How long since you had your wheel bearings and brakes checked on your caravan?
My work trailer is only two years old and I’ve noticed the hubs are warm-to-hot when I check them during a road trip. There are some minor streaks of black grease forming on the wheels too.
These are warning signs that something needs checking!
After removing the wheel caps and split pins, I noticed the axle nuts were very tight on both wheels. This was the likely the cause of the overheating and the softening grease streaks on the wheels. Taking the hubs apart, and removing the seals revealed some blackening in the grease around the inner bearings. This grease was installed by the manufacturer and it was originally bright blue in colour. The colour was helpful because it was easy to spot where the bearings were overheating and melting the oils in the grease. Although, this bright blue grease seemed to be a little chalky to the touch – perhaps from being hot. The oily mix in the grease was, perhaps, separating and breaking down the lubricity of the grease.
The bearings themselves are fine, with very minor scuffing on the bearing cones. I think I caught the excess wear in good time!
I thoroughly rinsed the old bearing grease from the bearings using solvent, and repacked with new Castrol bearing grease. Now with new grease seals from Allied Bearings in Nerang, I loaded the repacked bearings just right with a few spins of the wheel while backing off the axle nut to finger tight.
The very next day, I took the trailer on a 260kms round trip. I stopped after an hour to check the torque on the wheel nuts and each wheel was almost cold to the touch. Perfect! I’m good for at least another year on the road.
When did you check your wheel bearings on your caravan or boat trailer? The only way to know for sure is to take the hubs apart and fully inspect and repack.
It’s easier to notice a noisy bearing in your car, there might be vibration or a whirring sound, but you won’t have these signals from your caravan towing behind. The only way to keep caravan wheel bearings in check is to feel the hubs during rest breaks and refuelling stops. Give each wheel a strong nudge and check for wobble, and look for signs of grease streaking outward from the hub. Ultimately have your bearings visually inspected, and have your brakes properly inspected too.
Gold Coast Mobile Weigh can do these inspections for you. Contact me today to book a wheel bearing and brake service at 0474 911 123 today!
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