Wheel Bearing Inspection Interval

[bruceb58]

Unfortunately made in USA could mean assembled in usa only. Sad state of affairs we have gotten ourselves into !! Many top quality manufacturers are getting there oroducts done overseas....

With bearings, I highly doubt it.

 

[Drcoffee]

Even with made in China bearings I have not had problems, with salt water launches, 2x a year, because it is a moored boat with bottom paint.

I guess you need to check each one you buy then Because no one bearing maker can produce every known bearing in the market place. caveat emptor.

China Timken Taper Roller Bearing, Timken Taper Roller Bearing Wholesale, Manufacturers, Price | Made-in-China.com

www.made-in-china.com

the Japanese make great bearings and havent sold out to china yet, for the most part.

 

[Lou C]

However when I bought spares for my 6000 lb axle I was able to find Timken so that’s what I bought. The difference between a 5200, 6,000 and 7,000 lb axle is the hub/outer bearing. The spindles (#42) & inner bearings are all the same, what changes is the size of the outer bearing & outer race & hub. When you go from a 5200 to the 6000 you still use a 6 lug hub but when you go to the 7,000 it changes to an 8 lug hub. To get the full 6000 capacity you need to go with a 16” rims & tires because tires for the 15” rim max out at 2860 lbs (load range E). 16” tires start at about 3,000 lbs capacity. It’s good to know if you want to increase your safety margin. Many trailers are set up with only 10% safety margin (so the tires are loaded to 90% of their max capacity). Your tow vehicle on the other hand is set up for much higher safety margins like 25%. This is all about the trailer companies saving Money on rims & tires. While you can’t increase your load capacity you can increase your safety margin & if you tow long distance at high speed in hot climates I would for sure look into that.

 

[bruceb58]

I guess you need to check each one you buy then Because no one bearing maker can produce every known bearing in the market place. caveat emptor.

China Timken Taper Roller Bearing, Timken Taper Roller Bearing Wholesale, Manufacturers, Price | Made-in-China.com

www.made-in-china.com

the Japanese make great bearings and havent sold out to china yet, for the most part.

LOL...yeah you can buy something in a box from China and it is likely counterfeit. I am a cyclist and I buy Shimano components which are all made in Japan for the higher end parts. You can also buy them from China...of course the chance of them being counterfeit is almost 100%

Saying all of this, I am sure Timken does have a plant in China the produces bearings. There is a huge automotive market in China. However, all the tapered roller bearings that I have bought for the 4 trailers I own are all US made.

In the mean time, I will continue to buy Timkens until I get one that says anything other than USA on it.

 

[froggy1150]

Work on roller coasters and that's about all we use is American made timkins when possible

 

[Scott06]

LOL...yeah you can buy something in a box from China and it is likely counterfeit. I am a cyclist and I buy Shimano components which are all made in Japan for the higher end parts. You can also buy them from China...of course the chance of them being counterfeit is almost 100%

Saying all of this, I am sure Timken does have a plant in China the produces bearings. There is a huge automotive market in China. However, all the tapered roller bearings that I have bought for the 4 trailers I own are all US made.

In the mean time, I will continue to buy Timkens until I get one that says anything other than USA on it.

Exactly made in china isnt the issue it is the qc standards of the organization And if it is not a counterfeit part.
years ago my grandfather always used to call made in japan “Japanese junk“. Didn’t take long for that to change.

 

[ScottinAZ]

I check the seal and bearing buddy before each trip. Clean/repack/replace yearly as needed. Starting this year out fresh with new bearings, seals and hubs (didnt like the lug-bolt style that came with the trailer, I prefer lugnuts and wheel studs, the bolts are a PITA to get lined up)

 

[JimS123]

I used to pull and repack every year. Then I put on Bearing Buddies. I got lazy. Went 10 years and pulled them again. Sorry I did. All was fine and I wasted my time.

Now half of my trailers have EZlubes. I follow the directions and grease once a year, just like with BBs.

The ONLY time I repack now is if a rear seal goes. Which is seldom.

I'm in fresh water. If I was in salt I might do differently.

 

[Lou C]

I used to pull and repack every year. Then I put on Bearing Buddies. I got lazy. Went 10 years and pulled them again. Sorry I did. All was fine and I wasted my time.

