Re-packing trailer bearings

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I had a discussion last night on camper trailer bearing grease. My friend disassembles his yearly, cleans the old grease out and re-packs.

The reason he does is, on his first camper, which had sat for years neglected, the bearings got dirt inside and on a trip, over-heated. Obviously, quite a problem far from home. These bearings had not been looked at for years.

Now with his new trailer, based on previous experience, he is afraid to go a year without re-packing. My contention is, if you have good seals that every 2-3 years would be more than adequate. Assuming he does them again this year, if he were to look for signs of dirt or water and not see any, wht should he be re-packing every year? The grease itself, if it is clean does not wear out, right?
 
I have one bearing on my car hauler that goes out every 2-3 years, so I get nervous if I go over 2 years. It went out on me again coming back from Texas last month, and I had the extreme pleasure of replacing and repacking it in a motel parking lot during a freezing rain. I always carry a spare brake drum and complete bearing, seal, spindle nut and dust cover set so I can do repairs on the road.
 
Small tires go around much faster than large tires at the same speed. :)

If making sure his bearings are good for the trip by cleaning and repacking, then good for him. He sleeps well because of his effort. Ed
 
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Originally Posted By: philipp10
wonder why it would be just that one?


A trailer guy that I took it to said the axle was bent.
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Small tires go around much faster than large tires at the same speed. :)
most trailers around here run car sized tires. Mine has 195/75x14's on it. Same as my old Toyota.
 
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Small tires go around much faster than large tires at the same speed. :)

If making sure his bearings are good for the trip by cleaning and repacking, then good for him. He sleeps well because of his effort. Ed


But that can be said for any maintenance item. My question is, do they need re-packing or not. I could care less if it makes him sleep better, which I am sure it does.

The tires are of decent size but not as big as a car. Car bearings go 30-60k with no re-pack, so whats the difference?
 
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Pretty simple maintenance procedure that will eliminate a huge headache should your bearings go out on the highway.

I say once a year is pretty good insurance in my mind (for a trailer that never gets dipped in water, like a boat)

If this was a boat trailer, I would say that once a year would be pushing it.
 
Most problems with trailer bearings come after repacking due to improper work. If the hubs have a fitting for a grease gun-repacking isn't needed but an inspection every other year or so.

I hit them with a $20.00 Harbor freight IR gun at every stop and my hubs run within 20 degrees of each other. The temps will never be the same due to brake adjustments and load balancing.
 
One reason bearings dont last is improper preload as mentioned above. People put them together too tight/loose and they eat themselves up in short order. Another reason is the close proximity of tandem axles and the constant scrubbing in turns puts a whole nother level of stress on bearings that car bearings dont see. I will at a minimum jack my trailer up, remove the wheels and do a thorough inspection of the bearings, brakes, and suspension. If everything looks good I reassemble. I repack every other year but everybodys schedule will be dependent on mileage and type of terrain. Getting my hands on everything gives me good piece of mind for the upcoming season.

Bearing buddies are really more for boat trailers that get submerged in water constantly. They can be used on a trailer/camper but is not a substitute for hands on maintenance and inspection.
 
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I use valvoline durablend grease. I have the ez-lube axles. i have never repacked them, i probably should. My TT is an 05 and no problems with them.
 
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Originally Posted By: jrmason
One reason bearings dont last is improper preload as mentioned above. People put them together too tight/loose and they eat themselves up in short order. Another reason is the close proximity of tandem axles and the constant scrubbing in turns puts a whole nother level of stress on bearings that car bearings dont see. I will at a minimum jack my trailer up, remove the wheels and do a thorough inspection of the bearings, brakes, and suspension. If everything looks good I reassemble. I repack every other year but everybodys schedule will be dependent on mileage and type of terrain. Getting my hands on everything gives me good piece of mind for the upcoming season.

Bearing buddies are really more for boat trailers that get submerged in water constantly. They can be used on a trailer/camper but is not a substitute for hands on maintenance and inspection.


Bearing buddies ARE USED widely on travel trailers and their purpose is to be able for a lay person to lube the bearings w/o disassemble. At least this is what is stated on the different manufacturers of "bearing buddy" type systems. I have 15,000 miles on my trailer with no repack-just use the bearing buddy system.
 
