Wheel Bearings

UFP makes Vault no maintenance hubs. I have them on my tandem axle boat trailer. UFP was purchased by Lippert. UFP also makes them with disc brakes.
I would have paid a few extra bucks for that package. Lord only knows when or if that will ever be offered on travel trailers.
UFP.net

fj12ryder wrote:
Dexter says do it annually as a CYA because they do such a slipshod of assembling their product. They're hoping you catch their mistakes before they cause too much damage.

My take on this bearing packing. We ordered ,and purchased our Montana Fifth Wheel from a dealer in Indiana , drove from Utah, and picked it up. 1600 miles one way, no bearings overheated , no issues with the brakes on the way home. I packed them for the first time after 7 years of use, only to check the brakes. IMO the bearings still did not need to be repacked, but I did it anyway while it was apart, and put in new grease seals.

Did I get lucky on the initial packing, maybe. I always check them after several miles to see if they are starting to get too warm.

Dexter says do it annually as a CYA because they do such a slipshod job of assembling their product. They're hoping you catch their mistakes before they cause too much damage.

Dexter says to do it annually and that's what I do.
for the small amount of time and money required to do this it gives me a warm fuzzy.

valhalla360 wrote:

jfkmk wrote:


I'm not sure why trailers don't typically use sealed bearings. Some do, but most don't. Perhaps it's because they may be used for boat trailer applications, and I don't think they do well in a submerged application.

I do wish I could service the bearings in my vehicles. I think the last serviceable bearings I had were on my 71 Challenger. I serviced the bearings every 30k or so, and never had a failure in more than 200k mikes, and that was 1971 technology.

Most of the vehicles I've had with the sealed bearings have failed at one point. Very expensive to have them replaced, and not too cheap even when I've done the work myself.

Truthfully, my annual repacking and maintenance is probably overkill. However for the ridiculously small amount of money and time I spend doing this, for me it is worth the assurance of not having an issue for the rest of the season.

While it seems silly to use a lower quality product because it's convenient, the boat axle application does make sense.

I've been driving for over 30yrs and I've never done the bearings on a vehicle and I've never had a failure. Likewise, I've not heard of any friends or family having issues...so no thanks to switching back.

Do you have a shop with a hoist and pnuematic tools? If I do it myself, the cost isn't much but it's a couple hours and a messy job. It's not the end of the world but it's a couple hours of a messy job that I would rather have back.

Amen brother.

I have sealed nev-r-lube bearings on my trailer and I like them. I lift the wheels once a year and check for axial play and then I'm good to go. They are the coolest running bearings I have ever had in a trailer.

jfkmk wrote:


I'm not sure why trailers don't typically use sealed bearings. Some do, but most don't. Perhaps it's because they may be used for boat trailer applications, and I don't think they do well in a submerged application.

I do wish I could service the bearings in my vehicles. I think the last serviceable bearings I had were on my 71 Challenger. I serviced the bearings every 30k or so, and never had a failure in more than 200k mikes, and that was 1971 technology.

Most of the vehicles I've had with the sealed bearings have failed at one point. Very expensive to have them replaced, and not too cheap even when I've done the work myself.

Truthfully, my annual repacking and maintenance is probably overkill. However for the ridiculously small amount of money and time I spend doing this, for me it is worth the assurance of not having an issue for the rest of the season.

While it seems silly to use a lower quality product because it's convenient, the boat axle application does make sense.

I've been driving for over 30yrs and I've never done the bearings on a vehicle and I've never had a failure. Likewise, I've not heard of any friends or family having issues...so no thanks to switching back.

Do you have a shop with a hoist and pnuematic tools? If I do it myself, the cost isn't much but it's a couple hours and a messy job. It's not the end of the world but it's a couple hours of a messy job that I would rather have back.

MarkTwain wrote:

Esacnj wrote:
How often should they be packed?

Depends who you talk with, I repack and have all the brakes and drums checked every other year, then I don't have to try and keep track of the milage. Cheap price for peace of mind.

I do the same as you. Nice to have a look as you feel for brakes etc.

chevman

^^^^^^Sounds like those inspections have caused more trouble than they've prevented. I think I'll stick to my every 6 years inspection. :)

BEARINGS!!!
I have my bearings repacked every other year. Ironically I took my 5th wheel into Les Schwab this morning as we were getting ready for a month long trip. They called and told me that the front bearing was shot and the brakes were soaked in grease and that the brake spring was disconnected, the adjustment key fell out as well:(:(:(:. The good news is that they could fix and replace all needed parts. Got my trailer back in 1 1/2hrs:):) There was no indication that anything was wrong or broken prior to taking the RV into Les Schwab!!! I will continue my alternative year repacking of my bearings!