Bearing Replacement, Need Brand Advice

[Fivecodys]

Hi guys,
Got a big trip (for us anyway) planned and I was going to repack the wheel bearings before we go and a mechanic friend suggested that I change out the wheel bearings while I'm at it.
Seemed like a reasonable comment to me since the trailer is 4 years old.
I have the build spec sheet for Dexter for my trailer and it calls out Dexter 031-030-02 & 031-032-02 bearings. I may change the races as well depending on their condition.

Anyway, What seemed like an easy procedure of searching for these on the web and ordering 4 each has turned into more than I was expecting. Lots of cross referencing charts, China vs USA comments, brands I'm not familiar with and so on and so on.

I should have just come here first and asked "What brand of bearing should I be hunting for?"

Thanks in advance as always for your helpful comments.

 

[traveldawg]

I'd just look for Timkin bearings and be done with it.

But are the bearings bad? You will certainly need seals. If you've been maintaining your bearings (repacking them regularly) they should need to be replaced.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Personally I would regrease and go. If I were going to replace bearings, definitely replace bearings and races as a set, never just replace bearings, or races. But if it were me and only 4 years old, I certainly wouldn't be buying new. Mine are 6 years old and still going strong. Kept well greased, they are not going to wear out. Save yourself some money to spend it on fuel.

 

[Mechanic Bob]

Timkin IF you are going to replace the bearing and races. Cleanliness is the Key! (I use diesel fuel as a cleaner solvent.)

I do not get the "Need to repack the Bearing" as often as may posters suggest?

When researching bearing failures, very high percentage of failures occur just after installation.
-Improper clearance or too tight.
-Dirt or foreign material
-Over greasing.
-Improper alignment.

I would look for indication of a bad seal, the oil leaking, or signs of over heating.

That is my 2 cents.

 

[orbsah]

My 2 cents: Jack up each wheel individually and give ‘em a spin. If they spin free and smooth and no other obvious signs of a problem and they’ve been maintained reasonably well up to this point, leave it alone and go on the trip. For me, it’s bad luck to take on a project like this right before a big trip. Repack when you get back.

 

[lineman1234]

Jack up spin and shake, listen for excess brake drag or a problem.

But in my recent case i posted in another barring thread, wasnt that easy.
Skipping the horror story of each 4, the front drivers, before diving in, i jacked it up, spun tire and shook for looseness, seemed perfect. It was being redon with new barrings and seal anyway. So off tire came and off cap, nut keeper, and needed a socket and ratchet to get the nut loose, it was on tight. Nut off, front barring out, something caught my eye. Yep, one roller missing in it. NICE. Not overly greased, but rear seal gone, by gone i mean the spring in the lip was missing gone.

If a person has had the rig from new thats one thing, i got mine 4 or 5 years old, its a 2020 built in 2019 and unknown miles, as tires are not original. Inside is/was like brand new, and that brand new smell still there. barrings, someone should not be packing barrings out there, whom did this camper.

I have packed and replaced my share of rv barrings. But on this new to me 5ver, i am a bit paranoid now, so i am going to take a nice drive in the country hear a month before i head south. Repark and set up then when in the mood, jack and spin to check each tire/axel again. It will be sitting till then at this campground.

Braking camp to take a 50 mile loop out then back, and reset up is worth doing what i can to make sure things are set and im not braking down on the road leaving the very, very north of MN mid to end of October.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

When we bought this trailer, the first thing I did was pull all the wheels, and check the bearings and brakes. That's the only way you know what you're starting with. Even with a new trailer, ours was only new-to-us, you need to check the bearings for sufficient grease. Since I now know the bearings are in good shape and well greased, I will go at least a couple years before I check the bearings again. I have the EZ-Lube system, but never use that ridiculous thing.

 

[lineman1234]

I never gave the ez lube a thought before this camper. I use it, and like it, but understand some dont, but, thats fine.

What i found on this one/camper. Is how well they work and really how. The rear passengers side that had signs of a barring failure. Burnings had very little and no extra grease in there. Some tar looking grease. Spindle marred up. Had a way more knowledgeable person than i look at it and said run it. New seal went in a good area. test fitted, new barrings fit tight on races. Hand packed barrings, installed new double seal in rear barring hub, all was cleaned first though. Replaced brake rotor set up, snugged up retaining nut and spun, loosened as needed nut to keep tight but spin nice, put new retaining clip thingy on, ( as other one was damaged and reused, held on by a tie wrap, ) not good. Left cap off, went to spin and grease ez lube system. The darn zerk was broken off, dug out ez out, got it out, replaced with new zerk, went to grease it,,, nothing would go.
Took it all apart, took zerk out, put wire through holes and was able to free it up, got new grease through. cleaned spindle again.
Till then, i never paid attention to the hole, it is in front of the seal that holds grease in, but in back of the barring . So,,,, i put the brake drum back on, left front barring out but supported it, and pumped grease in slow, and watched. The grease has to go through the barring rollers, fill the cavity, then go through the outer barring rollers and out. So, spinning slow and greasing forces grease through both barring rollers. I can live with that.

