Packing Wheel bearings

[jsnip42]

I have a 2 year old 3000RK. Has traveled about 10K miles. I have never checked the wheel bearings for greese. Do you think I should add a little each year or take the wheels off and inspect each year. So far it has been trouble free and would like to keep it thay way.

[ols1932]

You'll get all kinds of answers to this one. As for me, I come from the old school and believe in doing what the manufacturer recommends -- repack at least annually. If you have the E-Z lube setup, do not put in more than two pumps annually. But if you don't take the wheels off to repack the bearings, you're missing a great chance to check the brake linings and the magnets. One time we had brake linings that had broken, and were falling down. They were very brittle like they had overheated. So I would grease them annually, or rather I take mine to someone I trust to have it done.

Orv

[SlickWillie]

If you had a two year old truck with 10K miles, would you repack the bearins? I wouldn't. What's the difference?

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by SlickWillie

If you had a two year old truck with 10K miles, would you repack the bearins? I wouldn't. What's the difference?

Probably not, but I believe that the axle people probably have a good handle on what a person should do. I've seen some trailers with only 13,000 miles on them and the bearings were flattened due to lack of grease. When I asked the guy how often he had the wheel bearings packed, he said, "Oh, I've never repacked them. I don't believe you need to."
To each his own. I remember the old Fram filter commercial, "Pay me now or pay me later."

Orv

[Illini Trekker]

If this the first time for maintenance on the bearing I would repack only because you don't know if they were packed at the factory in the first place, after that depends on how much the trailer is used IMOP a trailer that sets along time that is also hard on mechanical parts.

[Jolu]

Something that was pointed out to me recently by an alignment shop is the wheel hub assembly will get a slight wobble in it if the bearing is not tightened up from time to time. This is probably one of those things we might miss doing if we only use the EZ Lube system.
I am starting to come around to Orv's thinking.

Joe

[8.1al]

If a wheel bearing is properly adjusted it should not need re-adjusting. I ran my car trailers miles and miles and never touched the bearings and had no failures, however I have become more conservative with our home on wheels and repack the bearings every other year and I NEVER use the EZlube.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Illini Trekker

If this the first time for maintenance on the bearing I would repack only because you don't know if they were packed at the factory in the first place, after that depends on how much the trailer is used IMOP a trailer that sets along time that is also hard on mechanical parts.

If you've towed a trailer 10K miles, and the bearings were not properly lubed, you would have known it. Dry bearings go up in smoke fast. I do check hub temperature at fuel stops when making a long trip. Everyone has to do what they think is best. Manufacturers issue a lot of instructions that are simply there to cover there a$$.

I would agree with you on the second statement. I worry a lot more about our unit setting here than I would if I towed it 10K miles a year.

[Lambchop]

I have only seen one bearing failure since RVing since 1969. I have talked with hundreds of people on this topic. It seems the Chinese tires are the big news item!
I will pack mine next spring with about 7 to 8,000 miles on our unit. I did look at the bearings by taking off the rubber dust cover & there seems to be plenty of grease in the hub & around the bearing..
Some people pack their bearings every year & I feel they are over doing it. To each his own. Then there's the story of someone who had his bearings repacked by a dealer by a technician who doesn't care about anything except when is pay day. Then owner gets a brake failure from too much grease! Also damage can be done when the technician uses a air hose with high pressure to dry the bearings. By spinning with the air hose with just cleaning solvent can cause unseen damage!
I agree, pulling the wheels is the way to go, so you can inspect brakes & the mags.

My two cents


Roy

[mhs4771]

OK, we're putting our two cents in, he's mine:
Owned a SOB TT for 15 years and only had the wheel bearing repacked several times during that period. Traded it in for a new 2007 SOB TT. During the annual inspection in June 2009 had the bearings repacked, during a trip to the York, PA that October we burned out a bearing on Rt 15 about 30 miles north of Harrisburg, limped into a Truck Stop on three wheels and found someone with a mobile unit that could replace the bearing (had managed to stop before ruining the hub)
So to repack or not, good question.

[ols1932]

When I talked to a Dexter rep about seven years ago concerning the E-Z lubes that I had, he told me the reason the put those on the rigs is because we will buy them. He didn't have them on his camper because he, as Dexter rep, went with the recommendations of 10,000 miles or annually. Now, if someone like that recommends it, I'm going to follow his advice. He makes no money on the grease. So no matter how often you do it or not, Dexter makes no money. The only people that make money are the bearing and hub manufacturers is the bearings go bad from lack of attention. I took his advice as a forewarning.

Orv

[Tom S.]

Do not try to compare the wheel bearings on these trailers with the ones on your truck! Your truck came with sealed wheel bearings that were designed for long use without maintenance. On the other hand, the bearings on our trailers are literally throw backs to the 40's 50's and 60's. The only difference between what they use now and what they used then is the grease has gotten better. I have a routine that I do yearly, regardless of mileage. I remove the wheels, pull the drums and check the bearings and shoes. At the same time, I grease the wet bolts and check the torque on the axle U-bolts and adjust the brakes. It takes about 25 minutes or so per wheel, or less than two hours for all four, and gives me piece of mind for the whole season.

BTW: for those of you who don't like Chinese made products, your wheel bearings were made there! Just one more reason for an annual inspection.

[SlickWillie]

quote:Originally posted by Tom S.

