What's the fascination with trailer bearings?

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

So I've seen many, many posts over the years about checking hubs with IR guns for excessive heat. I've even seen posts where people check their hubs every stop. :E

My question is why? I have never seen posts where they talk about checking their TV wheel hubs at every stop even though "most" use the exact same bearing type. (packable bearing) It's always the trailer for some reason. I've never seen anybody check their hubs on their trucks after driving around for a few hours. :h

I've owned over a dozen trailers in my life and have never had bearing problems. Ever. I check my bearings about every 7 to 10 years and have never found anything wrong with them. (Brakes are a different story and that is why I even check them that often)

I get checking often with boat trailer bearings. Especially boat trailers that go in salt water. Makes total sense that they can get contaminated with water and salt and they need to be checked often.

But TT bearings? It's a sealed system that see's no contamination. At least under normal conditions. Unless a seal is damaged the grease stays in there and works just fine year after year after year.

I guess it IR gun makers in business and that's a good thing in this economy I guess. 🙂

[Trackrig]

Probably at some point, because they never used to check them, they had a trailer bearing finally go bad on them. In Alaska, you usually see several open trailers sitting along the road from Anch to Fbks without a wheel hub when hunting season rolls around. These are trailers used once a year (maybe even not for many years), they overload them with four wheelers, hunting gear, and then head off down the highway at 70+ mph. Then the same thing when the first good snowfall hits and people get out the snowmachine trailers for the first time in a long time.

What I find interesting is tires. Some talk about checking their air pressure every day. That's not a bad thing to do at all - a blow out on a MH or TT can be expensive, but when you ask them if they check the air every day on the car or truck they drive every day when home, you never hear back from them.

Or, when they ask what to do with the tires when the RV is in storage such as should they raise the tires off of the ground, should the tires touch the grass, should the tires be stored on wood or concrete vs gravel or pavement. If you ask them how they stored the car or truck they left at home for six months while traveling, they don't answer.

Why are only RV tires important?

I do check mine when I stop, but it's more a part of getting out of the MH and limbering up. After whopping the same tires with the same hammer for a long time, I don't need an air gauge to know if the pressure has changed a couple of pounds or one tire is much different than another. A quick touch of my hand to a wheel hub is enough to know if I have a heat problem.

Bill

[path1]

So I've seen many, many posts over the years about checking hubs with IR guns for excessive heat. I've even seen posts where people check their hubs every stop

Before reading RV Net:

Many miles on a 1995 TT and never checked them.

Never thought about water leaks

ST tires

Roads are to steep

Somebody stealing stuff at campsite

ETC...

[2oldman]

I felt the same as you, but I thought I better check them periodically anyway. One day at a rest stop I noticed one hub was warmer, not by a lot, just warmer than the other 3. Over the next week or so it started getting noticeably warmer.

I had a mobile RV repair service check it out. Sure enough, that bearing was getting ready to fail and showed signs of burn marks. Yes, the man showed me what was wrong.

You don't have to buy a temp gun, but I think it's folly to not check them. I don't know what kind of rig you're talking about, but mine is a heavy fiver with 4 wheels. And I dry camp a lot, often in strong winds, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that dust gets in there. It gets in everywhere else.

Trailer axles carry a lot more weight than a car or truck. A simple check and prevention can save you a lot of roadside grief. I think automatic replacement every year is a bit much, mine lasted about 5 years.