Now half of my trailers have EZlubes. I follow the directions and grease once a year, just like with BBs.

The ONLY time I repack now is if a rear seal goes. Which is seldom.

I'm in fresh water. If I was in salt I might do differently.

I had the same experience. 17 years with the first axle and 2 years with the second. When the drum brakes need service I change the seals & inspect the bearings. If I were dunking every week that would be different but this is a moored boat & the trailer only goes in salt water 2-4 times a year.

 

[bruceb58]

I had the same experience. 17 years with the first axle and 2 years with the second. When the drum brakes need service I change the seals & inspect the bearings. If I were dunking every week that would be different but this is a moored boat & the trailer only goes in salt water 2-4 times a year.

How many miles do you put on your trailer per year?

 

[Lou C]

Probably less than 5 lol! I live 1/4 mile from the water & the boat yard.

 

[bruceb58]

Probably less than 5 lol! I live 1/4 mile from the water & the boat yard.

So yeah...there is a reason you don't have to service your bearings like most people should.

 

[Lou C]

Then there’s my ‘98 Jeep with the sealed front bearings. It’s 25 years old has 181,000 miles on it & still has the original bearings up front & they haven’t needed to be replaced, neither has any of the 6 ujoints…also “permanently lubricated”

 

[bruceb58]

Then there’s my ‘98 Jeep with the sealed front bearings. It’s 25 years old has 181,000 miles on it & still has the original bearings up front & they haven’t needed to be replaced, neither has any of the 6 ujoints…also “permanently lubricated”

Ford F150...sealed front hub...went out at 60K.

Heard Fiat was finally getting rid of the Cherokee.

 

[Lou C]

That Cherokee was never really a “Jeep” it was based on an Alfa Romeo platform. The problem with those was that they botched the ZF 9 speed auto trans programming it took them 3 model years to get it right. On my other Jeep (2007 Grand Limited 5.7) the only bearing part I had to replace was the rear CV joint on the front driveshaft (@ 100k miles) everything else is original now at 121,000 miles.
The Grand Cherokee is alive & well in its 5th version. I drove an SRT version (6.4 Hemi, 475 hp) and it was blazingly fast…but $65k used!

 

[Lou C]

PS:
With the spindle lube every year after the boat is launched I always greased the bearings thoroughly & have never seen any sign of moisture or corrosion. If you take a sample of the grease and wet it you see it get milky right away the dark blue will get light blue. So that’s what I did for 17 years with the first axle never saw milky grease changed the seals 2x when I replaced the drum brake backing plates. I’m know you disagree with this but at the same time the maintenance interval with the old style bearings on rear drive vehicles was 30,000 miles or 36 months. Yes they didn’t go in water though. That’s why some like roller trailers with low mounted rollers & a steep ramp the brakes & bearings don’t have to get wet. If I launched my boat at the town ramp (steep & deep) instead of my local ramp (shallow) I could do that; they’d never get wet….

 

[bruceb58]

PS:
With the spindle lube every year after the boat is launched I always greased the bearings thoroughly & have never seen any sign of moisture or corrosion. If you take a sample of the grease and wet it you see it get milky right away the dark blue will get light blue. So that’s what I did for 17 years with the first axle never saw milky grease changed the seals 2x when I replaced the drum brake backing plates. I’m know you disagree with this but at the same time the maintenance interval with the old style bearings on rear drive vehicles was 30,000 miles or 36 months. Yes they didn’t go in water though. That’s why some like roller trailers with low mounted rollers & a steep ramp the brakes & bearings don’t have to get wet. If I launched my boat at the town ramp (steep & deep) instead of my local ramp (shallow) I could do that; they’d never get wet….

With less than 5 miles of towing per year, you could have completely rusty bearings and you would likely be fine.

 

[Lou C]

I think the original axle that came with the trailer was like that I replaced it within a year or 2 with the first one Champion made for me.

 

[dingbat]

New trailer came with Vortex hubs.

Includes a 6 year/100,000 miles no maintenance warranty.

We will see

https://www.loadrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/VortexManual.pdf

 

[Lou C]

With that system can you tell if water has entered the hub? Any of these systems are only as good as the seals; as long as I don’t see signs of moisture coming out if the expelled grease abs the bearings feel smooth when I spin the wheel I’m good.