Bearings Question

[P&DZ]

We have owned our 2012 Cougar 21RBSWE for three years. Each year I have the bearings packed and brakes inspected at what I believe to be a reputable local independent RV service center. This may be an over kill but the last thing I need is a bearing or brake failure towing in the Colorado mountains, even though we only tow on average 3,000 to 4,000 miles each year.

This year the service tech called me and stated the left side bearings were shot. So I told him to replace the bearings and races in all four hubs. The total cost was $456 ($144 for parts and $312.50 for labor or 2.5 hours at a shop rate of $125 per hour).

My questions are:
Does this seem to be a reasonable cost for materials and labor?
What would cause one side of the trailer bearings to be shot and not both sides?
How often do the knowledgeable members of the forum pack wheel bearing and inspect brakes?

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by P&DZ

We have owned our 2012 Cougar 21RBSWE for three years. Each year I have the bearings packed and brakes inspected at what I believe to be a reputable local independent RV service center. This may be an over kill but the last thing I need is a bearing or brake failure towing in the Colorado mountains, even though we only tow on average 3,000 to 4,000 miles each year.

This year the service tech called me and stated the left side bearings were shot. So I told him to replace the bearings and races in all four hubs. The total cost was $456 ($144 for parts and $312.50 for labor or 2.5 hours at a shop rate of $125 per hour).

My questions are:
Does this seem to be a reasonable cost for materials and labor?
What would cause one side of the trailer bearings to be shot and not both sides?
How often do the knowledgeable members of the forum pack wheel bearing and inspect brakes?

Can't answer your question!
I'm the only person that's ever packed the bearings on any rv I've ever owned.
I spend $20+ on grease, rubber gloves & brake cleaner spray. I don't recall now what a set of 4 Timken bearings & seals cost, but that's the only ones I'd replace bearings with.

[chuckster57]

$125.00/hr is a cheap labor rate. Did the tech say what caused the failure and did you see the bad bearing?

[Weldon]

I've learned from the guys who have already replied to manually inspect and repack bearings once a year. I spent about $50 for seals, grease, brake cleaner, etc earlier this year. I replaced all 4 brakes with Dexter self adjusting brakes for $300. My total investment was about $400 (including tools I will use for years) and took me about 4 hours. Actually took twice as long but I put cheap seals on, so had to remove and replace with good double lip seals.

[ChuckS]

The price for parts was reasonable. The labor rate was very reasonable and the time charged was about right..

[GHen]

I think you got a very fair deal on the work.

I check brakes and bearings every year. Hand repack as needed. Ended up replacing everything. Timken saws the bearing I chose. And now my brakes are way better than when I bought it. I have a chevy TV, had the brake controller set to 10, now I’m at 5.5 and need to be careful I don’t lock them up stopping to quickly. I finally feel safe pulling it.

[P&DZ]

Thanks folks, that helps me understand how often to repack and the charge to do so at my local service center is reasonable. I picked up the TT after hours so I did not get a chance to see the old bearings or talk to the tech. He did clean the brakes and stated the brakes were slightly better than 50%.

Maybe next year I wii get brave and repack myself depending on how many miles we put on this season and early next season.

[{tpc}]

Originally Posted by P&DZ

Thanks folks, that helps me understand how often to repack and the charge to do so at my local service center is reasonable. I picked up the TT after hours so I did not get a chance to see the old bearings or talk to the tech. He did clean the brakes and stated the brakes were slightly better than 50%.

Maybe next year I wii get brave and repack myself depending on how many miles we put on this season and early next season.

If you have someone nearby that has done this before, it does help make it easier. I have only done it once, and it isn't hard, just time consuming, and more consuming if you have to keep watching a youtube over and over.

I would do it when the weather is nice, though sometimes you don't get that choice lol.

[NH_Bulldog]

To address your other question; it is not unusual for bearings to wear/fail at different rates. But there are too many variables to pin the cause down to one thing. Monitor the bearings, and inspect/repack yearly. In between, it only takes a minute to jack a wheel up and check for bearing play to find an issue before it becomes worse.

