Longest interval before bearing grease?

[drsmart]

I've read many posts on recommended interval before greasing wheel bearings but I'm wondering who has gone more than two years and not had any problems. Also has anyone ever had a bearing overheat or seize on a Montana? If yes, was it due to going too long without fresh grease?
Reason I'm asking is I don't have a lot of faith in RV dealer service departments to carry out the whole process properly. Do they lift the rig or axle without creating a problem? Are the bearings properly cleaned and sufficiently greased? Are the hubs properly tightened? I've even watched as staff move someones trailer with a tractor and end up bumping into other trailers. Good grief Charlie Brown.

Thanks
Dave

[pineranch]

Dave,
You have alot of doubts I'm not sure there are answers to. Good preventive maintenance will prevent many problems. Run to failure is not a good practice especially with rotating components. To quote WildHorse "Don't be upset with the results you didn't get with the work you didn't do." Good luck.
Mike

[Montana3800RE]

I clean, inspect, repack the bearings every winter and also check all brake pads and hardware at the same time on every trailer we own, I guess peace of mind and doing it myself. I have seen several times someone broke down from dry wheel bearings damaging not only the bearings and races, but sometimes the spindal.............Ron

[kylec2]

Ditto on what Ron said, our Montana was a considerable investment and the time it takes for me to perform ongoing maintenance is a small price to pay to keep it in top condition. As a point of reference, we put approximately 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year on the rig.

[Ozz]

Dave, call Dexter and ask them the questions, I did and got some good information. They make the things so they should know.
Our members have real-time experience and great information as well.
Your post is a good one, but I imagine people will hesitate to answer your direct question on the two years part, and admit they have gone a gazillion miles without new grease or maintenance.

[Pugtracker]

Just cleaned and repacked my bearings after 15k (probally a little more) Texas to Alaska to Maine. I used the bearing buddys and filled them as directed by the manual. Turn the wheel slowly, pumping slowly. Anyway had a good trip no problems with bearings. Two of my repacks i had grease that had gone by the seal, one i had to replace the brake pads the other just had to be cleaned. I wont use the bearing buddy again, will just do it the way I did years back repack and add some in the middle. packing it left no room for expansion and what a mess getting all the grease out. I was using valvoline but I'm switching to mobil one, to see if more money will not break down as much. Anyway broke three leaf springs but the bearings were fine.

[William H. Collier]

We had our Big Sky 5 years and a little over 30 thousand miles and never gave it a shot of grease and never had a wheel off, no problems when we traded it in. All that greasing just causes problems.
Bill

[DQDick]

Since this is such a popular topic I specifically asked Dexter to cover it as a part of their presentation at the Rally. Will be interesting to see what they say.

[Ren]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Since this is such a popular topic I specifically asked Dexter to cover it as a part of their presentation at the Rally. Will be interesting to see what they say.

I wish I could be there for this. Let us know what type / manufacture of grease they recomend. There was a thread here on MOC about what grease to use just a few days ago, but now I cant seem to find it.

[Pugtracker]

quote:Originally posted by Ren

I wish I could be there for this. Let us know what type / manufacture of grease they recomend. There was a thread here on MOC about what grease to use just a few days ago, but now I cant seem to find it.

i was asking about grease, in a post i use valvoline synth but have decided to switch or mobil one, so will see if it hold up better

[ols1932]

The standard recommended interval between repacking of the wheel bearings seems to be 12 months or 12,000 miles. Now, I'm not going to repack my wheel bearings once and then let the rig set for 12 months in a garage and then repack them again. A little common sense is in store here. We have ours repacked annually because we're on the road all the time and I need to have the brake linings checked anyway. My service people are extremely good and I put full faith and confidence in their work. They are thorough and professional. I don't fear that they won't do the job right because I've seen and experienced their work.

Orv

[GregN]

Another important factor of the wheel bearing is, carry spare wheeel bearings with you. My parents had a wheel bearing go bad, not due to the lack of maintance, just a bad bearing. Where they were at, after being towed, the only repair place in town did not have the bearings in stock. Lucky my parents carried spares and were no to delayed on the trip.

[RRman]

I go at least 2 years before paying the Service Center to check brakes and grease bearings as we tow less than 4K Miles per year, traveling about every other month around AL, MS, GA, FL Panhandle.
I check the tires and hubs with the infrared Thermometer at every Rest Stop.

[dieselguy]

I'm a recreational camper ... we don't tow much over 3000 - 4000 a year. I repack every two years not so much that I feel the grease is shot, but more so to get to look everything over. Although carrying a set of wheel bearings is forward thinking ... usually if the bearing is pitted or burnt up ... so is the race. If you caught it near a business all would be well ... however changing the race out yourself along the highway or campground would be a job even for an experienced mechanic assuming you did have the tools to do it. If grease has gone the way of nearly all else, I'd venture to say about any synthetic grease would be sufficient as there are probably but 2-3 base manufacturers left that make it anyway and about the only difference is whose name is on the can and what color dye they were directed to use.

[deadeye]

I do my own maintence on wheel bearings and brakes every two years. Although I do not put that many miles on my rig. Under 6000 to 7000 yearly. But coming from a farming community, I have found a grease that stands up very well to the eliments. It is John Deere cornhead grease. This is used on combine cornheads where there is a lot of metal on metal parts and a lot of heat build up. I have tried to heat this grease with a torch to see what would happen and it stood up very well. You can buy this grease at any John Deere dealer. I am not affialiated with JD in any way. This is the only thing I buy at the JD dealer. Green paint cost to much. This is only my opinion. I am sure that in today's market place, there are other brands of grease out there on the market that stand up well. I also carry an extra set of bearings and seals in an old tin type coffee can with the plastic lid on it, in my rig. By the way, this grease don't have green paint on it, but is a ;ittle pricey. I use it in all of my grease guns (3)....JB

[timandsusan]

We use a local RV dealer for the past 5 years. The bearings are done annually and the brakes are checked. I usually tow between 6000 to 8000 miles per year--except the year to AK--about 11000 that year. Results--no problems with either bearing or brakes. Happy travels. The real answer--just do it or have it done annually to avoid problems on the road.

[RickW]

Checked mine for first time after 3 years about 35k miles. Everything was fine but still repacked them since it was all apart. Did this last fall as we were getting ready to put the trailer in storage for the winter. By spring we decided we wanted Level-Up and I also decided to stop at Mor-Ryde to install I/S & disk brakes. So basically they got repacked for nothing.

I will admit my maintenance schedule was to get them done every other year. It just did not get it done that winter and we ran another year. All was in good shape and we could have gone yet another year but I still plan on every other year.