Wheel bearing maintenance schedule

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by rodgebone

Flybouy and JRTJH, you are both absolutely correct - its not just Keystone and we knew that when we shopped for our TT. the reason i singled them out specifically is because A) i bought one and B) i felt Keystone was a better quality product than the dozens of other brands i looked at in my price range. i just wished they had matched their production quality with better engineered products as overall quality was the #1 factor in our purchasing decision. dont get me wrong as we are VERY pleased with our Keystone overall. EVERY mfg has issues and i get it's a mass production thing to keep the initial purchase price down to get the customer in the door. but at the end of the day there is no real cost savings considering the extra repairs down the road not to mention the time, money & hassle of having our full time home down at the dealer's shop. personally i would have gladly paid extra to have better quality products but i understand everyone's purchasing factors are different. it just irks me that a popular & well established mfg would use poorly designed products KNOWING they are going to cause the customer MORE money in the end. these bearing systems and water pumps have been around for a LONG time without design upgrades and continue to fail. the time for this industry standard to change is well overdue. it just isnt justified.

It's been discussed many, many times on this forum regarding the "quality" some want in an RV vs what the masses want to spend; the two shall never meet.

Having looked at lots of trailers I continue to think that Keystone builds the best floorplans at the best price (bang for the buck) if, IF they would just quit using the Darco under the slides and cable slides. I have communicated that to Matt Zimmerman's office at Keystone. IMO the Darco is a FAR worse issue than the pumps or grease zerks because there is no easy cure.

Shurflo pumps have been around for a long time. Used my first one about 1980? and never had one fail that I recall. Noise? Yes. Replaced due to that - yep. Some like Flojet better but it's a wash to me so not sure where the RV manufacturers would go with that.

Eaz Lube bearings are another hit/miss. Some really like them and love that they are advertised as something the owner can take care of. Probably have grease covered drums; who knows - but they're happy...right?

That said, quality in one person's eyes isn't in another's so the manufacturer is going to go with the most cost efficient option. Going in, a knowledgeable buyer knows that if the hubs have grease zerks (as most do from any manufacturer) they are meaningless and you are going to have to do wheel bearing mtce. anyway - no big deal; sort of like knowing it's an RV and those tires, though they look brand new, have to come off and be replaced because they have aged out. It's the nature of the beast.

[Brantlyj]

Ez-Lube bearings are kind of a marketing thing and really are not needed on a standard trailer imo. If you think about it properly packed bearings shouldn't need fresh grease. In fact, were is the old grease going to go? There's nothing to consume it. As long as you don't overheat them or have a seal failure the grease will last a long time.


I have not pulled the caps off so I don't know if they are like the old Bearing Buddys, where the cap floats with a spring putting pressure on the cap. They were marketed to boat owners. How those worked is that you would put in just enough grease to get the cap to move. Any water inside would get pushed out.


My dad put the bearing buddies on our boat trailer. We put on thousands of miles a year and would take a swim several dozen times a season. He only put in a pump or two of grease once or twice a year and repacked them whenever he thought about it, usually every two years or so. Never a failure, never any water, and never replaced the bearings.


I'm guessing if the Ez-Lube is similar people are going overboard with the grease gun, filling it so full it's pushing out the seal.



Again, my opinion, on a new trailer, pull the bearings, replace with Timkins if so inclined, pack them well with a quality grease and use a standard bearing cap and toss the Ez-Lube caps in the trash. They are just not needed if you repack them on a regular maintenance schedule.

[skids]

Originally Posted by Brantlyj

(snip)
Again, my opinion, on a new trailer, pull the bearings, replace with Timkins if so inclined, pack them well with a quality grease and use a standard bearing cap and toss the Ez-Lube caps in the trash. They are just not needed if you repack them on a regular maintenance schedule.

OK, I have to know...are you saying to replace the caps to resist the urge to use the zerk? I mean, I like the looks of the cap on my wheels. I haven't taken the caps off for maintenance yet.

[gearhead]

Originally Posted by Brantlyj

Ez-Lube bearings are kind of a marketing thing and really are not needed on a standard trailer imo. If you think about it properly packed bearings shouldn't need fresh grease. In fact, were is the old grease going to go? There's nothing to consume it. As long as you don't overheat them or have a seal failure the grease will last a long time.


I have not pulled the caps off so I don't know if they are like the old Bearing Buddys, where the cap floats with a spring putting pressure on the cap. They were marketed to boat owners. How those worked is that you would put in just enough grease to get the cap to move. Any water inside would get pushed out.


My dad put the bearing buddies on our boat trailer. We put on thousands of miles a year and would take a swim several dozen times a season. He only put in a pump or two of grease once or twice a year and repacked them whenever he thought about it, usually every two years or so. Never a failure, never any water, and never replaced the bearings.


I'm guessing if the Ez-Lube is similar people are going overboard with the grease gun, filling it so full it's pushing out the seal.



Again, my opinion, on a new trailer, pull the bearings, replace with Timkins if so inclined, pack them well with a quality grease and use a standard bearing cap and toss the Ez-Lube caps in the trash. They are just not needed if you repack them on a regular maintenance schedule.

The Bearing Buddy just replaces the OEM hub cap with a spring loaded cap. Pump grease in and when the spring comes to a stop and grease comes out the small hole, it's full.
The EZ Lube has different spindles. The spindle is drilled almost its entire length. Then drilled sideways, so that when grease is pumped in the zerk it travels through the spindle and then through the radially drilled hole to the area between the inboard bearing and the grease seal. It will then travel through the inboard bearing, the hub void, and the outboard bearing. When you see clean grease coming at you through the outboard bearing consider it done.

[Brantlyj]

Originally Posted by skids

OK, I have to know...are you saying to replace the caps to resist the urge to use the zerk? I mean, I like the looks of the cap on my wheels. I haven't taken the caps off for maintenance yet.

Yes, but on my trailer at least has chrome decorative caps. Guessing the spindle caps are underneath.

[Brantlyj]

Originally Posted by gearhead

The Bearing Buddy just replaces the OEM hub cap with a spring loaded cap. Pump grease in and when the spring comes to a stop and grease comes out the small hole, it's full.
The EZ Lube has different spindles. The spindle is drilled almost its entire length. Then drilled sideways, so that when grease is pumped in the zerk it travels through the spindle and then through the radially drilled hole to the area between the inboard bearing and the grease seal. It will then travel through the inboard bearing, the hub void, and the outboard bearing. When you see clean grease coming at you through the outboard bearing consider it done.

Good to know. Thanks for the details. Sounds better than the Bearing Buddy but I still don’t think it’s needed. Most people (men) think that if one pump is good, than 10 is better. I have high speed pillow block bearings on our grinder at work that are 20 years old and have never added grease.

[skids]

Originally Posted by Brantlyj

(snip)Most people (men) think that if one pump is good, than 10 is better. I have high speed pillow block bearings on our grinder at work that are 20 years old and have never added grease.

LOL! One extreme to the other. I have seen old grease turn into a hard mass that was difficult to pick out of gears with a screwdriver!