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I'm not real sure what a lay person is.

OK, first off the true purpose of a bearing buddy is to provide a very small amount of positive pressure to prevent water from coming in. They are NOT intended for extended service or worse yet, no service. It is still recommended to repack every season if your dunking your trailer in the water multiple times a year.
Now let's take your scenario where you've gone 15k miles. It doesn't negate the necessity to pull the hubs to inspect, check/adjust brakes, etc. Whether you repack bearings by hand or use a bearing buddy, your still running the same grease that was in there when you originally assembled it. The biggest mistake people make when using a bearing buddy is they dont pack the bearings by hand prior to assembly. Bearing buddy's do a horrible job of thoroughly providing grease to the in board bearing. They rely on the inboard seal to keep the water/contaminants out and the positive pressure does the trick in the outboard bearing. Yes, they are in the same cavity but you cant pump up the hub with enough pressure to evenly distribute it to the inboard bearing. If you did you would almost for sure blow the seal. I have a friend who owns a marine repair service and he sees failed inboard bearings all the time with bearing buddy's.
In conclusion, the bearing buddy won't really hurt (or necessarily help) the overall longevity of a land roaming trailer. What hurts them is the improper assembly and the lack of maintenance thereafter.
 
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Originally Posted By: jrmason
I'm not real sure what a lay person is.

OK, first off the true purpose of a bearing buddy is to provide a very small amount of positive pressure to prevent water from coming in. They are NOT intended for extended service or worse yet, no service. It is still recommended to repack every season if your dunking your trailer in the water multiple times a year.
Now let's take your scenario where you've gone 15k miles. It doesn't negate the necessity to pull the hubs to inspect, check/adjust brakes, etc. Whether you repack bearings by hand or use a bearing buddy, your still running the same grease that was in there when you originally assembled it. The biggest mistake people make when using a bearing buddy is they dont pack the bearings by hand prior to assembly. Bearing buddy's do a horrible job of thoroughly providing grease to the in board bearing. They rely on the inboard seal to keep the water/contaminants out and the positive pressure does the trick in the outboard bearing. Yes, they are in the same cavity but you cant pump up the hub with enough pressure to evenly distribute it to the inboard bearing. If you did you would almost for sure blow the seal. I have a friend who owns a marine repair service and he sees failed inboard bearings all the time with bearing buddy's.
In conclusion, the bearing buddy won't really hurt (or necessarily help) the overall longevity of a land roaming trailer. What hurts them is the improper assembly and the lack of maintenance thereafter.



The above post contains alot of "Hyperbole". Perhaps you should read this page...especially number three-
http://www.bearingbuddy.com/faq.html
 
I don't understand how everyone says the bearing buddy does not grease the inner bearing. The grease enters from the outer bearing, but the outer bearing has passages for the grease to travel. It can and will easily make its way to the inner bearing. I would not put an inner in dry, it needs to be packed but the bearing buddy will feed that bearing as you add grease.
 
The advice of going 5 years between inspecting your equipment is pure [censored] and can cause a lot of damage to equipment not to mention unsafe. It should be based on a combination of time, mileage and usage that dictates your service. That's a very uneducated blanket statement. Basically they're giving the nod to the uneducated who read that that its OK to run 5 years without inspecting your bearings for play, pulling the brake drum to inspect brake linings and magnet conditions, etc. Its a recipe for disaster and you just proved why my friend sees so many failures with those things on the end of their hubs.
Thank you for validating my point.
 
Look at the Dexter EZ Lube design and compare it to the Bearing Buddy and you will see the shortcomings of the Bearing Buddy.

Dexter EZ Lube
http://www.cerka.ca/catalog/EZLUBE.asp

Bearing Buddy

http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/pics/B/B/BB2047SS_aa_500.jpg


Dexters design incorporates the entire hub and channels grease to the inboard bearing first than back out to the outboard bearing. It can also be flushed. The Bearing Buddy is simply a cap that forces grease through the outboard bearing and deadheads at the inboard. Its OK, but certainly not the most efficient.
 
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