|
|
03-10-2018, 06:50 PM
|
#1
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 28
|
Bearings
I’m thinking of repacking and replacing my wheel bearings. Are all bearings born equal? Is one brand better than most?
|
|
|
|
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
03-10-2018, 07:20 PM
|
#2
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 2,091
|
The bearings are not all created equal . It all depends on the type of bearing you are replacing . If it is just the normal tapered bearing , I prefer Timken . If it is a front hub assembly as used on 4x4 trucks and front wheel drive cars , I will use the OEM part.
__________________
1993 Tiffin Allegro Bay 32'
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 01:20 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,580
|
China is producing some real junk, I have had some bearings that were not ground correctly and started to fail immediately. Get the Timkens.
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 01:44 AM
|
#4
|
Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,539
|
X3.
__________________
2020 F28 RKS Titanium
2017 Creekside 23 RBS Sold
2016 F250 Super Crew XLT Overworked
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 08:56 AM
|
#5
|
Senior Member
Outdoors RV Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 226
|
Are you sure Timkins are still made in US. You may be in for a disappointment when you open that Timkin box....
__________________
"One life, don't blow it" Kona Brewing "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles" Gary Larson
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 09:03 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,580
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by seaeagle2
Are you sure Timkins are still made in US. You may be in for a disappointment when you open that Timkin box....
|
Mine were USA, even if they were made elsewhere they might have been made to a better standard.
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 04:06 PM
|
#7
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 59
|
Provided the bearings are still in good shape, there is no reason to replace them when you repack. That is money down the drain for no reason. Take apart, repack bearings, replace seals, and that is it. Simple and cheap, should be done on a yearly basis.
__________________
2018 Northwood Nash 26N
Towed by 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins/6 speed
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 04:42 PM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Posts: 1,580
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by seanb02
Provided the bearings are still in good shape, there is no reason to replace them when you repack. That is money down the drain for no reason. Take apart, repack bearings, replace seals, and that is it. Simple and cheap, should be done on a yearly basis.
|
I agree, if you have bearings that have some miles and still are good, and the experience to know what to look for, it is better to stay with the proven parts. If you see the black grease like in my photo earlier, you need to replace. In case you wonder, that black mess above was after one season with new Chinese junk that had a ridge left on the inside race caused by sloppy grinding. Four other bearings were in various states of failure caused by rough surface finish, out of tolerance angles and crappy steel. It is a crapshoot and you can test the bearings by running them and frequently checking or bite the bullet and go with known good quality. I will never do the extended road testing again and will toss out unknown quality as soon as possible.
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 05:47 PM
|
#9
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 982
|
Bearings
Wheel bearings on vehicles are rarely repacked unless the grease seal is compromised. Vehicles go 10's of thousands of miles without a failure. Rv's go a lot fewer yrly miles and yet it appears the we rver's are paranoid about them possibly failing...i have never had a bearing failure on my cars/trucks in the last 40+ yrs.
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 05:54 PM
|
#10
|
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2017
Posts: 4,985
|
Greasing wheel bearings once a year is not just about the bearings. It's also checking the brakes, springs, hangers, and spring bushings. I grease my WB's yearly and usually find something that needs repair in the process. In my 6 years of full timing, I've only replaced one outer bearing that was making a growling noise when I manually spun the wheel.
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 06:10 PM
|
#11
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 59
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by cherv
Wheel bearings on vehicles are rarely repacked unless the grease seal is compromised. Vehicles go 10's of thousands of miles without a failure. Rv's go a lot fewer yrly miles and yet it appears the we rver's are paranoid about them possibly failing...i have never had a bearing failure on my cars/trucks in the last 40+ yrs.
|
Years ago when cars utilized tapered bearings, they were serviced on a regular basis. However in the current day and age most vehicles have uni-bearings that are non serviceable.
Ignoring the uni-bearings, if you take an older truck that still had the tapered serviceable bearings, they will go many more miles and years than trailer bearings will due to regular use. Trailers tend to sit for long periods of time, bearings do better when used regularly because it keeps the grease spread around. When sitting, small amounts of condensation can get in behind the seal over time and create problems when the grease isn't uniformly spread throughout the bearings and the hubs due to being static for a long period of time.
__________________
2018 Northwood Nash 26N
Towed by 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins/6 speed
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 06:13 PM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Alaska
Posts: 302
|
Wish they would start using oil bath bearings.
__________________
2020 Arctic Fox 29-5K
2021 Ram 3500 DRW Cummins HO Aisin
2019 ORV 24RLS Titanium (Sold)
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 06:18 PM
|
#13
|
Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 59
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by GBB
Wish they would start using oil bath bearings.
|
I think there are conversion kits out there. Realistically this would be the way to go if you use the trailer significantly on a yearly basis. However oil would be worse than grease for sitting long periods of time.
__________________
2018 Northwood Nash 26N
Towed by 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins/6 speed
|
|
|
03-11-2018, 06:30 PM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Alaska
Posts: 302
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by seanb02
I think there are conversion kits out there. Realistically this would be the way to go if you use the trailer significantly on a yearly basis. However oil would be worse than grease for sitting long periods of time.
|
Ive heard that arguement before, but the jury is still out for me. Ive owned two different tandem axel boat trailers with oil bath's that was used in salt water all summer. In the fall I would drain the oil and replace and spin the wheel a few rotations then park it for 6~7 months. Never had a problem with bearings rusting. Just think it would be the ticket for a TT.
__________________
2020 Arctic Fox 29-5K
2021 Ram 3500 DRW Cummins HO Aisin
2019 ORV 24RLS Titanium (Sold)
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
Thread Tools |
Search this Thread |
|
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|