Do not try to compare the wheel bearings on these trailers with the ones on your truck! Your truck came with sealed wheel bearings that were designed for long use without maintenance. On the other hand, the bearings on our trailers are literally throw backs to the 40's 50's and 60's. The only difference between what they use now and what they used then is the grease has gotten better. I have a routine that I do yearly, regardless of mileage. I remove the wheels, pull the drums and check the bearings and shoes. At the same time, I grease the wet bolts and check the torque on the axle U-bolts and adjust the brakes. It takes about 25 minutes or so per wheel, or less than two hours for all four, and gives me piece of mind for the whole season.


BTW: for those of you who don't like Chinese made products, your wheel bearings were made there! Just one more reason for an annual inspection.

Gotta disagree with you Tom. Front wheels on two wheel drive vehicles typically came with tapered roller bearings with a hub seal for years. I would say more bearings fail from contamination and improper clearance than lack of lubrication. The TT mentioned above was probably a case of improper clearance. The only tapered wheel bearing I have ever lost was on a boat trailer. My dad thought it needed to have less clearance, so he tightened it. Left a smoke trail behind me.


The Dexter rep is gonna tell you Dexter policy; what I meant by CYA. Personally, I don't care if everyone re-packs the bearings every month. I'm just giving my opinion from years of mechanic work and life experience. Now if I pulled my rig a lot, and needed to check the brakes, I'm sure I would pack the bearings then. No need pulling the hubs and not taking care of business. I'll do it myself though. I've seen too many shops do shoddy work on them. Bearings don't preform well with grit in them.

[Lambchop]

quote:Originally posted by SlickWillie

Gotta disagree with you Tom. Front wheels on two wheel drive vehicles typically came with tapered roller bearings with a hub seal for years. I would say more bearings fail from contamination and improper clearance than lack of lubrication. The TT mentioned above was probably a case of improper clearance. The only tapered wheel bearing I have ever lost was on a boat trailer. My dad thought it needed to have less clearance, so he tightened it. Left a smoke trail behind me.


The Dexter rep is gonna tell you Dexter policy; what I meant by CYA. Personally, I don't care if everyone re-packs the bearings every month. I'm just giving my opinion from years of mechanic work and life experience. Now if I pulled my rig a lot, and needed to check the brakes, I'm sure I would pack the bearings then. No need pulling the hubs and not taking care of business. I'll do it myself though. I've seen too many shops do shoddy work on them. Bearings don't preform well with grit in them.

I agree with you, Will 100%

Roy

[Johnnyg]

Orv, You hit the nail on the head when you said there would be all kind of answers.
In my opinion there’s no comparing the axles beneath the fiver and the typical automobile. I believe the auto industry is held at a much higher standard than the RV industry.
As an example, when was the last time you had to tighten the U bolts on the rear diff in your car, upgrade to wet bolts or tighten lugs on the wheels repeatedly. Unless you were running the off-road circuit I would guess never.
I’m new to the RV scene but plan to error on the side of caution when it comes to the undercarriage of my trailer.

John

[lfw]

Getting ready to repack mine in the next couple of weeks.. Do you have to put new grease seals in the hub when you repack them???
Thanks
lfw

[8.1al]

I definitely would replace them

[Jdrobone]

LFW,

I would.

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by SlickWillie

Gotta disagree with you Tom. Front wheels on two wheel drive vehicles typically came with tapered roller bearings with a hub seal for years. I would say more bearings fail from contamination and improper clearance than lack of lubrication. The TT mentioned above was probably a case of improper clearance. The only tapered wheel bearing I have ever lost was on a boat trailer. My dad thought it needed to have less clearance, so he tightened it. Left a smoke trail behind me.


The Dexter rep is gonna tell you Dexter policy; what I meant by CYA. Personally, I don't care if everyone re-packs the bearings every month. I'm just giving my opinion from years of mechanic work and life experience. Now if I pulled my rig a lot, and needed to check the brakes, I'm sure I would pack the bearings then. No need pulling the hubs and not taking care of business. I'll do it myself though. I've seen too many shops do shoddy work on them. Bearings don't preform well with grit in them.

Perhaps you have misread what I said, or I wasn't clear.

Pull the front hubs on any newer vehicle. In fact look at the ones on you tow vehicle. The bearings are a sealed unit and you can't even take them apart for greasing or bearing replacement, you have to buy the whole hub. These new bearings, while more costly to replace, are much better sealed, hence the 'lifetime' moniker.

Older vehicles were just like the hubs on our trailers: press on dust cap on the outside, tapered roller bearings on the inner and outer race, and a dust seal on the inside. Everything was individually removable and replaceable. As you mentioned, dirt and other forms of contamination brought in often by water, cause bearings to go bad, and repacking the old style bearings gets rid of these contaminants. You can't do that with new cars.

[SlickWillie]

Tom, I'm not gonna quote all that. I know the GM 4 WDs have had the disposable bearing hubs since back in the 80s and early 90s. They don't last like the old tapered roller bearings did. Our 04 had both replaced before 100K miles. I'm not sure what the other vehicles have now. I make an effort not to work on them anymore. The point I was trying to make was just that I've seen those old 70 and 80 model vehicles run at least a 100K miles without bearing service on the front wheels. And lubricants are far improved now. Not sure about the bearings tho. Last time I put a set in the boat trailer, made in China, and the race was so out of round I like to have never started it in the hub. I seldom pull it over a half mile or so, and it has preformed flawlessly. I suppose the hub straightened it up.