[Bandit12]

$144 for bearings works out to $36 per wheel. When you consider there are inner and outer bearings and races, that's darn reasonable. The shop rate is a little higher than what we pay in our area, most places here charge $95-100 hour. The amount of time spent to do the job is on target. I think you got a decent price for the part and labor. Your peace of mind is worth it.

[P&DZ]

I agree regarding the peace of mind. Particularly towing in the mountains.

Thanks to all for your responses. I appreciate the great advice and insight available on this forum.

[Doubletaper]

Just got back from Yellowstone in my 2019 Outback. Bearing went out on the interstate just outside of Minneapolis. Found a welding shop that builds their own trailers to repair the problem. They repaired/replaced the bad wheel bearing under my extended warranty. They also repacked the other three wheel bearing for a cost of $259.00. Being that we were traveling I thought this was very reasonable to get us back on the road. I bought this camper new in 2019 and have less than 5,000 miles on it. The guys that worked on my camper said they were surprised it was a 2019 with that little miles on it. They told me that greased bearing should last up to around 10,000 miles and don't trust the grease fitting on the axles. The bearing should be hand packed. I feel a lot more confident in these guys than with the original Keystone RV set up and service. Since this camper was brand new in 2019 I have been having additional problems that Keystone fails to acknowledge or concerned with.

[P&DZ]

I would say that was a very reasonable price given your circumstances. It also validates my thinking I should repack before every season (or 5,000 miles) which is first. Sorry to hear you are having trouble with Keystone, you are certainly not alone.

[Badbart56]

Maybe it's just me but I've never seen a bearing failure in anything that has been properly packed as needed. That said I'm sure it happens occasionally but I have to wonder, (1) is the bearing quality questionable these days (are they all made in China), and (2) how many shops are charging you for a repack and then not actually performing the work?

I rebuilt wheels and repacked bearings on Navy P-3 aircraft as well as USMC Harrier jets for a year and we never saw anything that needed replacing. And these bearings were under considerable stress in comparison to RV bearings or even automotive bearings.

[ChuckS]

IMO there are several factors that are contributing to wheel bearing failures on RVs lately…

The number one cause is lack of awareness and education on the RV owners part.

Many either haven’t removed and cleaned and inspected and greased their wheel bearings or got a less than stellar service job accomplished…

That said there ARE some excellent RV service centers out there.. they are just far and few

Most don’t know to grease their suspension system if wet bolts are installed

Where the bearings and races were made makes no difference to me these days.. most that want to get Timken bearings may not be getting a made in the USA product anymore …

My OEM Dexter bearings and races after eight years are in excellent shape.. 8 have no idea where they were made nor do I care.

And over the last 3 years of towing on our annual trips to YNP I have stopped more times then I can remember to see if I could help an RVer with wheel bearing problems.

I used my emergency spare set on two trips last year helping two different OPs out.. luckily their RVs had 7K axles with same bearings and races I carry.

I also worked on aircraft for over 35 years both in USAF and as a licensed A&P mechanic. You can’t compare aircraft quality bearings and races to what’s in the RVs…

[flybouy]

I think so much of the bearing issue is similar in nature to many other maintenance issues. I'm 67 yrs old. I grew up watching and helping my father work on cars, do home improvements, fix the washing machine, etc. It was exceedingly rare for hime to pay someone else to do it much less just pay to replace it.

When I bought my first car I already had the experience to rebuild a carburetor, rebuild a differential, rebuild a brake cylynder, even replace bearings and brushes in alternators, etc. IIRC my first car had about a dozen grease fittings, 2 on the universal joints. When replacing front brakes or yearly (which ever came first) I repacked the front wheel bearings & replaced the seals. I recall parking on hills to "pop the clutch" to start the car until payday when I had the money to buy a bew battery.

Generations later and vehicles have become almost "maintenance free". Spark plugs last 100K+ miles, no points to set, jo condenser to replace, no grease fittings or serviceable bearings. The trailer industry is still using the 100+ year old technology of solid axles, leaf springs, drum brakes, and eervicable bearings. So when the unexperienced is faced with this "antiquated tech" they don’t have a clue. It's like asking someone yo drive a Model T Ford and see what they do with the two levers on the steering wheel and the 3 pedals on the floor.

I thank my father, God rest his soul, every day for the knowledge that he had the patience to teach me.