Wheel Bearing Maintenance Based On Time (or Mileage)

Jerry Kemp

Jerry Kemp

Junior Ranger
I'm curious as to what the general Camp Inn owning public does for wheel bearing maintenance? And based on time or mileage or something else.

A bit of this post is a re-run for me, but in short, purchased a 2014 550 back in March 2020. It was generally well cared for as best I can tell, but the scariest part for me, during the purchase was when I asked the (now previous) owner the last time the wheel bearings had been serviced. Her response was, "Oh, I didn't know I needed to do that".

Anyway, I've got new wheel bearings in my 550 that I purchased directly from Camp Inn (thank you Cary), and its on my list to purchase another emergency set to throw into the trailer in case of emergency.

I ultimately found a local automotive repair place to do the work, and I'm good for a while. Anyway, I've see post about servicing wheel bearings every xx,000 miles. And that would be awesome, if I had the detail and commitment to document the mileage when I pull my Camp Inn.

I'd also asked at the shop where I had the work done. The service manager, referencing his much larger trailer, comments that he does his, on his trailer (not a Camp Inn, nor even a tear drop) every two years.

Not that there is ever a "good" time to break down, but additionally, so frequently the trips I make seem to be to the southwest, and it seems like any repair service is few and far between. I believe the best I can do is to stay up on maintenance, and have (factory) spare parts available should the worst occur.

I'm curious to hear from others here, what maintenance schedule you are using to service your wheel bearings?

TIA for your comments.
 
Call Cary. I think 25k miles is very reasonable. A lot would depend on if your seals are good, and how much rain you drive thru. Cary will give you dependable info. (BTW, being an anal type, I carry a spare bearing and seal set in the tire well. If they go, they always go on a Sunday afternoon when every shop is closed.)
 
10 people will give you ten answers, but that would be one of them!
Of course the easy answer is service them before they go bad, but not very helpful.
 
Lipster said:
Call Cary. I think 25k miles is very reasonable.
Click to expand...

I don't doubt for a second that this, or something similar is the best answer. I don't believe anyone here could argue that. I also believe I've seen a quote or two from Cary giving an even wider window for bearing maintenance.

OTOH, and more realistically, my 550 has no odometer, and being true to myself, the chances of me accurately logging mileage while I'm pulling my Camp Inn probably just isn't going to happen, at least not any any uniform way. I have half a dozen camping checklist, depending if I'm towing my Camp Inn, or taking a tent, or if or not I will have access to electricity. And as much as check list help me out, it always seems that I miss or overlook an item or two.

Are you accurately and consistently tracking your Camp Inn towing miles? If so, thumbs up. This all (at least to me) seems like pretty basic stuff, and more than anything, I'm kind of hoping that someone might share some alternative I have not thought of or wasn't aware of.
 
I carry a little notepad in the teardrop, and log in "stuff" whilst at the campsite. I pretty much know how many miles I've gone at the end of each trip, and just mark it down in the book. Any other things like new battery, propane tank refill, etc.
Cheap, effective, and it gives us something to do.
Page 33 of your manual gives you more info on bearing maintenance.
 
Her ya' go Jerry Wheel Bearings

Per Cary's post........So no, do not service your bearings once a year whether they need it or not. Follow our guidelines. 1) Every 2000 miles do a end play test by shaking the tire for the proper end play. If the bearings are getting too loose, service the bearings. 2) Tire replacement, service the bearings when tires are due. 3) 50K miles. If you made it that far without doing any bearing service then pack the bearings. The grease is old and should be changed. This number is a tad high based on the light load of the trailer and our experience. The hub manufacturer will actually recommend 25K. So, if you would like to error on the side of caution pack the bearings every 25K if you did not have to for reasons 1 or 2.
 
This thread has kind of petered out, and I'm going to poke it one last time before I just let it go.

First, thank you all for the replies that I have received here, I do appreciate everyone's input and comments. But what I'm getting is that everyone here does a pretty good job of tracking their mileage. +1 for all of you who are (honestly) doing that. Sadly that is not a skill I ever seem to have while traveling, and me lying about it isn't going to help anyone.

No one else seemed to bite off on the time base wheel bearing maintenance (i.e. every 2 years), so I'm reading between the lines here that maybe that just isn't a good plan.

The other option I've discovered, is bearing/hub mounted odometers. Like the trailers on the big 18-wheel rigs. Sadly, I'd searched the forum archives, and the comments I've seen for these are all bad.

Those were all old thread, so I'm wondering out loud, as a few years have gone by, if that situation has changed? Does anyone have a setup like that with any positive comments.
 
Jerry, a positive comment for you

I am POSITIVE those bearing/hub mount odometers do not do very well... you're welcome. Have a great day!

P.S. you know I am just giving you a bit of gruff
 
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