rlspike
Indiana
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Joined: 03/10/2006
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Is it necessary to repack wheel bearings every year on a hybrid? We never did it during 7 years of owning a pop-up and traveling to 47 states.
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buldaawg
Dallas,Georgia
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Joined: 01/10/2005
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I'll give you My opinion, It wont hurt. You were very lucky on your pop up, I don't think you had the weight and stresses on the pop up that your hybrid will. Plus...Its not like its that hard to do or takes a lot of time..Just a little bit of work to save lots of money and time. If a bearing ever does freeze up on you, It'll do more damage then you think. Heat from a failing bearing can cause tires to blow, fall off and worse...Lots of damage to spindles and trailer and in some cases can cause loss of control of TV.
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Coyote2cool
Denver, Colorado
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Joined: 07/13/2007
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buldaawg wrote:I'll give you My opinion, It wont hurt. You were very lucky on your pop up, I don't think you had the weight and stresses on the pop up that your hybrid will. Plus...Its not like its that hard to do or takes a lot of time..Just a little bit of work to save lots of money and time. If a bearing ever does freeze up on you, It'll do more damage then you think. Heat from a failing bearing can cause tires to blow, fall off and worse...Lots of damage to spindles and trailer and in some cases can cause loss of control of TV.
I absolutely agree 100% !!!!!!
We repack ours in the beginning of every summer.
Why risk it?
2008 Chevrolet Avalanche Z71
2007 KZ Coyote 23 CFK
2008 Total nights camping = 27
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Me (37)... DW  .... DD  (11) ... DD  (9)...Dog (1)
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smkettner
Southern California
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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If done correctly it should not need repacking every year. But the only way to know for certain is to do it again each year. My pup had no bearing service in eight years when I sold it. Recently repacked on my current trailer after two years and one was too tight from the factory and needed a new bearing. Most axle manufacturers say once a year. Weight is not relavent as most components are at 90%+ rated capacity. Although single axle will have less stress in curves.
2001 F150 SuperCrew 5.4 Lariat Offroad 4x4 Tow Package 4.10 Truetrac
2006 Keystone Springdale 249FWBHLS
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21SS
Chicago
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Joined: 04/01/2006
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I put bearing buddies on mt Roo.
Did the same on my popup and boat trailers.
Never had a problem with any of them....
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TubaPete
Comstock Park, MI
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Joined: 03/05/2005
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rlspike wrote:Is it necessary to repack wheel bearings every year on a hybrid?
I don't know the "official" answer, but I think that every 3 years or 10,000 miles would be frequent enough. It's what I go by.
Tuba Pete
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wintek
Shreveport, Louisiana
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Joined: 08/08/2007
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I'll go two years unless I have a big trip planned. I'll do it before a big trip. Year's ago I had a wheel & hub come off my popup while on a trip. Went 6 years without checking. Never again.
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PopBeavers
San Jose, CA
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Joined: 03/19/2005
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I replace the grease once a year. Every three years I remove the bearing to inspect it, repack by hand and replace the seals.
I see no reason to repack by hand every year when it is designed to replace the grease, at least for some axles.
Wayne in San Jose
TV1:2002 Chevy 1500HD 4wd Crew Cab,Valley Odyssey brake ctlr,McKesh mirrors
TV2:2008 GMC 2500HD long bed 4wd Crew Cab,GMC brake ctlr,GMC mirrors
TT:Trailmanor 2720
Honda 2000
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risingsun
Prescott, AZ
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Joined: 07/23/2007
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I do mine myself every couple of years. I have a simple bearing grease tool that looks like this:
I feel that this tool gets the grease into all the nooks and crannies a little better than hand packing. Since it's only a few bucks more, I run Mobil 1 synthetic grease (the red stuff) through a spare grease gun that I only use for bearing repacks. I replace the seals each time I do the repack. Then, to top it all off, I have one of those infrared laser-aimed thermometer guns that I use to check the hub temperatures on occasion when stopped at a rest area during a road trip.
 If the bearings are properly greased and functioning right, the hub temps stay pretty stable and there are no worries. If something is not right, you'll notice one hub is running a lot hotter than the other(s), and you will be able to deal with the problem before a major failure somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Just my 2 cents...
Oh, one other thing. I have read that it is imperative to get the bearing as clean as you possibly can before repacking. You don't want ANY old grease in there, especially if it is different stuff than what you will be putting back in...
2006 Rockwood Roo 23SS
2001 GMC Yukon SLT
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mexfishguide
arkansas
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Joined: 08/03/2005
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Guys, I have to disagree with most of the comments. I pull my TT fast, and long hours,the heat takes its toll. IFFfff--- you only check you bearings 1 time a year? let us say 8 weeks after your yearly check, a greese seal in back blows out on you, also maybe you tighten the nut to much and put a stress on the outer bearing. I talked to a man not long ago in an RV dealership, he had ruined an axle on his 32 5th.,and was down a few days waitting on an axle replacement. I ask him about greese, his anawer was I had a mechanic greese them about a year ago. All people that greese the bearings do not know what they are doing.....
Pull the wheels, check the bearings yourself, peace of mind is worth a lot to me,I sure do not want to loose a bearing, at night between Needles and Barstow
Take Care
Mexfishguide
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