Wheel Bearing Repacking question

[bravelion]

After how many miles should wheel bearings be repacked? What does that actually entail?

I am renting a trailer from a private owner who is in the business of renting various trailers he owns. I want to test how well my Jeep Grand Cherokee tows a crtain size/weight trailer (well below my max GVWR) before I buy a trailer. I will take it 2,200 miles round trip over 11 days.

This is my first time renting and dealing with private owners, and they all seem to have varying degrees of fear, rules, and requirements.

This owner says "I am ok with it going on that long of a haul, but we do charge for a wheel bearing re-packing for any trip over 500 miles, which is $55".

A couple of other trailers I am considering made no mention at all of this, knowing the same distance.

I'm NOT against paying the extra $55 fee, and just want to know if it's a BS fee or legit. This helps me form an opinion of who I'm doing business with as there are a lot of other strict rules.

When I buy a trailer and hit the road for months on end, will I need to repack the bearings every 500 miles?

[fj12ryder]

"BUT, OEM trailer tires will NOT be rated higher than 65 mph."

Again, don't bet the farm on that. Some people have posted about their trailers coming with either Sailun or Goodyear tires as OEM, both of which are rated above 65 mph.

[dougrainer]

MFL wrote:
" Post back after READING CURRENT INFO, we'll see if you are MAN ENOUGH to admit when you are wrong!"

No word from Doug yet??? Didn't expect any!

Thanks Howard, for looking it up, reading for him.

BTW...Providers have been out in trailer use since 2010, rated M, so not just something that just happened.

Jerry

I will eat Crow. But, as noted, the change came in 2005. BUT, OEM trailer tires will NOT be rated higher than 65 mph. I will bet 90% of towable tires are either OEM or CHEAP replacements, as most people will not research and get higher mph tires when they replace the Trailer tires. So, I will stand by my statement about towing speed and will remove the word ALL and add SOME. Doug

[fj12ryder]

jmhartley11 wrote:
I repack the bearings on my 2008 Keystone Sprinter 5th wheel every spring regardless of how many miles I put on it the following year. I have a gooseneck cattle trailer I bought new in 1992 and only greased the bearings once which was last year. That's 26 years, and countless thousands of miles

So why do one differently from the other? Same design. Why spend so much time doing what you've discovered is basically unnecessary busy work?

[jmhartley11]

I repack the bearings on my 2008 Keystone Sprinter 5th wheel every spring regardless of how many miles I put on it the following year. I have a gooseneck cattle trailer I bought new in 1992 and only greased the bearings once which was last year. That's 26 years, and countless thousands of miles

[DustyR]

72cougarxr7 wrote:
My inexpensive Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires are rated to 81mph, although I dont typically go faster than 70-72 with the travel trailer.

I bought a set of the Carlisle Radial Trail HD tire for my boat trailer for the higher tow speed. I'm on my second year, time will tell I usually get three years before noticing any degradation.

[72cougarxr7]

My inexpensive Carlisle Radial Trail HD tires are rated to 81mph, although I dont typically go faster than 70-72 with the travel trailer.

[myredracer]

bravelion wrote:
After how many miles should wheel bearings be repacked? What does that actually entail?

Well, according to Dexter, bearings should be inspected and repacked annually or every 12K miles, whichever comes first. If this happened to be your own trailer, yes you might want to follow that. Many let it go longer than that. But 500 miles?? That's just plain ridiculous. Just an upcharge for nothing. Doing a proper repack on 4 wheels is hours of work, and not possible to do for $55.

As mentioned, just how would they know your mileage? 500 miles is a pretty short road trip. It would be interesting to ask how they track it. Another important reason to pull your drums off is to do a brake inspection. That's just as important as a routine bearing inspection/repack, if not more so.

As for tire speed rating, there's more of a choice now for higher than a 65 mph speed rating. Just had a set of Endurance installed with an 87 mph rating and have a few hundred miles on them. Nice to have ST tires that you don't have to restrict to 65 mph all the time. While I rarely want to or have a need to go above 65, I did get up to 75 or so on the interstate with them a couple of times and they sure run nice and track straight as an arrow.

