Kal Tire
Wheel Bearing Wear
Story & photo courtesy of Kal Tire
Let’s zoom in on a pretty typical moment in the life of an RV wheel bearing: it’s hot. Your truck has been pulling your fifth wheel for three hours already and now you’re heading down the windy hill of a mountain pass backed up with traffic. Your truck is 10,000 pounds and your brakes are trying to stop that weight — in addition to the 10,000 pounds of the trailer. At the centre of it all are your wheel bearings, likely overheated and under-lubricated.
Unlike the brakes or even the tires, for example, many RV and trailer owners forget to inspect the condition of their wheel bearings—and yet worn wheel bearings are often the culprit when you see a broken down RV with a wheel missing on the side of the road.
Some trailer and RV manufacturers recommend inspecting wheel bearings for wear about every three years or 240,000 kilometres, but a good rule of thumb is to have them checked annually along with your brakes at the start of your RV season, especially if you go off the road with your unit.
Most Class A motorhomes have wheel bearings in sealed units, where the lubricant is meant to be ‘lifetime’ (or for the life of the part). On conventional trailers, however, wheel bearings are usually repackable and serviceable.
When we say ‘repacked,’ we’re talking about inserting the appropriate RV grease. This lubrication is critical for protecting your wheel bearings against early wear caused by a lack of grease in excessive heat and against contaminant build-up.
If your wheel bearings are becoming worn, you’re apt to notice it in both your fuel economy, thanks to unnecessary dragging, and in your RV’s handling; related tire wear sometimes leads to vibrations at certain speeds.
There’s a chance you might even have some visual clues. Overheated brake pads can melt a bit on the surface of your wheels, and affected brake calipers can cause discolouration around the wheel.
Aside from the annual inspection and grease repacking, what can you do to help prevent early wear of your wheel bearings?
RV and trailer mechanics recommend that if you’re in a scenario where you’re pulling a trailer down a hill and the brakes are apt to overheat, switch from applying the brakes to letting your foot off the brake pedal even momentarily to give your brakes a chance to cool down.
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