re-packing greasing the bearings / axle

[Happy_Camper3]

Hello,

how often should I be re-packing the bearings ?

I have a 2003 forest river salem le

If I don't tow it much, should I be doing it less often ?

I've owned it for 3 years, only towed it 200 miles in 3 years.

it goes down the road fine, and seems fine .

Is there a way to tell if it needs to be packed ? will it squeek or something first ?

the dealer wants $140 per axle, so about $300 with tax, I have two axles . I don't want to just throw money away .

[Lynnmor]

Rick57 wrote:
Hello Happy.Camper
Here is an easy way to tell if you need to pack your bearings. I do this almost every time while I am on a trip. Drive your trailer for a few miles. Stop and feel the bearing cup. If it is hot you need to repack the bearings like now. Be careful when you feel the bearing cup it can get very very hot.

And don't forget to bring along extra bearings and maybe an axle in case the spindle is ruined. Also pack plenty of road flares, cleaning solvent, an air compressor and fire extinguishers. :W

[Rick57]

Hello Happy.Camper
Here is an easy way to tell if you need to pack your bearings. I do this almost every time while I am on a trip. Drive your trailer for a few miles. Stop and feel the bearing cup. If it is hot you need to repack the bearings like now. Be careful when you feel the bearing cup it can get very very hot.

[Mr_MrsSchleppro]

OK I wanted to come and add to this bearing thread. We bought our travel trailer new back last July 3rd (2014), we have done two trips to Myrtle beach from central NC, and four trips to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge from central NC. A total of about 2100 miles. We got back from our last trip on Sunday July 19th. We stopped so could pick up my tractor on the way in so my wife towed the camper home and I followed. From the rear the two tires on the rear axle were clearly leaning in/cambered in at the top. So I got a chance to check it out today and discovered three of the four wheel bearings were so far out of adjustment that the seals had failed and the entire hub/brake area was covered in grease. Three of the outer bearings were dark showing that they had been hot. The only inner bearing failure was the one wheel that was dry. That bearing definitely had some visible wear. I'll post some pics as soon as I can but the grease was a dark grey and was very very thin. All this was on a brand new camper with only 2100 miles on it. I was planning on re packing the bearings this fall but I replaced all the bearings and races today as well as using a good "wheel bearing" grease knowing they are properly adjusted. As thin as the old grease was( not too old though) it could've been from over heating but I always check the wheels/hubs with an IR gun at each fuel stop so heat hasn't been an issue. I'm thinking they were using like a general purpose grease and the bearings were definitely not adjusted correctly. Feel free to discuss this and lets hear some thoughts.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Charlie D. wrote:
One of the things I don't see very often is people speaking about how much grease should be used. The EZ lube system speaks about greasing until fresh grease is seen. Over greasing causes the grease to churn and can cause them to overheat. If one could see the amount of grease seen in a shielded bearing they would see how little grease is used and needed. Pop a shield on a shielded bearing the size of a trailer bearing and the amount would be as small as a marble.

100% correct Charlie. You only need a grease wedge of a thou or two to protect metal to metal. As you pointed out, grease is an insulator so if you have a big ol wad of it in the hub everything will get hotter. Sometimes less is more. 🙂

[Charlie_D_]

One of the things I don't see very often is people speaking about how much grease should be used. The EZ lube system speaks about greasing until fresh grease is seen. Over greasing causes the grease to churn and can cause them to overheat. If one could see the amount of grease seen in a shielded bearing they would see how little grease is used and needed. Pop a shield on a shielded bearing the size of a trailer bearing and the amount would be as small as a marble.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Arcamper wrote:
I just don't understand why the interval on automotive bearings is so much higher. My 1994 Chevy pickup front bearings (2 wheel drive) where repacked in 1999 with 100 k miles and were fine. I did them again in 2013 at 200 k miles and they were fine. Now have 205 k miles on the original bearings with just grease and new seals ever being changed. I know the truck is not as heavy but the bearings are smaller also. If many of the big trailers on the road had to repack every 5 k miles that would be every 2 weeks for many and yes I know most run oil hubs. I can get this for boat trailers but how does an rv trailer need service every year?

Frankly, because people are ignorant about a lot of these things.

They don't know that bearings in a hub are a sealed system. The grease can't go anywhere if the seal is intact.

