My bearing failure story
This weekend I had a bearing failure on my trailer. I had no idea until somebody flagged me down with frantic hand gestures. I knew something was wrong but didn't know what. I looked in my mirrors but...
Forum Discussion
spadoctor wrote:
Some vehicles have sealed bearing but not most. I have towed well over 250000 miles and never replaced a trailer bearing. Proper amount of grease...installed correctly and not overloaded is the key not where its made....if that were the case every car and truck manufacturer would have wheels flying off.
Where bearings are made can make a difference. Variation in quality in bearings made off shore are much more than domestic bearings. When Chinese auto bearings first started being available I installed a set in a 78 Cutlass and within a few weeks I started hearing ugly noise caused by bearing failure. I replaced them with Timken US bearings in exactly the same manner as I did the failed bearings and as I had before on other vehicles and had no more issues. Within a few months after that auto parts stores started displaying signs in their windows saying they now carried domestic bearings.
You can get good bearings and other parts from China but you can also get really poor quality parts due to poor quality control.
Dick
