Re-pack bearings necessary?

[Boogiejack75]

I think oil bath bearings are excellent for bearings that rotate regularly. Considering how long trailers can sit between travels, I'd be concerned with corrosion possibly developing on the exposed bearings not immersed in oil. No data to back it up, but it would be something I'd consider.

Morryde says no oil bath on IS for exactly that reason. Grease is the proper lube for RVs.

[lorend]

Hello All,

I have a 2022 341RDS fifth wheel, and it is time to grease my bearings.

I have seen that I may need to completely pull out and repack my bearings (which seems like a cumbersome process). I have also heard I do NOT need to completely re-pack by bearings, but instead simply pull the wheel, and grease gun through the grease zerk.

Could you please advise me on the proper maintenance for this, and what the risks/benefits of each method might be? I am still relatively new to the RV space and am trying to figure this all out as I go!

Many thanks in advance, and if this has been answered elsewhere, i apologize for the repetitive question.

KF

Are you starting to feel like you asked a question like which ice cream is better, chocolate or vanilla? And somebody else will say strawberry. lol. The mechanically minded seem to always say to pull the bearings and hand pack them. Dexter, who designed the EZ Lube says to use the zerks but to inspect at 12 months or 12,000 miles. With the rv, I inspect at 12,000 not 12 months. I don't think it matters what you do, somebody will disagree with you on this subject. I ended up talking with personal friends, who are mechanics, and kind of follow their recommendation and it seems to be working okay for me. Good luck with your decision.

[goducks14]

Why pump grease in if you're going to take it out anyways? It all seems contradictory.

[ChrisLLynn]

Hello All,

I have a 2022 341RDS fifth wheel, and it is time to grease my bearings.

I have seen that I may need to completely pull out and repack my bearings (which seems like a cumbersome process). I have also heard I do NOT need to completely re-pack by bearings, but instead simply pull the wheel, and grease gun through the grease zerk.

Could you please advise me on the proper maintenance for this, and what the risks/benefits of each method might be? I am still relatively new to the RV space and am trying to figure this all out as I go!

Many thanks in advance, and if this has been answered elsewhere, i apologize for the repetitive question.

KF

On Dexter's website there is a diagram of the zerk layout. The grease runs through a channel that goes to the back of the assembly. The new grease is deposited there while pushing the old grease out next to the zerk. It has worked well for me.

[huntindog]

Morryde says no oil bath on IS for exactly that reason. Grease is the proper lube for RVs.

I use my RVs a LOT. Oil bath is in my future. With them the maintainence intervals are MUCH longer.

[LMagelitz]

I use my RVs a LOT. Oil bath is in my future. With them the maintainence intervals are MUCH longer.

Me too. We went on a factory tour in Elkhart (leaving name out on purpose) a few weeks ago, and much to my surprise we saw MORryde IS axles on the floor with oil bath hubs.

I said earlier, I’m not sure how long they would have to sit before starting to rust, but I leave a grain trailer sit for many months in the off season, and in 15 years never had a problem. If the RV is parked in a campground for a year, that might be a different story.

My theory on maintenance interval being longer would be that the entire volume of oil is exchanged with the bearings in an oil bath, whereas there is very little grease migration in a packed-bearing situation.

[dryfly]

Are you starting to feel like you asked a question like which ice cream is better, chocolate or vanilla? And somebody else will say strawberry. lol. The mechanically minded seem to always say to pull the bearings and hand pack them. Dexter, who designed the EZ Lube says to use the zerks but to inspect at 12 months or 12,000 miles. With the rv, I inspect at 12,000 not 12 months. I don't think it matters what you do, somebody will disagree with you on this subject. I ended up talking with personal friends, who are mechanics, and kind of follow their recommendation and it seems to be working okay for me. Good luck with your decision.

There are lots of different roads to success. I think back to the 1960's when my parents got their first travel trailer. Back then it seemed that nobody thought much about bearings and tires. It seemed there were very few incidents. For the first 20 years that I pulled trailers I hate to admit it but I don't think I ever regularly checked my bearings or brakes. I fortunately never had an issue.

Now with the internet forums, we spend lots of time talking about how and how often to repack bearings and what brand of bearings and grease to use. With this said, I'm all for any type of preventive maintenance.

[huntindog]

On Dexter's website there is a diagram of the zerk layout. The grease runs through a channel that goes to the back of the assembly. The new grease is deposited there while pushing the old grease out next to the zerk. It has worked well for me.

Have you seen the Dexter video? It shows the tire being rotated while greasis being pumped, and some dirty grease exiting. They prononce it done.

However that is misleading. When dirty is grease pushed thru the inner bearing on its way to the outer bearing it will run into clean grease which it will push towards the outer bearing. This clean grease will push the dirty grease out of the outer bearing and you will see the dirty grease exiting followed by the clean grease. You will think you are done.
But the dirty grease from the inner bearing hasn't exited yet!! It is still in the hub somewhere. Just where is a wild guess, as it depends on just how much grease was in the hub cavity betwee n the inner and outer bearings. It is possible that it may have entered the outer bearing. in order to be sure that all of the dirty grease has exited you need to see two bands of dirty grease exit. This will require almost an entire tube of grease for each wheel!! And it will take that much every time!. All of that pumping increases the chance of grease pushing past the seal and onto the brakes. An entire tube per wheel also drives the cost up.
This is why some do not like or use this feature.
Count me in with the not a user crowd.

[huntindog]

There are lots of different roads to success. I think back to the 1960's when my parents got their first travel trailer. Back then it seemed that nobody thought much about bearings and tires. It seemed there were very few incidents. For the first 20 years that I pulled trailers I hate to admit it but I don't think I ever regularly checked my bearings or brakes. I fortunately never had an issue.

Now with the internet forums, we spend lots of time talking about how and how often to repack bearings and what brand of bearings and grease to use. With this said, I'm all for any type of preventive maintenance.

In the 60s they were using LT tires, as the STs had not been created yet

[Scott'n'Wendy]

In the 60s they were using LT tires, as the STs had not been created yet

There such a thing as "LT" with bias ply tires?