TRAILER WHEEL BEARINGS

[NoDirectionHome]

There are lots of bearing manufacturers both large and small, foreign and domestic. There are good and bad among all of them. There are very good Chinese bearings. Timken, SKF, Koyo, Shaeffler etc. are all good bets if you can get them. I have a "good" (known reputation)Chinese bearing in a class 8 transmission for many years from when I couldn't get the Koyo I needed. Koyo $300 vs Chinese $75. You need to have a good supplier to advise you as what is good. We just don't see enough bearings (and I see a lot) to know.

[alan0043]

TIMKEN bearings are some of the best. Long time machine mechanic with a lot of auto time in there too. Definitely get the right results with quality parts.

 

X2 on the Timken bearings.

 

Al ( retired from The Timken Co.)

[rpsinc]

Dolly: The china crap flooding our market really gets under my skin. Can ya tell?

 

Years ago, I had a welding project and was using some (unknown to me) china steel. I could not run a bead to save my life. Checked the welder settings, cleaned my glasses and tried again. Then I saw the tiny "made in china sticker." So, I pulled out a piece of steel from the scrap bin and ran a perfect bead. When I took the steel back to my supplier, the salesman called the owner and said, "We have another batch of bad steel." Never went back to the place again!

 

Suite: Get rid of the china crap bearings or you will be changing bearings on the side of the road, some day. If those dumbazz china companies cannot make weldable steel, I am guessing they do not have a clue how to make heat treated bearings. And, years ago, all of the American manufacturing companies were taken over by "bean counters" with MBA's, so they would not know a good bearing if it bit them in the butt!

 

I need to go back to work and make some money.

Years ago and today. Not much has changed. I am a fabricator/equip installer and weld quite a bit. Lots of stick and flux core wire. I encounter the same over and over again. I have learned to accept that I cannot make a good looking weld in lousy steel. So, I focus on penetration so that at least it will hold and do its job. But I hear ya on the frustration. Imagine though how many 5er and MH frames might be made with that steel. Hate to think about it!!!

[rickeieio]

One of my motorsickle friends used to be part owner in a little tool outfit, named K-D. He was the "D". He told me of going to China and meeting with folks there who were thrilled to be asked for quality, rather than just price. Don't blame the Chinese for our Wal-Mart mentality.......... There's a lot of American made junk out there too.

 

That said, buy the best and you only need to buy it once, wherever it's made.

[rpsinc]

Notice I said "lousy steel" simply because it CAN be made anywhere. There are some products made in China/elsewhere that are well made and worth the price given the job they are to perform. The finished product is a combination of many elements. I try to provide the best service and finished product I can given the specs I work to and the material that is called out. I am only a PART of the finished product but I am grateful to be that. It is satisfying to be able to see the fruits of my labor in some finished product. I guess that is a big part of the reason why I became what I am.

 

Don't blame the Chinese for our Wal-Mart mentality I agree totally. We, as consumers, influence manufacturers to meet the price we are willing to pay for goods. Then they have to find a way to meet that to stay in business. Sometimes it is impossible if the objective is to deliver a long-lasting, quality product for the price that the customer will pay.

[Refuzn-To-Grow-Up]

Today, I received the Timken bearings and SKF seals for my trailer. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who has been in the machinery repair business for 35 years and he had the necessary contacts to source the bearings. Because, the bearings were "no name no part number" bearings, we had to measure the axles and hubs and he insisted that I provide him the old bearings, races and seals.

 

For those of you who want to know, the cost (bearings, races and seals) was $100 per wheel (this price included 4 extra seals). The china bearings, races and seals cost about $20 per wheel. So, good quality components are 5 times more expensive as the china crap that was on my trailer.

 

Because I am a goofy gearhead who wants to know more, I will take one of the china bearings and mic the roller bearing diameters and look at the races and rollers under a microscope. I know, I should just throw them away and go RV'ing!

