wheel bearings

[rdanley]

hey guys i need some clarefication on when trailer bearings need to be be repacked. on my fiver i do it once a year. which most of the time it sits anyway my car hauler and my 16 foot utlity trailer get about 3000 miles a month, now i have been told for many years i need to pack these every 5000 miles. the other day i was told by my wife (which was a heated discussion )

that i was over killing. and my brother inlaw told her that i needed to do it every 50,000 to 100,000 miles. i told her he must be thinking cars and that trailers have much more friction than car wheel bearings. all i want to know who is right.

 

[Fireman]

All I know is

Never, never, ever, ever, trust your brother-in law . I honestly don't know, but I wouldn't wait 50-100K. I would do it at least every 10K miles.



JMHO

Fireman

 

[HBarlow]

I think most knowledgeable people recommend annually or every 10k to 20k miles.



Trailer wheel bearngs probably receive a lot of side-loading stress when we back or turn them at 90 degree angles.



Harvey

 

[Prairie Dog]

Every one is rite except your B. I. L. If your trailer sits over the winter it's very hard on the bearings.

Once a year is cheap insurance IMO.

 

[Underdog]

Most of the articles that I've read recommend repacking

the wheel bearings approximately every 5000 miles.

As for brothers in law, they were put on this earth to cause

problems.

 

[Reddog1]

Before I respond, I must give a disclaimer. I have had some kind of car, truck and/or trailer for over 45 years. This includes boat trailers. I have only had one car that had the wheel bearings give up. I bought it used and never checked it.





Consider the following:



1 Is the grease wore out? If so how do you know?



2 Is the grease contaminated?





If either is yes then re-pack.



I agree with your brother inlaw and wife.





Wayne

 

[bmoeller]

My boss's dad and brother both pull 26' gooseneck livestock trailers. They both drive 40-80k miles a year. The bearings get repacked twice a year. They use about the cheapest grease you can get and have NEVER had a bearing failure. His dad's last trailer was pulled about 300k before he sold it. They both at times will haul on up to 3000 miles a week.



If the seals are good, you really shouldn't have a problem with any contamination.



If you want to, you can get different caps for the hubs that have grease zerks and a cover for them. Then you can give them a shot or two of grease when you want with out pulling hub apart. You want to get too carried away with it so you won't put in so much that you get any on the brakes.



http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...S=on&TEST=Y&productId=12578&categoryId=166845



http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...=on&TEST=Y&productId=555041&categoryId=166845

 

[dalton4]

I repack my trailer bearings every two years if using the trailer locally and not racking up a lot of miles. The grease has always appeared to be ok. Brake servicing is the main concern for me since the grease has always appeared to still be serviceable. I also repack bearings and do brake servicing before vacationing out from AK to lower 48 with fiver. On returning to AK the grease has always been ok.



As for the bearings alone, I see the 5-10k miles repack law as an over kill. My truck manual said to repack the front wheel bearings every 12k. They were repacked at about 72k (when replacing brake pads) and could have went longer grease wise. I'm finding that grease in my trailer bearings will last much longer than 5-10k miles.



Use conditions are a factor with me. I would do a brake check and bearing repack at 1000 miles if a situation caused severe overheating of trailer brakes.

 

[SRehberg]

O. K. I know what the mfg's say for the repack schedule, and I repacked mine last fall with new seals etc. The trailer has moved about 200ft and has sat there since then. Now I really hate to pull them apart again just to discover all is well; the brake drums will probably be covered with surface rust. Other than checking the brakes, what advantage is there to redoing the bearings?



As posted above, seems overkill to me.

 

[stevegeorge]

Just my . 02 worth, but I pull trailers of all sizes, and all weight ranges. Several questions come to mind, if you will think about it.

They are: 1) - Have you ever noticed how over time, brand new tires with no miles on them will weather crack? 2) Have you ever left a grease gun sitting for long periods of time without use, but still have a grease cartridge left in it, and noticed a oily spot underneath the grease gun ( grease seperation). This is what happens if a trailer sits for extended periods of time, or if the drum brakes are electric and overheat, which they all do. All these factors, plus the side to side stress, will put slack in a bearing, in a hurry. Best to check them every 4=5000 miles.