One would need to try very hard to blow the double seal out, the inner lip keeps in, the outer lip keeps stuff out.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Yeah, I don't have an issue with the EZ-lube getting grease on the brakes, which it won't do if the seal surfaces are good, and it's done properly. My issue with the EZ-lube is that it's unnecessary. Like you said the inner lip keeps the grease in, and the outer lip keeps stuff out. Why would a person need to add grease? Like any rotating bearings too much grease can cause a build up of heat.

 

[Fivecodys]

This will be the 3rd bearing re-pack for me. (I always replace the seals)
I was advised by a man that I had tremendous respect for that it's a good habit to repack regularly and that a little time and money now, can save your trip and a bunch of money.
I do not judge others for how they handle their maintenance as that is personal preference.

But, Back to my original question, What brand of bearings should I be hunting down should I need them?

Thanks guys!

 

[orbsah]

Sorry for veering off course (it happens sometimes �&#56832

Not sure if you have the same 7K axle as me but the link below are the bearings I got. I’m just carrying these as a spare set - my original bearings are still fine. I think the other thing that was messing me up was trying to cross reference with a number in the format of xxx-xxx-xx when I should have been looking at 14125A/14276 (I discovered both are stamped into the bearing). See if numbers like that are in your axle spec.

I did find Timkens with these numbers but they were pricey.

https://a.co/d/0iIdq8EN

 

[Mechanic Bob]

Sorry for veering off course (it happens sometimes ��)

Not sure if you have the same 7K axle as me but the link below are the bearings I got. I’m just carrying these as a spare set - my original bearings are still fine. I think the other thing that was messing me up was trying to cross reference with a number in the format of xxx-xxx-xx when I should have been looking at 14125A/14276 (I discovered both are stamped into the bearing). See if numbers like that are in your axle spec.

I did find Timkens with these numbers but they were pricey.

https://a.co/d/0iIdq8EN

10-4 they are PRICEY, but given why you are doing doing the job, don't go the cheap route. Quality of the parts, or lack of quality of the parts, will be the deciding factor in all your efforts and costs.

 

[orbsah]

10-4 they are PRICEY, but given why you are doing doing the job, don't go the cheap route. Quality of the parts, or lack of quality of the parts, will be the deciding factor in all your efforts and costs.

Agree! My plan is to carry these “cheapies” just to get me out of a pickle if necessary. If that did happen, I’d likely replace all bearings with Timkens (or equivalent) when it’s convenient. Then again, maybe by that time I’ll be looking for a new trailer. I probably have close to 40K miles on these bearings and last time I checked, they still looked fine.

 

[RV2600RB]

This will be the 3rd bearing re-pack for me. (I always replace the seals)
I was advised by a man that I had tremendous respect for that it's a good habit to repack regularly and that a little time and money now, can save your trip and a bunch of money.
I do not judge others for how they handle their maintenance as that is personal preference.

But, Back to my original question, What brand of bearings should I be hunting down should I need them?

Thanks guys!

Timken.
Rich

 

[jleonard]

Yeah, I don't have an issue with the EZ-lube getting grease on the brakes, which it won't do if the seal surfaces are good, and it's done properly. My issue with the EZ-lube is that it's unnecessary. Like you said the inner lip keeps the grease in, and the outer lip keeps stuff out. Why would a person need to add grease? Like
any rotating bearings too much grease can cause a build up of heat.

And mixing greases can ( doesn’t always) turn the greases into mud which wont lubricate properly.
Thats why i do the disassembly annually and clean and grease by hand.

 

[Riverbug]

And mixing greases can ( doesn’t always) turn the greases into mud which wont lubricate properly.
Thats why i do the disassembly annually and clean and grease by hand.

Good point. When I get a new trailer I take the assemblies apart, clean them up thoroughly (check them over of course), then regrease with the stuff I always use. This way I know all of them have the same type of grease and I don't have to worry about any incompatibility. Since I need marine grease (high temp) on the boat trailer, I just use that on all of them and it keeps life a teeny bit simpler.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

Good point. When I get a new trailer I take the assemblies apart, clean them up thoroughly (check them over of course), then regrease with the stuff I always use. This way I know all of them have the same type of grease and I don't have to worry about any incompatibility. Since I need marine grease (high temp) on the boat trailer, I just use that on all of them and it keeps life a teeny bit simpler.

I totally agree with the idea of checking a new, or new-to-you, trailer's wheel bearing situation. That way you have a baseline to go from. Even new trailers have been known to come with insufficient grease.

 

[huntindog]

I totally agree with the idea of checking a new, or new-to-you, trailer's wheel bearing situation. That way you have a baseline to go from. Even new trailers have been known to come with insufficient grease.

In my case our Momentum was towed over 2500 miles to Phoenix. If the bearings were not right from the factory they would have already failed.

 

[Hoopy Frood]

In my case our Momentum was towed over 2500 miles to Phoenix. If the bearings were not right from the factory they would have already failed.

Possibly, or scored the races to fail on down the road.

 

[huntindog]

Possibly, or scored the races to fail on down the road.

Most bearing problems occur shortly after servicing. If it isn't done right they destroy themselves pretty fast. if they made it to 2,500 miles, they will go 50,000 miles easy.