Bearing service

[Freeheel4life]

I'm sure this one has been done before but...

Anyone have a service interval for bearing repack in terms of miles between service?? Who is servicing regularly?? Who doesn t ever?? Anyone experience bearing/hub failures??

I'm guessing we towed around 1500 miles last winter. Mostly on packed snow and ice and bare and wet pavement. No salt but lots of that de-icing chemical spray that definitely took it's toll on front leveling jacks and tongue frame rails, seems to have eaten away at black factory paint quite quickly and now have the dreaded rust up front after one winter of towing. Wondering how other running gear will hold up and ideas for preventative maintenance considering it will experience many of the same effects this winter.

[Dave W]

Dexter has a pretty good write up on bearings, including grease product recommendations, that you have to 'dig' out of their website. It is somewhat conservative. Mileage is 12,000 with a 12 month interval, whichever comes first. Of course not all folks do that and are lucky. If it's the first time, my suggestion is that you don't wait but do it now, especially since Dexter has been using suspect (crappy!!) Chinese made bearings that have failed for one reason or another way before their time. Those of us that were concerned or had a failure have changed to a well known brand, mostly Timken. You will need seals - mine have been the inexpensive ones from etrailer which have been 100% good for my use over the past two 5ers.

That chemical caused rust - you have no other choice but to get under, power wash the residue off, wire brush or sand blast the powdery rust off then use some rust converter and/or encapsulatior , which today's Home Depot bought Rust-o-Leum isn't these days.

Good luck

[Tbos]

How do you know what size bearings and seals to buy without taking it apart first?


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

[Canonman]

Bearing pack and brake adjust are part of our spring start up ritual. Keeps things simple for the simple minded:)
We average around 6 to 8k miles per season.

[Freeheel4life]

Dexter has a pretty good write up on bearings, including grease product recommendations, that you have to 'dig' out of their website. It is somewhat conservative. Mileage is 12,000 with a 12 month interval, whichever comes first. Of course not all folks do that and are lucky. If it's the first time, my suggestion is that you don't wait but do it now, especially since Dexter has been using suspect (crappy!!) Chinese made bearings that have failed for one reason or another way before their time. Those of us that were concerned or had a failure have changed to a well known brand, mostly Timken. You will need seals - mine have been the inexpensive ones from etrailer which have been 100% good for my use over the past two 5ers.

That chemical caused rust - you have no other choice but to get under, power wash the residue off, wire brush or sand blast the powdery rust off then use some rust converter and/or encapsulatior , which today's Home Depot bought Rust-o-Leum isn't these days.

Good luck

Thank you for the info. Are all keystones products Dexter bearings? Has anyone converted to UFP?? I'm used to these as they are on the bulk of boat trailers we service these days. Their Vault product is incredible.

I think you rust solution is my answer for now. Ideally would would like to shotblast the front tongue and have it sprayed with bedliner. As a mechanic everything is on a budget though so may not happen until next year.

[Dave W]

How do you know what size bearings and seals to buy without taking it apart first?


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

It depends on the suspension. 5200/6000/7000 etc. Again Dexter bearing info will tell you with at least 90 plus percent chance of being correct. Lighter axles will also be included.

As far as finding which axles/suspension you have, it's on the sticker, LHS near the front of your RV. This is the bearing chart - use the industry standard part rather then the Dexter :

[Dave W]

Thank you for the info. Are all keystones products Dexter bearings? r.

Dexter/AL-KO and Lippert are all under the same big umbrella (Lippert/LCI) now and as far as I know, all TT suspension but independent suspension systems is a Dexter or derivative.

Not sure you want to shot blast. Sand blast, using media such as Black Diamond or Starblast or even sand will work just fine and for a lot less money

[Freeheel4life]

Thank you for the info Dave!