 

[rdanley]

well guys i really like the input i will stick with what i know. it is going to be every 5k better safe than sorry. these trailers are running during the summer everyday on the highway, here in sw okla the summers get pretty hot on top of the miles these trailers run, atleast 700 miles a week for six months out of the year.





thanks for the reassurance

 

[Boomer II]

What's the recomended torque for the axel nut on a trailer? I checked mine the other day and it was just finger tight.

 

[Paul Somers]

Finger tight

Finger tight is correct. Torque axel nut down to 50 ft # while spinning wheel. Let wheel stop spinning, back off nut and then run nut tight with finger torque only. Might have to back up a bit to lock the nut.

 

[Boomer II]

Thanks Paul.

 

[jimk]

Originally posted by rdanley

hey guys i need some clarefication on when trailer bearings need to be be repacked. on my fiver i do it once a year. which most of the time it sits anyway my car hauler and my 16 foot utlity trailer get about 3000 miles a month, now i have been told for many years i need to pack these every 5000 miles. the other day i was told by my wife (which was a heated discussion )

that i was over killing. and my brother inlaw told her that i needed to do it every 50,000 to 100,000 miles. i told her he must be thinking cars and that trailers have much more friction than car wheel bearings. all i want to know who is right.

I allways use Marine grease. I have not had any problems. I use it in even the frount end and u joints. If you wont to you might install a grease zert in the caps and give them a shot or too every now and then. I will tell that when I use the trailer, that when I stop and check the load or get fuel I feel the hubs for a hot bearing. I load my trailer heavy so it gets tested. I use anti-seze on the studs also. I pulled of a wheel a few days ago to replace a bad magnet in the brakes and the grease looked good. I packed the bearings 3 years ago. The trailer is 18 foot car hauler and is plenty heavy. I have brakes on both axles. I use it to haul my diesel back hoe. lol jimk

 

[Prairie Dog]

You'd better have strong fingers because it's a thin line. Also you should be spinning the wheel when you tighten the nut.

After you adjust them this way, pull the trailer for awhile and then jack up the wheel and check to see if you can wobble the tire by grabbing each side and trying to rock it. If it moves, it's too loose.

It's better to have them a little tight than a little loose. If they're loose the weight of the trailer sits on only a couple of the needles in the bearings whereas if they are properly tightened the load is distributed equally to the entire bearing.

 

[jimk]

bearings

Originally posted by Prairie Dog

You'd better have strong fingers because it's a thin line. Also you should be spinning the wheel when you tighten the nut.

After you adjust them this way, pull the trailer for awhile and then jack up the wheel and check to see if you can wobble the tire by grabbing each side and trying to rock it. If it moves, it's too loose.

It's better to have them a little tight than a little loose. If they're loose the weight of the trailer sits on only a couple of the needles in the bearings whereas if they are properly tightened the load is distributed equally to the entire bearing.

I use to adjust the bearing a long time ago finger tight but after running the wheel a while I found that the wheel had to much end play. I like 0 end play so all of the bearing carry load. It may not be what is written in the manual but it works for me. lol jim

 

[Paychk]

Timken the company that invented tapered roller bearings has some good info on the care, use and feeding of them. Go the the bottom of this page, to "tech tips volume I" and everything you need to know is there.



http://www.timken.com/products/bearings/techtips.asp

 

[GeneralMachine]

Sounds like a case of relative humidity to me. :-laf :-laf My fver manuel says 7000 miles wrks for me. Harv

 

[SRehberg]

I read the info at the Timken site, and it is good, but can the 200 lbs/ft be right for the initial seating? Seems extremely overkill, as the second torque is 50 lbs/ft. as normally stated in the manuals. I know the recommended play on our Dodges is . 001"-. 010" play, and I can feel the play when grabbing the wheel. It seems the nut doesn't give an "inbetween" spot for something "just right" so it either ends up a little tight or a little loose. I've used the dial indicator afterwards, and it usually shows up in the range.



I'm having difficulty with the 200 lbs. /ft or more.