 

Here are a couple observations and comments:

 

1. The Timken bearings are individually wrapped (sealed), boxed and id'ed with name and part number on the box and parts. The "no name no part number" china bearings were thrown into a plastic bin at the trailer supply house. Camping World's wheel bearing sets (bearings and seals) were in a plastic bag. I was told that Camping World buys from the above-mentioned trailer supply house.

 

2. An engineer friend of mine told me that NASA is prohibited from buying china bearings. I guess that makes sense when your tow vehicle is a rocket ship, your RV is a space shuttle (or station) and your destination is the moon.

 

3. My friend who sourced the bearings for me was told by his supplier that a china bearing race was accidentally dropped on the concrete floor and when it hit the floor, it broke. Sounds like a heat treating quality control problem.

 

4. The SKF grease seals have a "rubberized" outside diameter to better seal to the hub. The china seals do not and therefore are a metal to metal contact.

 

5. I have owned all types of RV's. I ultimately settled on a fifth wheel because there are only three major rolling gear components that can wear out, and they are tires, brakes and bearings. I have a triple axle trailer and the entire weight (less pin weight) rolls on only 12 roller bearings. A bearing failure can result in an accident or me being stranded in the middle of nowhere. For me, the cost to upgrade my bearings was minimal, given the fact that I will know that I am rolling on good quality bearings.

 

In addition to changing the bearings, I have taken the following additional precautions. I have a spare hub (with bearings and seals). I now have two spare tires (mounted on rims) for the trailer. I now carry all tools necessary to change my own RV tire. I have AAA, But it took them 2 hours to get to us and we were on the side of Highway 395, with 18 wheelers roaring by at 70mph. I purchased an infrared thermometer and at every stop, I will take hub temperature readings to monitor bearing temperature. This is probably overkill, given the Timken bearing retrofit. But, then I am a tool-aholic.

 

For those of you wondering whether you should run out and spend several hundred dollars on bearings, here are a few thoughts, for what they are worth. Probably all of our RV's cars, quads, side by sides etc, are now using china bearings. So, these bearings are out there and if the failure rate was high, there would have been recalls . . . maybe.

 

My trailer is a 2009 and I paid people to service my bearings, from the day that I purchased it, new. I have zerg fittings on my axles. So, I am guessing that the clowns NEVER jacked up the trailer and check the bearing preload. They just shot in some grease. I will install my new bearings. From this day forward, I will inspect and lube the bearings myself.

 

If I ever decide to retire and go full timing (not likely), I will buy a high end custom 5'er. I will insist that the axles, drums, brakes, bearings and tires are NOT made in China. And, preferably made in America.

 

Safe travels.

[rickeieio]

'Bout 25-30 years ago, we had a harvester that we kept way too long. We were having bearing failures. Some of the shafts used common bearings, so I'd order in quantities of 10. One time we got a bad batch from the OEM. The same bearing would last less than a full day. In a location the "book" call for 2 1/2 hr r/r. We had it down to 25 minutes. I sourced bearings from a local supply house and the problem went away.

 

For you farmers, it was a JD 8820, green roof, upper tailings elevator shaft. Deere would never admit a bad batch of bearings.

 

BTW, we used to grease every bearing, every day. When my uncle handed the maintenance chores to me, I started greasing by the book, and our bearing failures decreased dramatically. Too much grease builds heat.

[Scrap]

Yea....good ol days where it is 110 in the shade and you got your belly frying on the half door and your head smashed through the trap door under the butt crack of the seat trying to get down in there... great times! We were 6622 & 7722 but same return elevator I'd imagine. I'm sure we still have some of those bearings in the parts bus - might have to send them off to Jeff! We've got more CRP than ever this year and I had a nightmare just the other night that one of the '22's made a comeback. Until the last decade we were everything every day greasers too, except wobble box. You do make a good parallel - every day on the sickle drive is still considered a guaranteed fire....