[gearhead]

So far I have done 2 bearing repacks. The last one was because I was replacing brakes, so what the heck. I bet we don't have 8,000 miles on a almost 4 year old trailer. Bearings themselves looked good both times.
If re-packing every year makes you feel good, go for it. I'm from a rotating equipment/turbo machinery background and bearings had better not need inspecting every year. If so, they ain't big enough or something is bad wrong.
I used the recommended Mobil1 synthetic grease. It's runny and since I'm out of warranty I will probably use something else next time.
I also have a spare set of bearings and a seal buried in grease in a Tupperware bowl under Funk and Wagnells porch too.
Dexter bought out UPF/Vault, why they haven't put them on RV's is unbelievable to me. I have them on my tandem axle boat trailer that is in salt water service and no issues. I bet the Vault hubs are on 90% of new boats on the Texas coast. What a bunch of dummies.

[Desert185]

Unless there is an unusual amount of miles each year, servicing wheel bearings each year is overkill. Do them when the trailer is new, because the factory can do a lousy initial job of greasing them properly. Inspect the grease and seals, and don’t use the zerk fitting on the axle stub to grease them. Use a quality NLGI-2 grease, like Texas Refinery Corp. 880 C&C (found on Amazon). I replaced my seals during the initial inspection process.

When I replace the four year old tires in the spring, I will do the bearings and seals the second time. There just isn’t enough miles on the last repack to justify doing the service any sooner.

I wouldn’t remove the rust on the frame. Use a rust converter each year. Less grief and less damage to adjacent parts if you happen to sandblast (bad idea).

https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g2609328962?_encoding=UTF8&hvadid=229078418795&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030882&hvnetw=g&hvpone=&hvpos=1t1&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvrand=2508655403547943511&hvtargid=kwd-298345949419&ie=UTF8&index=aps&keywords=coroseal%20rust%20converter&ref=pd_sl_3n0ttj0g70_b_p37&tag=googhydr-20

[Freeheel4life]

Dexter bought out UPF/Vault, why they haven't put them on RV's is unbelievable to me. I have them on my tandem axle boat trailer that is in salt water service and no issues. I bet the Vault hubs are on 90% of new boats on the Texas coast. What a bunch of dummies.

Boatmate trailers have run nothing but the vaults for a while and I love them. The older UFP buddy bearings had a very low failure rate but have seen it happen on boat trailers. Have yet to see a single vault fail. Have seen one (out of literally hundreds) where the outer seal started slinging some grease, otherwise zero problems. Pretty awesome for a sealed unit. May explore what it would take to make the switch.

Mostly wanting to service as I really don't want to have a bearing failure as I am regularly towing in the snow and most turnouts get plowed in and shoulders usually have large snow burms. Had a tire go last year and basically shredded it because there was nowhere to pull off. Luckily didn't take out that wire harness under the slide or damage anything else.

[Freeheel4life]

Good point desert. I probably won't do it every year, but we did buy used from a dealer. I know how our boat dealership works, and not every trade in get a the treatment it deserves because sales give a high trade number to make numbers work when owner steps into a new model. Then service manager ends up getting pressured to put as little as possible into the trade so that sales remains profitable. Basically the old lipstick on a pig thing...
Don't think that's the case with our unit, but trying to tick off all the maintenance boxes as this thing is nothing like my old trailer and want it to last us a long time.

Thank you for the link to the rust converter. Never seen a product like that. Does it just stop the oxidation process??

[Desert185]

Good point desert. I probably won't do it every year, but we did buy used from a dealer. I know how our boat dealership works, and not every trade in get a the treatment it deserves because sales give a high trade number to make numbers work when owner steps into a new model. Then service manager ends up getting pressured to put as little as possible into the trade so that sales remains profitable. Basically the old lipstick on a pig thing...
Don't think that's the case with our unit, but trying to tick off all the maintenance boxes as this thing is nothing like my old trailer and want it to last us a long time.

Thank you for the link to the rust converter. Never seen a product like that. Does it just stop the oxidation process??

It kills/stops the rust process. It can be painted over with a rust preventive paint or left alone for another application the following season. Actually much more effective than a sand blast and overcoating with something like bed liner. If you aren’t careful, the rust will resume beneath the coating. When you notice it, it might be too late.

[mfifield01]

For those that have replaced with Timken, do you replace the race along with the bearing?

With the tow from the factory, I have about 12,000 miles on the initial bearings. I'm thinking about replacing with Timken in the spring. Currently I carry a backup Timken set (packed in a tupperware).

