Approx how many miles do you get on a set of bearings?

[profdant139]

I have a very small trailer -- 2500 lb, fully loaded. I get my bearings repacked and inspected every year. (Probably could do it myself, but I want some professional eyes on the hardware.)

I tow around 10,000 miles a year. We don't go much over 62 mph. We do a lot of very rough road travel -- on rocky forest roads --at very low speeds.

I had around 70,000 miles on my bearings. The mechanic did the annual inspection and said that the bearings were shot -- he showed them to me, and they were. So I got them replaced. Not cheap, but gotta do it. (This is the same mechanic who has taken care of my family's vehicles for 28 years -- honest as the day is long. Often tries to talk me out of needless repairs -- "those brakes have plenty of life left in them -- wait till next year on the brake job.")

My question is this -- assuming proper maintenance, roughly how many miles does a set of bearings usually last? Is the number lower on a single axle unit?
Should I replace them every 50,000 miles? I don't mind spending money for safety, but I don't want to spend money for no good reason.

Your advice and experiences will be greatly appreciated!

[profdant139]

Hmmm. Some very good tips here. Just to make it clear, I am pretty sure we are not overloading -- the axles are rated at 3500 lb., and the only heavy item that we carry is water. And when possible, I travel with about a third of a tank (ten gallons). Sometimes, I fill it up (30 gal.)

I do know that getting them inspected and repacked every year is probably overkill, but since we do so much towing, why not? Plus, my annual inspection is what caught this problem before it turned into a really serious event.

I wish I had known about USA bearings -- it never crossed my mind that bearings are still made in the US. It seems like everything I buy is labelled Made in China. I will say that the Harbor Freight power tools (which I no longer buy) all suffer early bearing failures, but the name brand power tools (Makita, Bosch, deWalt) do not. So there must be a difference in the bearings available to power tool manufacturers.

Since last year's inspection did not catch any deterioration, I guess I will have to schedule preventive replacement of the bearings, maybe every five years or so? That way, I will be able to ask my mechanic to hunt down some higher-quality bearings in advance, so that the trailer does not sit on his lot for a week while he searches for them.

[Ralph_Cramden]

Huntindog wrote:


As for the expense, IF you got some american made bearings, it is justified. The chinese ones are really cheap.... I am not going to get into the quality aspect, other than to say it appears to be inconsistent. Many bad reports, and some good ones.

I can't disagree although finding 100% American made can sometimes be an exercise in frustration lol. I've seen plenty that claim to be American made.....but look closer. Containers of parts sent over, then pressed into a final assembly here? Oh the humanity

With 1.4 billion people, who a good percentage of have to have something with a few tapered roller bearings, bearing service and replacement may be a good business to be in if you ever end up living in china LOL.

[Crabbypatty]

Depends on maintenance and care. I repack and inspect my bearings in the beginning of every year when getting ready for the season. I think that I have replaced two if them in 14 years. Typically just the seals. Thtis way I can see everything, brakes etc and just dont give it anther thought for the rest of year. When I stop for gas I do feel the rims and tires to see if they are hot or if one is hotter than another. So far never happened, but if one wheel is hotter than the other that wold make me pull the tire and hub to see whats happening.

[westend]

Bearings similar to our trailer bearings were a stock item in automobiles up until the 70's-80's when a sealed bearing unit replaced them. Those cars would run out until 100K miles or better, if serviced. If you are replacing with good quality USA or Japan bearings, the service life should be close to 100K mi., if serviced and a majority of miles are on asphalt. Your service schedule is more than adequate (yearly) but a good idea since it allows for an inspection of hub, brake hardware, and bearings. It will also include an adjustment of brakes, which should lengthen brake and drum life.