[CFerguson]

BB_TX wrote:
He may take your money, but I doubt he repacks that often. Probably after several thousand miles.

^^^This^^^
A private individual may be anal enough to repack every 500mi, but a business most likely isn't.

[time2roll]

I would not rule out GPS either. Technology is low cost these days.

[MFL]

" Post back after READING CURRENT INFO, we'll see if you are MAN ENOUGH to admit when you are wrong!"

No word from Doug yet??? Didn't expect any!

Thanks Howard, for looking it up, reading for him.

BTW...Providers have been out in trailer use since 2010, rated M, so not just something that just happened.

Jerry

[bravelion]

Ha, this is great discussion.
For the record, I have no intention of towing above 65 mph pulling a rented trailer. Most likely will keep it 55-60 on this maiden voyage.

FYI - There are GPS trackers that can attach to anything and track movement, or point-in-time location. Here is one for $59.

This would allow the owner of the rented trailer to "spy" on the location and travel speed of the renter. Any spy shop sell these, or get it at Walmart. I guess it would keep honest people honest, regarding going to the beach, etc, but as a customer renting a trailer, still feels creepy.

[fj12ryder]

dougrainer wrote:

MFL wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:
"The MAX speed rating for all Trailer tires is 65 MPH."

You sure about that?

No...he can't be sure, since he is just plain wrong! He can be helpful in many cases, with RV repairs, but obviously tires is not his expertise.

Jerry

LOOK IT UP!!!! You are correct. I am not a Tire expert. BUT, I CAN READ and I get this info from the various Trailer Tire makers info. I advise my customers this fact all the time. I have yet to have a customer come back and tell me I am wrong. I believe there may be a tire rated at 70 mph, but it was VERY expensive. Here is another Tidbit. The Tires on a 2018/19 Tiffin 45 foot Allegro Bus are rated(Michelins) at only 75 mph. Hence Tiffin governs the Drivetrain at about 77 mph max. Doug

I looked it up:

"Special trailer tires have a maximum speed rating, just like passenger car and truck tires. Older tires have no special marking to designate a limit. Their maximum speed is 65 mph. Newer tires, those manufactured in 2015 and later, should have one of the following codes on the sidewall to show their rating:

M - 81 mph
L - 75 mph
J - 62 mph"

From the Carlisle webstie FAQ:

"How fast can I travel on Carlisle trailer tires?
In the past, most trailer tires were rated at 62 or 65 mph. Today, some of our tires are "rated" (speed symbols) at 87 mph (N), some at 75 mph (L), some at 65 mph (J: ST tires) and some at 62 mph (J: non-metric tires)."

[riven1950]

MFL wrote:

fj12ryder wrote:

"The MAX speed rating for all Trailer tires is 65 MPH."

You sure about that?


No...he can't be sure, since he is just plain wrong! He can be helpful in many cases, with RV repairs, but obviously tires is not his expertise.

Jerry


LOOK IT UP!!!! You are correct. I am not a Tire expert. BUT, I CAN READ and I get this info from the various Trailer Tire makers info. I advise my customers this fact all the time. I have yet to have a customer come back and tell me I am wrong. I believe there may be a tire rated at 70 mph, but it was VERY expensive. Here is another Tidbit. The Tires on a 2018/19 Tiffin 45 foot Allegro Bus are rated(Michelins) at only 75 mph. Hence Tiffin governs the Drivetrain at about 77 mph max. Doug

I don't tow over 65mph, usually around 62, but the Westlake tires on our 2019 GD TT are marked 75mph max. I know there is a lot of bad things said about Westlakes and I am not suggesting you should tow @ 75mph with any tire. Just stating what is on the tires.

[MFL]

LOL, don't need to look it up! My Provider STs are rated 81 mph, marked right on the side wall. While you are "LOOKING THEM UP", take a look at Carlisle HDs, and GoodYear Endurance. Post back after READING CURRENT INFO, we'll see if you are MAN ENOUGH to admit when you are wrong!! 🙂

Jerry