Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Galesville, Wisconsin
Trailer: 2017 21 "Blue II" & 2017 Highlander XLE (previously 2010 17B "Blue" & 2008 Tacoma)
Posts: 4,232
Why would trailer bearings need such frequent servicing as compared to other vehicles? I can see with boat trailers that have their axles immersed in water, that more frequent service would be necessary, but why on RV trailers? Are the bearing, races and seal inferior quality to what is used in automotive applications?
I had mine inspected and repacked by a local mechanic and asked him about the yearly requirement and he thought that it was unnecessary. I guess he had already made his boat payment for the month.
After posting the above I couldn't resist Googling and of course found lots of opinions on this question. The following opinion was posted by a retired automotive instructor:
Much truth has been stated concerning bearing packing. Our cars, trucks only needed repacking every 30-40K miles. So why do a TT every year? Boat trailers are immersed in water every summer so they should be inspected and repacked. My way of thinking is this. Yes TT's may be bearing a greater load than say a truck. The manufacturer should take this into consideration and put larger bearings on TT's that can carry more weight. If in fact they don't, packing them every year is not going to prevent an overloaded system from failing. If the grease lasted on our trucks for 35K miles then changing it yearly won't prevent bearing failure if it's overloaded. Here's what I do and I taught this for 35 years. Keep in mind that the bearing grease does not flow like oil. What is put on the bearing at the time of packing is what you get. Looking at grease that's not on the bearings tells you almost nothing unless it's overheated and running out. You have to inspect the grease to look for metal flakes which is a sign of metal fatigue and certain bearing failure. 1. Inspect the bearings and grease on the bearings, annually if you believe you need to. It won't hurt. When repacking use the best bearing grease you can get. I use Amzoil synthetic or Mobil 1. You can't get any better lube. Use the best seals you can get. Line the hub with a 1/4 inch layer of lube as a moisture barrier. Packing it full is not necessary since it will just stay there until you remove it the next time. Correctly pre-load and adjust your bearing clearance. Bearing side movement should be .001-.003. You should just feel the wheel move. Less than .001 may create to much heat and more than .003 may create to much side pressure and speed up the wear process. This is what I taught and did for 40 years and I have never had a bearing failure.
Just my 20 cents worth.
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Eric (and Mary who is in no way responsible for anything stupid I post)
"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance." George Bernard Shaw
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