Wheel Bearings on a 7 year old pop-up - Shuld I?

[Dream_Girl]

Last year I bought a 2008 used pop-up from the original owner, witch claim that he only use it 7 times (300 miles trips) then his wife decided that it is time to move to a 24f TT if he want to continue camping... (was not her cup of tea)

Lats year we went camping 3 times (150 miles round trips) BUT this year I wish to do a 2000 mile round trip!

Beside getting new tires and greasing the hubs, do I need to take the hubs apart and inspect the wheel Bearings, or I am just over paranoid?
How often to you need to replace wheel Bearings?

BTW: I don't know if that info matter, but I Don't have drum brakes in my Pop-up.

Thanks

[PopUpTom]

Before I dis-assemble things to repack the bearing, I use a punch to mark 12oclock on the retaining nut. When all is complete, I put that nut back to the same position. There should be no reason for the nut to be tighter or looser after a bearing re-pack. The wheel should spin freely, with just a hint of wobble.

My test for too tight of a bearing is if I can't hold on to the hub at the first stop/50 miles, then it's too tight. Been there, done that with the first pop-up - had to repack bearings with fresh grease at the truck stop about 500 miles from home. Having brakes on the trailer will also generate heat, so you would minimize their use prior to checking the hub temp.

I have seen more bad bearings from non-use (more motorcycles than trailers). If the grease hardens and moisture builds up on the bearing surfaces, those rusty bearings need replacing. As others have stated, if the grease looks like honey - its full of moisture. A good inspection should be done on the cleaned bearings and races prior to repack.

Lastly, I would be worried if the wheel was looser after 100 miles than at the repack - what the heck moved to make it looser? If you don't mark the nut first, standard practice after a repack is to tighten up the nut, then loosen it until you get the little bit of wobble. Do this a second time to see if the rotation of the nut is in the same place when the wheel starts to wobble just to be sure. Sometimes with castle nuts, it may seem that you have a choice between too tight and too loose. Choose loose. Those of you afraid of a hint of wobble have never tried to induce wobble on a spinning bicycle wheel!

[TAGLARRY]

Ivylog wrote:
I own a bunch of different trailers and have not even repacked bearings much less replaced in years. I do jack the axle and wiggle the tire to check the amount of play in the bearings when my IR temp gun shows it's hotter than the other wheel bearings. If it's got excessive play I'll tighten when I pull the cap off to look at the grease. If the grease is old and hard I put some 90 weight gear oil in the cap and put it back on quickly. Only been doing this for 40 years. Your mileage may vary.

Yikes, this is not good advise or proper bearing service unless you want to be parking your trailer on the side of the highway.

Repacking bearings is so easy, there is no reason not to do it every two or three years. There are lots of U-Tube videos if you are unsure how to do it. Use a good high temp bearing grease like Mystik JT-6 high temp, not gear lube.

[fill]

If I remember correctly it was on RV.net that I learned that tires should be replaced after 7 years. So while you’re worrying about bearings you might also worry about tires.

(And you got a pop-up to be more economical?)

Subaru. ’94 GoldWing 1500 SE
2012 Roll-A-Home, Eagle 1 trailer
GWRRA, Thousand Trails, IBMC
(We’ve downsized)

[Dream_Girl]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I have decided to attempt repacking the bearing (by myself).

So now I will open a new thread, as I have more technical question about repacking EZ Lube Axle bearing.

Repacking EZ Lube bearing

[jfkmk]

Ivylog wrote:
Cape Cod Mountain Man, thanks for the info. Guess I'd better replace the 90 weight gear oil in my front axle and tag axle of my MH with wheel bearing grease. Not sure if I should do the same to my drive axle??? Please advise as it has 90 in it too. Ops, it actually has 120 weight in it.
Dream Girl, nice looking rig.

Cape cod is 100% correct. If you have grease packed bearings, you cannot (or at least should not) oil the bearings. In fact, if you did, the oil would simply leak right out of the grease cap. Won't work. If you have oil bath bearings, the cap is sealed so that the oil won't leak out.

[Ivylog]

Cape Cod Mountain Man, thanks for the info. Guess I'd better replace the 90 weight gear oil in my front axle and tag axle of my MH with wheel bearing grease. Not sure if I should do the same to my drive axle??? Please advise as it has 90 in it too. Ops, it actually has 120 weight in it.
Dream Girl, nice looking rig.

