Generally speaking, you need to inspect and grease your travel trailer wheel bearings once a year or every 10,000 miles , whichever comes first.
How often should you service travel trailer wheel bearings?
With a larger travel trailer, you should grease your trailer wheel bearings every 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first . If you have a smaller travel trailer, however, you’ll need to grease your wheel bearings every 2,000 miles. This is because the wheels are smaller and spin faster.
How do I know if my trailer bearings are bad?
If noise is heard , check for a bad bearing or if lubrication is needed. Check for Heat – Tow the trailer for a short distance, 5-10 miles at highways speeds, then park the trailer. Place your hand on each of the wheel hubs of the trailer. If it is too warm to hold your hand in place, you may have a bad bearing.
How often should you grease utility trailer wheel bearings?
Proper lubrication helps maintain functionality and reliability of your trailer’s axle(s). Bearings should be lubricated approximately every 12 months or 12,000 miles unless otherwise specified by the axle manufacturer.
How do you check bearings on a travel trailer?
Support the trailer with jack stands and then spin the wheel and listen to the trailer bearings . If the wheel spins freely and quietly, proceed with repacking the bearings. If you hear friction or a growling sound, you most likely have a bad bearing or spindle.
How do you check bearings on a camper trailer?
How to tell if camper bearings are ok? The bearings should operate smoothly if you spin the outer race while holding the inner one with your fingers . Any sign of pitting (small indents) on the bearings rollers, plus marks or scuffs is more than enough to warrant the replacement of the bearings altogether.
How long do trailer wheel bearings last?
Wheel bearings have an average lifespan of 136,000 to 160,000 km (approximately 85,000 to 100,000 miles). This is only a rule of thumb though, the actual lifespan of a wheel bearing depends on the quality of the wheel bearing and the operating conditions.
Can you over grease trailer wheel bearings?
They keep grease packed into the hub. munchy wrote: More grease is never the right answer. Overgreasing can actually cause the rollers/balls to slide over the bearing surface rather than roll over them .
How much does it cost to repack trailer bearings?
Trailers tend to be cheaper to repack professionally (think $100-$200 ), but don’t underestimate the power of the upsells a mechanic might try to give you. If you’re serious about cash, you can likely save a few bucks by repacking your bearings yourself.
How do you check wheel bearings?
What happens when a trailer bearing fails?
A damaged wheel bearing does not only cause a vehicle to be shaky and noisy ; it can also cost you more money by damaging other nearby parts, and even force your entire wheel to fly off when driving at high speed.
How do I know if my trailer bearings need grease?
Keep your hand on the wheel and spin it. If you feel any motion that is not smooth, hear any noises, or if the wheel does not spin freely , the wheel bearing is defective or needs lubrication.
Do you grease trailer hitch ball?
You do not need to grease your trailer hitch ball . That is entirely up to you. However, greasing it is recommended. Greasing will help ensure that the trailer hitch ball keeps its structural integrity, and it will help prevent it from squeaking.
Should I lubricate my trailer ball?
Every trailer coupler is designed with certain tolerances in mind. Over time the grinding motion of the trailer turning, will slowly erode these tolerances away. This is why it’s a good idea to grease your trailer ball . As far as what grease you should use, any type you have lying around should work.
How often should travel trailer tires be replaced?
Each tire manufacturer will likely have different recommendations on the service life of a particular type of tire, but statistics suggest the average life of a trailer tire is about five years under normal use and maintenance conditions, and that tire replacement should be considered after three years , even if the ...
How do you lubricate RV bearings?
Do you need to repack bearings with bearing buddies?
Expert Reply: When you use the Bearing Buddy Bearing Protectors like # BB2441, so you do not need to take apart the wheel hub and repack the bearings . The Bearing Buddy Protectors have a spring loaded seal that keeps the moisture and debris out of the bearings.
How often should you change caravan wheel bearings?
It is recommended that you inspect and repack your trailer or caravan wheel bearings at least once a year and replace if worn or damaged. It is also a good idea to carry at least one spare caravan wheel bearing kit and grease, especially if travelling in remote areas.
Are all trailer bearings the same?
With standard bearings, the inner bearing is larger than the outer, but with parallel bearings they’re the same size . For heavier-duty trailers there are 1.5 tonne, 2 tonne, 3 tonne sets.
Are bearing buddies a good idea?
Bearing Buddies are a great way to keep grease in a trailer hub . I recommend them as long as you are aware that it’s very easy to put too much grease in a hub with these which will blow out the seal. They have no problem being used on longer road trips so the would work well for you.
Do bearing buddies grease the inner bearing?
Expert Reply: Bearing Buddy pumps grease into the center of the hub all the way back to the grease seal . A double lip seal should be used to prevent grease from blowing out the seal when added.
How often should you grease your trailer hubs?
Standard tapered trailer wheel bearings are recommended to be re-packed with fresh bearing grease about every year or every 12,000 miles under normal use . In certain conditions this interval could be shorter, such as if you routinely tow the trailer under conditions of extreme heat or near its maximum load capacity.
How warm should trailer bearings get?
Temperatures in the range of 140 degrees F. to 175 degrees F . are considered normal. Use extreme caution when attempting to determine hub temperature. Normal bearing operation temperatures may cause the hub to be too hot to touch comfortably.
How warm should trailer hubs get?
When loaded correctly, the hubs should feel warm to the touch, not hot . If you cannot keep your hand on the hub comfortably, the bearings are loaded to tight or in need of maintenance.
