Don’t Ignore Your Wheel Bearings

One routine maintenance item RV owners sometimes put off can cost big bucks to repair, and as the saying goes You can pay a little now or a LOT later. Regular inspection and re-packing your trailer or pop-up’s wheel bearings can save you from a repair nightmare. Neglecting to have this simple and relatively inexpensive maintenance work done cannot only be costly, but your safety can also depend on it.

Wheel bearings are enclosed in hubs on your RV’s axles and allow the wheels to rotate freely. The bearings require lubricant (grease) to spin at high speeds. Most manufacturers recommend that the bearings be re-packed every 6000 miles or 6 months.

The accompanying photos are from a pop-up camper that was recently in our shop for repairs. The owner failed to have the wheel bearings checked at regular intervals. The result was a near catastrophe, as the excessive heat that was generated not only destroyed the bearings, but the axle, wheels, tires, hubs and seals as well. Fortunately, the owner discovered the problem before a tire blew out or a wheel flew off at highway speeds and caused even more damage.

After the pop-up was towed in, we replaced the axle along with wheels, tires, hubs, bearings and seals. Considering that the cost for a single axle trailer is only about $100.00 to re-pack the bearings, the owner could have saved a bundle! Now he is a firm believer in proper bearing maintenance and has already scheduled an appointment to have it done next spring!

So have your bearings checked regularly and save big bucks in the long run. So the moral of the story is: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....not to mention peace of mind.

Call our toll-free service hotline 888-FIX-URRV (888-349-8778) to schedule your appointment today. You’ll be glad you did! 

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