Wheel Bearings

[Bluedog]

I have a 28 ft. TT and had the wheels bearings completely serviced in 2019. I have used the trailer only twice since then for 2 trips of 400 miles total.
I would like to make another trip of about equal mileage but my regular establishment has changed hands and only handles automobiles so will not work on a TT.
I conversed with the local RV dealer and he is booked up until late September. He advised that since there are only few miles since servicing to take the end caps off (these are E-Z Lube), shoot some grease in and call it good.
My understanding is that this is a no-no and especially since they have not been disassembled for 3 years. I know the recommendation is for 1 year but have had TT's for 20 years and never followed that time frame. I did the whole thing every 2 years and had no trouble. But they were not E-Z Lube.

Need advice!

[JRscooby]

Mike134 wrote:
You won't have any problems.

I own a '72 Cutlas that sits for months at a time then gets driven to a car show or just taken out for a trip. Haven't looked at the front wheel bearings in 5 years. No need to. My fellow classic car enthusiasts feel the same way.
Only on forums will you find fear mongers

Just my 2 cents

Just for snots and grins, compare the weight on the axle of that A body to weight on trailer axle. Now look at size of bearings.
IIRC, from '68 at GM training center there was a time and mileage for wheel bearing service. Most times dealers did bearings when did the brake shoes

[Grit_dog]

400 miles and recent service?
Think of it this way, if you took a 2000mi trip would you re pack them 5x? Or even once?

[opnspaces]

I would go on vacation and not give it a second thought. A repack every year is way overkill. I think I have repacked mine every 5 years possibly more.

[klutchdust]

"Used to be, likely still applies, not a good idea to mix different types/brands of grease. "

I would really like to see some proof or research/testing done by a reliable source to back up that statement. Having serviced hundreds of semi trailer units and not knowing what grease was used previously, it was a rarity, rarity that a bearing in our fleet of over 10k units ever had a bearing failure. A bearing was only serviced when the unit was brought into the shop for a brake change. That could be anywhere from 1 year or 5 years. Servicing wheel bearings every year is just nonsense. I call malarky on that one.

[phillyg]

I'm with Jerry.

[MFL]

IMO, nothing wrong with using the EZ-lube system, when following the axle manufacturers instructions.

Used to be, likely still applies, not a good idea to mix different types/brands of grease. You have no idea what grease was used by dealer. A seasoned mechanic would know, just using the taste test! 🙂

After the first time of hand packing the bearings myself, I have used the EZs, with good results. A couple squirts would do little, as you'd need to pump until fresh grease shows up at the front bearing.

Jerry

[Mike134]

You won't have any problems.

I own a '72 Cutlas that sits for months at a time then gets driven to a car show or just taken out for a trip. Haven't looked at the front wheel bearings in 5 years. No need to. My fellow classic car enthusiasts feel the same way.
Only on forums will you find fear mongers

Just my 2 cents

[MFL]

I would pull one hub, check bearings for proper amount of grease, and look for any sign of rust or contaminates. If one is good, likely all are good, as done at same time, by same person.

You shouldn't need to pull the seal on rear bearing, just look closely, with good lighting. Looks good...reinstall, take your trip.

If you had done a complete bearing service yourself, knowing that the job was completed properly, then I'd just go on the trip, not worry about it.

Jerry

[time2roll]

I would continue to run without worry. Usually I would say the first pack is especially important as I assume the bearings are assembled at the factory with the same quality care and precision as the rest of it.

[Gdetrailer]

If the bearings have been properly greased by your shop, then no reason to just shoot some in. It isn't like the bearings lose grease.

The thing is, you really do not know what the shop did..

On EZ lubes, you can't just blindly shoot grease into the fitting, there is a procedure that you need to follow.

You must rotate the wheel while adding grease via grease gun. Failure to rotate the wheel can result in grease pressure building to the point the grease pushes out the inner grease seal and then it ends up on the brake shoes.

That means you need to lift each wheel off the ground enough to be able to turn it while adding grease.

Turning the wheel while adding grease allows the grease to push through the inside bearings easier, back into the spindle to the outside bearings and then you should see grease push through the outside bearing.. Once that happens you can stop adding grease.

If the shop never used a grease gun, then the inside of the hub won't have much grease and it can take a lot of grease to fill the void the first time.

I personally don't care for EZ lubes they waste a lot of grease and makes servicing and inspecting the brakes a real mess and chore to do.. I don't personally use it as I have one trailer with and one trailer without and simply remove the drums, inspect and clean bearings once every two yrs. One small container of grease lasts me many yrs and I use a lot less rags.