to contaminate the brake shoes.

I still wouldn't want to get too generous with the grease gun though.

BTWW, Dexter is fairly specific about the recommended greases. As someone stated earlier, one advantage to doing it yourself is that you can be sure what you're using. One thing's for certain. You do not want to mix greases that have a different chemical base. For instance - I use a calcium based marine grease on my boat trailer that definitely would not be appropriate to top off my 5'er axles that call for a lithium based grease.

Glenn and Lorraine · 10-20-2006, 02:42 PM

Steve is correct. Keystone definitely recommends 110 to 120 pounds of torque for our Montys. I still have my torque CD given out at the rally. If you call Keystone they may send you one.

gkbutler · 10-21-2006, 01:23 AM

Ditto what the others have said. There was a thread last year with a lot of different opinions, it is recommended by Keystone that the tires be torqued to 120#. I will admit that I was surprised that after almost 1200 miles, I still had a couple of lug nuts that were still abled to be torqued.

Wrenchtraveller · 10-21-2006, 03:30 AM

If you remove aluminum wheels to get tires changed or balanced as I did, it is very IMPORTANT to check the torque as often as the DVD states. I was amazed the firt stop I made at around 20 miles.
I have a good torque wrench and some of the nuts required a full flat to re-torque to 120 ft LB
Then it was less and less and finally they were set and now the last 3000 miles, they stayed tight.

For non mechanics a flat is 1/6th of a turn.

HomeOnTheRoad · 10-21-2006, 04:28 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Wrenchtraveller

If you remove aluminum wheels to get tires changed or balanced as I did, it is very IMPORTANT to check the torque as often as the DVD states. I was amazed the firt stop I made at around 20 miles.
I have a good torque wrench and some of the nuts required a full flat to re-torque to 120 ft LB
Then it was less and less and finally they were set and now the last 3000 miles, they stayed tight.

For non mechanics a flat is 1/6th of a turn.

It is important with steel wheels too. Mine take three or four tightenings to finally stay tight.

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