Wheel Bearings

Bob Vaughn wrote:
Why do the newer cars and trucks never have to have the wheel bearings repacked but rv's still need them to be repacked. Plus why don't tt & 5 th wheel mfg. offer an odometer option on their wheels? 50-75 dollars is nothing when you are spending 50,000 dollars for a unit.......

Our trailer came with nev-r-lube bearings in Dec. of 04. I replaced them last year and they seemed still good but leaked some oil and two of them had a small amount of slack. The trailer had 61,000 plus miles in Dec. of 2009. At least one time each year I jack up the trailer and shake each wheel to check for wear.

The advances are coming. I was surprised to learn that my new Diesel Pusher with IFS never needs lubing.

When we were researching a new RV a few years ago I did read post with members that didn’t like the Nev-R-Lube the most common thing I heard was Chinese bearings and that it can take a week to 10 days to get parts. At the time I did ask if there were any positive comments and did get a number of good comments. I contacted the manufacture and they told me they had a 5 year 100,000 mile guarantee that sounded good and they had a new bearing supplier. We put anywhere between 8,000 to 12,000 miles a year on our trailer, last year was around 10,000 miles. In three years I estimate that we have around 30,000 on it and so far not any problems.

On our last fiver we re-packed the bearings every year and didn’t have any problems with them either, had to replace the shackles but not the bearings.

So far we’ve had good luck not any problems, I have had the trailer a lined and also the tires balanced, not sure if that has anything to do with it. Again not sure if it helps or not but we use an air hitch and MOR/ryde Independent Suspension. We only added these things because we’re retired and like to move around.

The new trucks have cassette sealed type bearings. At least my 06 Chevy does and I know the newer Dodges do too. Most have reported they have failures sooner than old regular packable bearings. I would not want them on my TT.

As far as packing trailers bearings. My TT is 28 year old and I remember packing them twice. Both times I was doing brakes so I just repacked them to make everything like new. I check them about every 7 years or so because that is when it seems I need new brake parts. During my checks I never found them in need of packing. Never. I put on about 4 to 5K a year on my TT.

Yes, Mor/ryde is taking care of the upgrade/rebuild next week.

Not so Bob Vaughn...Iv'e been repacking my 2009 F250 fronts since new, yes most do but i prefer the hands on eyes on approach. Don't ever presume to elaborate and post what is not true...easy now.

Fred,

Do you realize that you will have to replace the axles to change to greaseable bearings? Can't put regular bearings on a never lube axle. As far as problems, my trailer is 10 years old and I replaced the Neverlube bearings this spring. They were still good, only a little grease seep from a couple of the seals. I just felt it was time.

Traveler II wrote:
You can get nev-r-lube bearings that are good for 100,000 miles. We have had them for 3 years now and like them. I've been told by others that they would never have them and when I ask why I'm told that if I have a problem it's hard to get parts. So far so good, here is a web page for more information.

http://www.dexteraxle.com/nev_r_lube_bearings

Just a little heads-up as far as Dexter Nev-R-lube bearings, I have them and I don't trust them any farther than I can throw my truck! Dexter will say they are guaranteed for 5 years/100.000 miles. Mine blew with around 25.000 miles at 5 years and totaled everything from the spindle out costing $2500 and a week's stay in Griffin Georgia(a super lil' town BTW)as soon as I got home I replaced the other three and I'll replace them in another four years and call it preventive maintenance. The problem with the is tow fold, first Dexter stopped making them in France who maintained high QC to China which,,, second, the only real way to inspect them is to pull the tire and hub and do a visual looking for oil leaks and wear.

How does it know when you are driving solo or with the trailer in tow?

The computer knows when you connect and disconnect the trailer power cord.

As to Never-lube bearings, That is what I currently have on our trailer but next week I will have them replaced with standard serviceable bearings that I can have repacked each year. Do a search on the never-lubes and you will find a lot of failures.

Bob Vaughn wrote:

Traveler II wrote:

Bob Vaughn wrote:
Why do the newer cars and trucks never have to have the wheel bearings repacked but rv's still need them to be repacked. Plus why don't tt & 5 th wheel mfg. offer an odometer option on their wheels? 50-75 dollars is nothing when you are spending 50,000 dollars for a unit.......

Our Ford has a setting that we can keep track of the mileage of our trailer when it’s hooked up to the truck. We can also set it for different trailers that we might tow, nice feature.

How does it know when you are driving solo or with the trailer in tow?

It is activated when you plug the trailer into the truck.