Question about trailer bearings?

[FredericL]

Just curious. How come you have to repack or replace the bearings on a trailer so often compare to a car?

Thanks
Frederic

[James G]

Just curious. How come you have to repack or replace the bearings on a trailer so often compare to a car?


Thanks
Frederic

Not sure what you mean by "so often" The little 8 and 10 in wheels rpm and load factors enter into it but otherwise should not be greater than an undriven axle on your tow vehicle.s Jim Garvin

[FredericL]

Not sure what you mean by "so often" The little 8 and 10 in wheels rpm and load factors enter into it but otherwise should not be greater than an undriven axle on your tow vehicle.s Jim Garvin

Just reading the posts on several forums I was under the impression that it was recommended to repack or replace the bearings every other year....


Cheers,

Frederic

[BobB]

Trailers spend a lot more days out of a year just sitting in one place. This is not necessarily good for bearings or keeping the grease distributed over the bearing surfaces. I had to replace the bearings on one side of our Bigfoot because of pitting, probably a result of moisture and corrosion. I suspect the bearings had not been repacked. Repacking every 2 years will reduce your chances of spoiling a trip with bearing problems. The brakes should be checked and adjusted at the same time. Disclosure: My family owned a brake shop.

[FredericL]

BobB,

Thank you for the explanation.

That make sense to me.

Frederic

[Steve Dunkel]

I'll take a stab at this one. It used to be that bearings on cars required more frequent service, cleaned and re-packed with grease. Same with some of the suspension components that once had grease fittings. I'm referring to a time when it was also common to require a tune-up every 12,000 miles. Today, with 100,000 mile tune-up intervals and suspension components that no longer have Zerk fittings I believe the wheel bearings are sealed units and do not need servicing and probably can't be re-packed. There may be two reasons why trailers haven't gone in the same direction. First, some trailer wheel assemblies are often submerged in water (boat trailers) and require more frequent attention. The sealed bearings would make it more costly because they would have to be replaced. Second, the trailers may just be stuck in the older technology. Just my thoughts.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Actually, when one gets up into the larger axle/wheel/hub sizes that the BulgeMobiles use, the axle companies do offer cartridge and oil bath systems that don't need annual repacking.