[ChuckS]

We have a 2014 Alpine with 7K Dexter axles.. I pull the wheels off each spring and blow out the brake dust and rough up the shoes with light sandpaper.. I am still running stock bearings and races plus seals that it came with.. I hand pack and I’ve not seen anything yet on inner or outer races/bearings to warrant replacement. I average about 5K mikes a year towing.


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[BrentB]

Yes, you should replace the race at the same time.

[Desert185]

For those that have replaced with Timken, do you replace the race along with the bearing?

With the tow from the factory, I have about 12,000 miles on the initial bearings. I'm thinking about replacing with Timken in the spring. Currently I carry a backup Timken set (packed in a tupperware).

Make sure the replacement is a USA Timken, not a chinese Timken.

[mfifield01]

Make sure the replacement is a USA Timken, not a chinese Timken.

The backup set I bought off of Amazon says USA.

[mfifield01]

Any suggestions for grease that can be found locally?

On my boat, the local trailer place recommended Mystik No. 2. I might still have it in my grease gun, but wanted to see if there's a better recommendation. My preference is to pick up a couple of tubes locally (Advance, Autozone, O'reilly, etc.).

[Tbos]

The backup set I bought off of Amazon says USA.



What part number bearings did you buy?


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

[BigTexRex]

I've used Red Line grease with great success. It will take heavy loads and high heat.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0053O9FQS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[mfifield01]

What part number bearings did you buy?


2016 Passport GT 2810BHS, 2016 F350 CC DRW

I pulled the information from here: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Axles/Dexter/35545I-EZ-89.html , but haven't verified on the trailer. I plan to go to storage and check one of the seals this weekend. Then I will order new seals. I will be repacking in the next few weeks.

[B-O-B'03]

I bought Allstar ALL78241 Timken Brand Premium Red Type Wheel Bearing Grease, and timken 473336 Seals, from amazon for my 22RBPR.

I think my axles are 3500LB.

-Brian

[Tbos]

I pulled the information from here: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Axles/Dexter/35545I-EZ-89.html , but haven't verified on the trailer. I plan to go to storage and check one of the seals this weekend. Then I will order new seals. I will be repacking in the next few weeks.



If everything fits let us know.


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[mfifield01]

If everything fits let us know.


Sent from my iPad using TapatalkI pulled the hub, but didn't look at the bearings. Below is the current seal on the hub. I ordered 4 to repack. I can check the bearings when I clean them.

https://www.amazon.com/Dexter-01001900-Grease-Seal/dp/B008OADGH2?SubscriptionId=AKIAJ7T5BOVUVRD2EFYQ&tag=camelhomealerts-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B008OADGH2

[mfifield01]

I brought the TT home today to start the repack. I pulled both hubs on the right side and found that the bearings have an area of discoloration on all 4 bearings (inner and outer). Unfortunately, I only have one backup set of bearings. I thought I might run into some that needed to get replaced, but not all. I replaced the races and bearings on one wheel. I ordered 4 more sets for inner/outer bearings. I hope they arrive Sunday and the HOA doesn't complain about the TT in the driveway. Maybe I should repack every year. Here are the Timken (made in USA) bearing sets.

Inner:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000X3EPWS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Outer:https://www.amazon.com/Timken-SET17-Bearing-Set/dp/B000IX99RO/ref=pd_bxgy_263_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B000IX99RO&pd_rd_r=HTRA0CSX5TEAXVK7TCXQ&pd_rd_w=QYFoR&pd_rd_wg=YtL2z&psc=1&refRID=HTRA0CSX5TEAXVK7TCXQ

[travelin texans]

If discoloration is blue they were too tight &/or not enough grease, that's the only discoloration I've ever seen, unless on a boat trailer & show rust.

[mfifield01]

This is the first bearing service. I bought the TT about 2.5 years ago. Many have mentioned that factory doesn't put enough grease on the bearings. The nut was slightly loose on both of them, so I believe it was set correctly. I packed the one set I have with a bearing packer. Here are some pictures of the discoloration on the bearings. First picture is outer and second is inner. It is just on one area of the bearing.

