Wheel Bearing Maintenance
When do most folks repack their wheel bearings, is it my time, like once a year or more like mileage?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Forum Discussion
Badhabit wrote:
I 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
Not buying into the vibration thing much. Heat from friction wear and dirt are biggest enemy of bearings. I think the veterans here have the right idea with normal users going every other year. Adding grease into the hubs creates a concern about blowing past the seals, mostly because folks like to over do everything.- I do it every spring, It's cheap insurance and peace of mind.
rkassl wrote:
When do most folks repack their wheel bearings, is it my time, like once a year or more like mileage?
Thanks!
For me, it was more on mileage. We simply don't go very far, or very often (dangit!). I'd hit the EZLubes every year with about 6-10 shots of grease and call it good. When I had all the bearings and seals replaced in 2014, after 10 years, the shop said they were all still in good condition, there was no noticeable slop and I'd had almost no grease leakage past the seals. The bearings and seals that went back in will outlast the FW, that's for sure. :-) Under $150 and included adjusting the brakes. That being said, if you tow 10k miles a year, yeah, a yearly repack might not be a bad idea.
Lyle- 4-5 years on the camper longer on the other trailers.........
- My new fifth wheel is showing signs that one seal is bad, and I intend to disassemble all 4 wheels next week. The problem is that Lippert is using really cheap Chinese seals and they're injecting a relatively thin axle grease that blows out the seals. Then the brakes get contaminated to where they don't work. It's a safety issue. I'm going to clean out the current grease and repack the bearings with Lucas red thick axle grease and install new axle seals.