[kknowlton]

On our last trailer, we had several wheel hub failures (not fun!) so we have been perhaps overcautious with the newer TT, which is smaller and lighter (I suspect we did overload the previous TT, which exacerbated the problem). We found a great mobile mechanic one time when we were heading out on a trip and noticed one wheel was leaking grease (oh no, not again!) so we went back to him - 80 miles away from our home - a few more times, every 5000 miles or less. He got another job and wasn't able to do it anymore, so he recommended we go to a reputable chain (Les Schwab in this case) which specializes in wheels, tires, brakes, etc., as they guarantee their work, and can be found in multiple locations, should we have a problem on a trip. We now take it to them once or twice a season, depending on our mileage, for bearing service. The mobile guy, the last time he did them, put in Japanese bearings, because he said they were much better than the cheap Chinese ones. Anyway, they have not changed the bearings for a couple years now - they have inspected & repacked them, but they keep telling us the bearings themselves look good. So it seems to me that good routine maintenance, and using good bearings to begin with, may indeed mean that bearings can last a long time.

[azdryheat]

If quality bearings are cleaned, repacked, and properly installed, they shouldn't need servicing every year.

[MitchF150]

He said he's had them repacked/inspected every year by a trusted mechanic, so I don't think it's his lack of maintenance in question here... 28 years with the same mechanic is hard to beat... So kinda gotta go with him on that part.. At least I would.. You guys are pretty tough, so who knows? 😉

To the OP, I don't really know... Still on the same set on my 2003 TT, but I only put maybe 3000 miles a year on it. I do the bearings myself every other year. So far so good on the bearings as far as I can tell.. I'm only a shade tree mechanic at best, but have been doing wheel bearings since I was a kid.

My trailer is dual axle, so no idea if a single axle and going on those forest roads can do? My little utility trailer is single axle and over 20 years old and still the same bearings, but of course, it does not have any weight to it and lucky to go over a 100 miles a year!

I'd say just keep doing what you are doing and as long as you don't lose a bearing on the road, it's all good!

Good luck!

Mitch

[Huntindog]

If you ever look at a bearing diagnosis chart, you will see pictures of bearings that are on their way to failure... The interesting thing is just how many different causes are listed.
Everything from Improper setup, lubrication, overloading, shock loading (rough roads). and others I cannot recall at the moment. At any rate, such a chart and its pics can determine pretty much what went wrong. Not all of the causes are attributable to improper setup or lubrication.

I doubt it would be much help though after a failure has occurred.

As for the expense, IF you got some american made bearings, it is justified. The chinese ones are really cheap.... I am not going to get into the quality aspect, other than to say it appears to be inconsistent. Many bad reports, and some good ones.

[Gdetrailer]

Easily 100,000 miles or even more provided you do some preventative maintenance.

My 1984 TT, bought it used was built in California and some how managed to find it's way to PA where I bought it..

From what I could tell, had the original drums, brakes and most likely bearings and I bought it around 2003.. Have no idea how many miles on those bearings and they were not pitted or rusted.. Only changed them because I was ditching the expensive star rims and that meant replacing the old drums with newer drums with standard 5 bolt pattern..

I have a 2003 2wd truck which the I changed the front wheel bearings at well over 150,000 miles due to the rotors being worn out and the hubs are integral to the rotors..

One of the biggest issues is lack of care, periodically you do need to disassemble, remove all the old grease, change the seal and refresh with a good grease..

Folks also do not realize that from factory, the bearings often do not have enough grease.. So it is vital to pull, inspect and add a little extra grease when new..

Although keeping in mind, OVER GREASING is just as bad as not enough..

[ScottG]

I recently pulled the original bearings out of a 65 ford with gawd only knows how many miles and they were still serviceable.
Bearings will last just about forever if properly maintained and especially, correctly adjusted. Even lousy quality trailer bearings should go a lot further than 70K.
If they're shot now it's because the weren't set up right or greatly over loaded.

On a side note, modern unit-bearing assemblies don't last forever because they are basically never setup right. Even when new they are by their nature, a assembled loose. And of course, they're never repacked.

All just my opinion of course..