Oh sure, grease can gas off under high heat and over a long period of time, but that time is not 1, 2 or even 3 years; at least for the grease I use.

Case in point: I have a 93 diesel pickup with 180K on the clock and the front hub caps have never been off. The only time the bearing have be packed was at Detroit.

Now, sometimes bearings need to be checked more often. Like boat trailers. Where water intrusion can be a problem.

IMHO bearing packing and checking has to be one of the biggest cash cows in the RV world.

But I guess it helps the economy so it's all good. 🙂

[westend]

Nearly all newer 2wd vehicles use a cartridge bearing for front axles. Slightly older models used a sealed-no maintenance bearing. The '94 Chevy truck probably has a very well made bearing that is heads above the typical trailer fare.

Back in the day when nearly all front axle bearings on cars and trucks were serviceable, it was common to see vehicles run for 50,000 or so miles before bearing service. Also in that era, cars were considered a stroke of masterful engineering if they reached 100K miles. Hence, an owner might only have two or three bearing services in the life of the vehicle.

[ol__yeller]

Arcamper wrote:
I just don't understand why the interval on automotive bearings is so much higher. My 1994 Chevy pickup front bearings (2 wheel drive) where repacked in 1999 with 100 k miles and were fine. I did them again in 2013 at 200 k miles and they were fine. Now have 205 k miles on the original bearings with just grease and new seals ever being changed. I know the truck is not as heavy but the bearings are smaller also. If many of the big trailers on the road had to repack every 5 k miles that would be every 2 weeks for many and yes I know most run oil hubs. I can get this for boat trailers but how does an rv trailer need service every year?

Autos and TTs are different. The brakes on your TT are not self adjusting. They too should be inspected often, at least every other year. If you have the drums off to check the brakes it is a tiny more effort to check and repack your bearings. Or you could take the chance and ignore the recommended service interval and possibly enjoy that part of your vacation sitting alongside a busy road either doing the bearing fix there or waiting for a tow truck big enough to flat bed your TT.

[Arcamper]

I just don't understand why the interval on automotive bearings is so much higher. My 1994 Chevy pickup front bearings (2 wheel drive) where repacked in 1999 with 100 k miles and were fine. I did them again in 2013 at 200 k miles and they were fine. Now have 205 k miles on the original bearings with just grease and new seals ever being changed. I know the truck is not as heavy but the bearings are smaller also. If many of the big trailers on the road had to repack every 5 k miles that would be every 2 weeks for many and yes I know most run oil hubs. I can get this for boat trailers but how does an rv trailer need service every year?

[jfkmk]

Grit dog wrote:
Whatever you do Happy Camper, listen to jfkmk........he has a PhD in trailer bearings!

Here's your sign......

[Grit_dog]

Whatever you do Happy Camper, listen to jfkmk........he has a PhD in trailer bearings!

[ol__yeller]

When I had a TT, I'd check my bearing every other year. We typically didn't put a ton of miles on them. I felt that as I had to pull the hubs anyway to check the brakes every 2 years, it took only a little more effort to pull the bearings, clean them, inspect them, and repack them. Cost was minimal, a few bucks for new seals and the grease. I never had to replace a bearing and also never found one to be dry of grease after that time passed.

[captnjack]

I have EZ lube axles. Manufacturer states that wheel should be spun while adding grease with manual gun. I did it myself with a small grease gun (3 ounce tubes). One person can do it. Manufacturer says to add new grease until old grease starts to exit. It took roughly 40-50 hand pumps per wheel to get this to happen (approximately 4 ounces of grease per wheel).

I think they recommend that this be done annually. If done annually I'd bet the bearings would not need to even be looked at for many years, unless trailer is very heavily used. Absent some kind of symptom I won't pull mine for at least five years from date of purchase. I like the idea of checking temperature (even by hand) occasionally during use.

I also suspect that some are going overboard on their maintenance in this area, although I can't say that's a negative.

[westend]

free radical wrote:
maybe it's time for a greasless bearings

http://youtu.be/h9O5QQuFgrc

Yeah, that looks real good spinning on a table but what happens when 1K lbs is placed inside the inner race?
When disc brakes become standard on trailers, we'll probably see the migration to a cartridge bearing like a modern car. That will do away with bearing maintenance.