[Tinner12002]

This is the first bearing service. I bought the TT about 2.5 years ago. Many have mentioned that factory doesn't put enough grease on the bearings. The nut was slightly loose on both of them, so I believe it was set correctly. I packed the one set I have with a bearing packer. Here are some pictures of the discoloration on the bearings. First picture is outer and second is inner. It is just on one area of the bearing.

Hopefully you changed those out as they both look like there has been debris on the inner race.

[mfifield01]

Hopefully you changed those out as they both look like there has been debris on the inner race. I ordered new bearings from Amazon. I plan to change them on Sunday. I could only find Chinese bearings at my local trailer shop.

[gearhead]

What I "think" you are looking at is the I.D. of the inner race to spindle fit. There will usually be some discoloration there. It has a very slight clearance fit. Grease can find its way in there and stain the race. You should be concerned if you see some "color" on the rollers and their corresponding fits on the inner and outer races. There are other signs of distress including spalling, etching, and pitting.
Some light reading:
https://www.timken.com/pdf/5892_Bearing%20Damage%20Analysis%20Brochure.pdf

[mfifield01]

What I "think" you are looking at is the I.D. of the inner race to spindle fit. There will usually be some discoloration there. It has a very slight clearance fit. Grease can find its way in there and stain the race. You should be concerned if you see some "color" on the rollers and their corresponding fits on the inner and outer races. There are other signs of distress including spalling, etching, and pitting.
Some light reading:
https://www.timken.com/pdf/5892_Bearing%20Damage%20Analysis%20Brochure.pdfI didn't see any discoloration on the rollers or races.

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[gearhead]

If the rollers are shiney and the races show no more than a light grey "track" where the rollers are running, I would say it's good.
From memory there is a good write-up on the Dexter website about bearing maintenance.
It's simple, but it's not.
40 years in turbo machinery and I messed up regularly. But a lot less than some others.
.......gearhead

[travelin texans]

From what little I can see in the pics, those appear to be stained from the grease. Can't tell about the rollers, they appear to be reusable, as I said, from what I can tell.

[mfifield01]

I'll probably just replace with Timken bearing/races. One has been replaced, I just need to wait until Sunday for the other three.

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[Dave W]

I think I said this way earlier on this thread. While I can agree on some grease staining. The blue/discoloration on the Chinese bearings I pulled out of ours was from too little grease and overheating. It also included a chipped cone roller as well.That was after only about a couple thousand miles. The replacement Timken after about 15-17,000 miles had no staining or blued rollers. There was grease staining on a couple spindles which surprised me. That easily cleaned off with 1500 wet and dry paper. I now have a full 6K suspension and will be looking at least one assembly this spring but not a full disassembly unless I find a problem since we only put about 2600 miles on the RV last year.

If we ever purchase another towable RV, new or used, one of my first projects will be to look at the bearings (and brakes). It has been well documented through various forums that many owners have initial bearing problems.

[mfifield01]

I took some 1000 wet/dry paper to the old bearing. It came right off. I believe it's just grease stain as the color looks to be tan. It was on the bottom of the spindles as well. I don't really like the idea of sanding the spindle. I have around 11,000 miles on trailer.

I will probably take the trailer back to storage today. The parts won't arrive until tomorrow and the high is 36. Today the high is 59. So much for a one day project.

[Dave W]

I took some 1000 wet/dry paper to the old bearing. It came right off. I believe it's just grease stain as the color looks to be tan. It was on the bottom of the spindles as well. I don't really like the idea of sanding the spindle. I have around 11,000 miles on trailer.

I will probably take the trailer back to storage today. The parts won't arrive until tomorrow and the high is 36. Today the high is 59. So much for a one day project.


You will never take enough metal off that spindle to hurt anything with 1000 and up wet and dry paper. We used 220 to clean large dia.(10, 12 and 14 inch) generator bearings. We also used 600 grit to clean nuclear sub liquid sodium coolant pump rotors

[gearhead]

^^X2
My preference would be to try some Scotchbrite first.
I've cleaned up some pretty big boogers on spindles, on the seal fit, with a file and 800. Usually weld buckshot from the spindle being welded on.
Hit that spindle with 800 or better like you are shining your shoes and won't hurt the fit, if you quit in time! LOL That bearing to spindle clearance isn't much. If you get carried away you get the race spinning. Not good.