Forum Discussion
- Jay_PatExplorerJust had mine checked earlier this year(first time).
Have about 30,000 miles, maybe more.
Had trailer for five years.
They all looked good.
Pat - PenManExplorerOwner's manual says annually but I repack every other year. Never a problem but I do watch temperatures when towing.
- phillygExplorer IIEvery other year for me.
- Every other year for me also. I replace the seals about every 4 years. Never do I use the grease fitting!! This is great for boat trailers that get submerged in water but it will hose down your brake shoes if the seal is not 100%.
- RAS43Explorer III
Likes to tow wrote:
Every other year for me also. I replace the seals about every 4 years. Never do I use the grease fitting!! This is great for boat trailers that get submerged in water but it will hose down your brake shoes if the seal is not 100%.
Why would you go thru the trouble of repacking the bearings and not replace the seals? The seal has to be removed to remove the inner seal anyway and they don't cost much. Just curious. - kknowltonExplorer IIWe do ours by mileage, which works out close to spring one year, fall the next year.
- Shadow_CatcherExplorerI replaced the Chinese lo grade bearings with better and packed them in synthetic grease I pan on re packing them in about five years. One of the main reasons for doing bearings is checking brakes and adjusting them.
- BadhabitExplorerI read something on this and it made sense to me. If the trailer does a lot of sitting, the bearings will make marks on the race and therefore should be done once a year. If it does a lot of moving (fulltimers), you can go a lot longer between services. I was wondering this as why should a trailer be done annually while a automobile goes for years between servicing. That is how it was explained to me.
H - fj12ryderExplorer IIINot very likely unless the trailer/wheels are sitting there vibrating all the time. Simple weight is not going to hurt the bearing surfaces, but if there is frequent vibration it's a different story. Or maybe it it's sitting for a few years with no movement, there could be some issues with them.
RAS43 wrote:
Likes to tow wrote:
Every other year for me also. I replace the seals about every 4 years. Never do I use the grease fitting!! This is great for boat trailers that get submerged in water but it will hose down your brake shoes if the seal is not 100%.
Why would you go thru the trouble of repacking the bearings and not replace the seals? The seal has to be removed to remove the inner seal anyway and they don't cost much. Just curious.
I don't actually pull the inside bearing out to pack in more grease. I only visually inspect and feel for the amount of grease it has, then grab some more grease with two fingers, go through the seal and pull the grease off my fingers as I withdraw my hand. I do this several times. I wipe some of the excess off with a clean towel. The outside bearing is of course removed when I pull the hub and I go through the routine of packing it with "grease in the palm of hand" method. In pulling boat trailers for over 50 years...I have never lost a bearing. I only pull my 5th wheel about 2000 miles a year. Every other year seems to work good on the bearings and every 4 years on the seals. The seals never show leakage. If I pulled more miles I would step up the schedule.
About Fifth Wheel Group
19,006 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 13, 2025