wheel bearings

[rdodd]

How important is it to grease the wheel bearings on my 5th wheel? I bought it in 99 and have probably put 10,000 miles on it without doing the wheel bearings. On cars and trucks i have driven them over 100,000 miles without ever greasing wheel bearings. Are trailer bearings any different than car and truck bearings?

 

[GerryDrake]

The dealer we bought our current one from says every 10 or 12 K miles or every year... . but... . they are the ones that want me to take it to them to do the wheel bearing packing. I feel okay in going 10 or 15 K but might do it at 6K or wait until 20K, depending on long trips and such. More important is adjusting the brakes. Trailer brakes are notorious for not being adjusted the same. At least once a year, I put each wheel in the air via a jackstand and pop the plug out and adjust them up. If you neglect brake adjustment on the trailer and they end up uneven, even one or two barely working, you can get some very erratic braking. Apparently the nature of electric brakes doesn't lend well to self adjusters. Our current trailer doesn't have self adjusters. .



On the wheel bearings. . I'm sure you'll get the complete range of replies

 

[TRLRTRSH]

IMHO, depends on how much service the bearings see, Tempertures involved while the rv is sitting for any length of time.

I'm very comfortable doing our rig every two years.



Bill

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I used to do ours every year - had lots of problems with bearing failures. Had Dexter axles as OEM, replaced the entire running gear with new Hayes stuff, have run all last season, including an 8000 mile run to the east coast, and all this year with no problems - probably won't even look inside mine 'til next spring.



The biggest single reason for frequent lube of bearings isn't the MILES, it's the time sitting idle thru winter months when moisture can infiltrate and cause rusting...

 

[rdodd]

When adjusting brakes do you turn starwheel up until drag is felt and then back off a little or let the brakes drag a little?

 

[GerryDrake]

Personal choice, but I let them drag ever so slightly. I've done it both ways.



To me the important things are to have them all the same, and fairly close to contact. You might be amazed at how many clicks on the starwheel you will have to go to get them close.

 

[SRehberg]

I've been debating the re-lube of the wheel bearings myself, as my trialer has sat for the most part of three years. It has moved less than 50miles, but pulling the grease cup, it looks like they were just lubed. Our climate here in Calif. is fairly mild in the winter, so is it necessary to go back in? I used the sythentic lube, new grease seals etc the last time.



I do need to adjust the brakes, as I don't remember seeing any auto adjusters the last time I was in there. Only the star wheel assembly.

 

[bombero]

IMHO no you dont have to repack your wheel bearing ever year. When you do it make sure it done right and the brakes are good. One thing I did with my axles is remove the chrome covers around the dust covers. That way if one of the wheels it heating up you will see grease flinging out on your rim. Cant see it with those covers on.

 

[dremelts]

Originally posted by SRehberg

I do need to adjust the brakes, as I don't remember seeing any auto adjusters the last time I was in there. Only the star wheel assembly.

To my knowledge there is no such thing as auto adjusters on electric trailer brakes. So, you DO have to manually adjust them from time to time.



I suppose it would be technically possible to have auto adjusters on trailers but they would probably not be very effective. The adjusters on car/truck drum brakes depend on the brakes being applied in reverse. If you think about it you probably have a lot more reverse/stop/forward cycles with a car/truck than you do with a trailer where the brakes are being applied for the most part only in a forward direction.

 

[SRehberg]

Good point about the dust covers, so I think I'll remove mine. That way I can feel the hub temp as well, so it is a quick easy temp check.



I don't mind adjusting the brakes, I just thought from earlier comments there might have been a brand of axle/brake that had self adjusters. The only brakes I'm familiar with are the ones on my trailer

 

[Casey Balvert]

Some Dexter axles are in fact equipped with self adjusters. It appears that this is on mainly their heavier stuff but you might want to write Dexter to confirm. Check their website for more info. http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/Electric_Brakes.pdf



Casey

 

[CROW]

The Dexter Axle Operation Maintenance Service Manual indicates that bearings should be lubricated every 12 months or 12,000 miles. The above manual indicates that the brake should be adjusted until the wheel turns freely with a slight lining drag. Dexter Axle has this book available for no charge at RV Rallys so you could call them and get a copy. Suspect this is a conservative figure on lubrication, but can see why Dexter would issue the requirement. Others have indicated that they have not had problems following a more lengthly schedule. Don't have a phone number, but the web site is www.dexteraxle.com.

 

[Briman]

I bought our trailer new in '98. Last year (spring '03) I finally did the bearings, guilt had taken over apathy. I found all the bearings in good shape with no scoring or pitting. I have Dexter axles with grease zerks on them and had greased them every spring and sometimes in the fall before putting it away. I cleaned the bearings and got new grease seals and put them back.



I did have two totally blown out seals and one that had just started to go. The forth was fine. On the two worse seals the grease had blown by the seal (apparently while I greased them) and made quite a mess of the brakes (replaced all shoes on all four wheels and cleaned up the mess). After referring to the Dexter manual that CROW mentions I learned that you must rotate the wheel while you grease them. I think this will help save the seals. The grease on the Dexter axle goes in just between the seal and inner bearing and flows thru both bearings. You can see it coming out of the outer bearing as you grease them.



I like to adjust my brakes so there is almost no drag, maybe just a tiny bit. In my experience, any more than a tiny bit will generate more heat than I care for. In the old days, electric brakes actually worked better when adjusted looser because the front shoe had to engage enough to cause a mechanical advantage to be created that would assist the magnet. If the brakes were adjusted too tight the front shoe could not move enough to develop the mechanical advantage required for good braking. I don't know if currant brake designs still work this way or not... ... ...

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

One more reason to inspect the Dexter brakes is to be sure you don't have the baby blue springs on the shoes. They were defective for a few years. I had one break and took out a drum and everything in it. Everything just fell out of it. Dexter sent me a whole new break assembly ,drum and 3 new spings to replace the other ones. No charge

 

[SRehberg]

Pumperdude, when did these springs get installed? Was there a particular stretch of years they used the baby blue springs?

 

[jimnance]

No reason why the grease shouldn't last for a very long time. As another poster said, the biggest enemy is rust/corrosion. If the trailer sits in a damp climate for extended periods of time the bearings will rust and need replacement.



If you live in a dry climate and use the trailer often I wouldn't feel uncomfortable going as long as five years or 40,000 miles. Automotive non-sealed bearings survive this interval just fine.

 

[John Berger]

I've got the EZ lube fittings on my Montana. It's been two years since we got the trailer. Since I'm getting ready to put new tires on, I'll be checking the brakes and bearings while I have the wheels off.

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

SRehberg... . My trailer is a 1997 model 2950 Aljo by Skyline. You could give Dexter a call and see if you're affected. They were very easy to deal with. Good luck

 

[SRehberg]

Thanks Pumperdude, I'll give them a call tomorrow to see if my particular application is affected. Mine is a earlier model, '93 Alpenlite, so I don't know if it would be envolved.