[Cape_Cod_Mounta]

Do pull and re-pack the bearings. You have never seen them so you cannot risk depending on leaving them un-inspected (Cost / benefit ratio). It is easy if a little messy. YouTube will have tons of good lessons.
Do NOT oil. They are made to run with high viscosity high temp bearing grease. Oil will change those specs and not last in the bearings but will get runny and leak off.
Go with manufacturer instructions over blogs - even RV.net.

[tragusa3]

I had a bearing fail (catastrophically) in the second year of ownership with less than 5k miles on the trailer. I believe it was neglect in manufacturing, but has given me new perspective none the less. 😉

[JLTN_James]

Non-use can be more damaging than use. Things like tires and bearings are meant to be used.

Repack the bearings and replace the tires. Minimal expenses and will keep the trailer in service longer. Lots of good information and tips in other posts; check hub temps & tire play, watch for abnormal wear on the trailer, etc.
Happy camping!

[path1]

(sorry dup)

[path1]

Ivylog wrote:

Guess those that question using a small amount of 90 gear oil have never heard of oil bath wheel bearings where that's all that's used.

I've never heard of putting 90 weight oil on to loosen up old grease. I've just always re-did the bearings if questionable. Being I've already jacked trailer up, pulled the hub etc.

You would think by now bearings and tires on anything towed would be as good as the TV. If nothing else the axle manufactures could put some type of inspection port on back side, so you didn't have to pull hub.
As far as oil bath goes...If they made any for smaller sizes (RV size) I bet they would be better system. The only time we messed with them at work, was when they leaked or got crunched.

But if I was starting out on a 2,000 mile trip with bearings that haven't been re-done in 7 years, I would re-pack and be done with it.

[jfkmk]

Ivylog wrote:
Lets put this in perspective. Seven year old pop up without brakes and 2000 miles on it. It's not like a boat trailer that wants to suck water in when you back the warm axle into cold water. Yes, it's easy to clean and repack the bearings BUT most people do not know how to re-grease the bearings and many tighten them too much or too little. Without a pressure system for re-greasing it's hard to get grease ever where instead of just on the outside as most do.
Guess those that question using a small amount of 90 gear oil have never heard of oil bath wheel bearings where that's all that's used. Sorry, what was I thinking... this is the folding trailer section, not Class A.

OP, if the tires are original, they need to be replaced and I'd go with a bigger size, even buying new larger diameter rims if there's room for a bigger diameter tire... fewer turns/mile.

I would never condone not doing PM because some people do it wrong. If someone feels uncomfortable with repacking bearings, they should have the work done professionally rather than simply not do it. Not everyone knows how to change the oil in their vehicle, yet it still needs to be done.

Even if they have the bearings packed professionally, it will cost maybe $100 on the high side. Small price to pay for peace of mind.

[Dream_Girl]

Ivylog wrote:
Lets put this in perspective. Seven year old pop up without brakes and 2000 miles on it. It's not like a boat trailer that wants to suck water in when you back the warm axle into cold water. Yes, it's easy to clean and repack the bearings BUT most people do not know how to re-grease the bearings and many tighten them too much or too little. Without a pressure system for re-greasing it's hard to get grease ever where instead of just on the outside as most do.
Guess those that question using a small amount of 90 gear oil have never heard of oil bath wheel bearings where that's all that's used. Sorry, what was I thinking... this is the folding trailer section, not Class A.

OP, if the tires are original, they need to be replaced and I'd go with a bigger size, even buying new larger diameter rims if there's room for a bigger diameter tire... fewer turns/mile.

I really want to go bigger, but I doubt it will fit...
(I don't want to flip my axle, as the pop-up is seating high enough already)

[Ivylog]

Lets put this in perspective. Seven year old pop up without brakes and 2000 miles on it. It's not like a boat trailer that wants to suck water in when you back the warm axle into cold water. Yes, it's easy to clean and repack the bearings BUT most people do not know how to re-grease the bearings and many tighten them too much or too little. Without a pressure system for re-greasing it's hard to get grease ever where instead of just on the outside as most do.
Guess those that question using a small amount of 90 gear oil have never heard of oil bath wheel bearings where that's all that's used. Sorry, what was I thinking... this is the folding trailer section, not Class A.

OP, if the tires are original, they need to be replaced and I'd go with a bigger size, even buying new larger diameter rims if there's room for a bigger diameter tire... fewer turns/mile.