On a Fifth Wheel Trailer, how often is it necessary to do the bearings ? sounds like a pita job...my service guy said..no bearing buddies...grease will come out of seals and ruin the brakes. .he said they sometimes use a needle on grease gun to inject a little inside the bearings and then it will bleed back into the dust cap if necessary....What do you guys think??

On my trailers, being a 32' camping trailer and 28' race trailer that each see about 15,000+ miles per year I completely disassemble each axle at the beginning of the season. That means I pull the drums, pull the brakes, take the bearings out including the inside one in the hub and run them through the parts washer and repack with grease, install a new inside grease seal (you will generally destroy it taking it out) and reassemble. Before you repack the bearings, make sure that when they are clean they roll nice and smooth and don't have an bumps, snags or unevenness in them when they are clean (no grease). If they are good and smooth rolling, repack 'em.

This is also a good time to go through the brake wiring and make sure it's not rubbing anywhere (cause a short) and that the grounds are all good and clean. Make sure that the magnets are wearing nice and flat and not just rounding off on one corner and the drums a true. I had the drums turned last year just to make sure they were nice and clean and straight.

I also have the Alko center lube axles which are drilled through the center of the axle and push grease into the inside bearing. A shot or two every 5000 or so and they a good.

pita?--yeah, kinda, but an hour or two of cleaning and greasing will save you hours of being broken down on the side of the road in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere.

I'm not a fan of his short cut way of doing things but I put a lot of miles on my trailers and don't like being broken down because of poor maintenance.

I am with you sprint, I however do not run more than 10k per year, so I repack every other year. It is the only way to get the job done right.

However, my new 5er has bearing buddy knockoffs on them right from the manufacturer - Dexter Axle. The dealer and manual said that they are designed to prevent grease from going into the drum and forces the grease back out the front. I like the ease, but I will still do the major repack every other year - Its just not worth the risk IMO either!

Happy traveling! I can't wait to get going!

P.S. I'll be driving from Michigan to Yellowstone this summer - Deos anyone have any must see's besides Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse etc?

Agree with the PITA to repack the bearings. Just got our 5th wheel out of storage last Sunday, and repacked all four wheels this week. Took several hours, but they are done right. Completely cleaned, repacked, new seals, brake adjustment, etc. Leaving for Alaska in June, and don't need wheel bearing problems. Repacking bearings is not a tough job, just time consuming and messy.

Lots of info at www.dexteraxle.com

http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/6-8K%20Service%20Manual/Maintenance_Schedule_3-04.pdf

http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/6-8K%20Service%20Manual/Hubs__Drums____Bearings_3-04.pdf