Repacking bearings on an RV

After our freeway fire incident in 2024, we replaced our fifth wheel’s E-Z Lube axles with non-E-Z Lube axles, not wanting to repeat that scene, which had been caused by a failure of the rear axle seal. The newer axles are like those on many vehicles that require annual repacking, or greasing, of the bearings inside the wheels for safe operation and continued success. 

Barely caffeinated early one Saturday with a forecast high of 101 degrees, we emerged from the RV to tackle the job. I said a prayer asking God to help us be kind to each other, have good attitudes, and communicate well. 

We didn’t have to identify a leader for this project. Repacking bearings on an RV clearly fell in Bob’s wheelhouse as an aircraft mechanic, and I was happy to play gofer.

Establishing a stable foundation

We started by putting the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of the truck. Having been stationary for five months, we had removed it to improve fuel efficiency and give us room to transport large items, such as the furniture we purchased. 

Reinstalling the hitch in two pieces provided ample opportunity for us to inspect it. We discovered a stray piece of shorn metal and some wear. We recognized the metal as a remnant of our tonneau cover mishap and dismissed it. We’d have to deal with the wear later.

​For the best stability during the bearings repacking job, we wanted to connect the trailer to the truck, especially since we were parked on a slight incline. It turned out to be good practice, as we had forgotten the order of some steps in the connection process.

With the weight of Tagalong resting on Gulliver, we headed to the sunny south side of the trailer with tools and parts. After loosening the eight lug nuts on the front driver-side tire, Bob crept under the rig with a bottle jack and hoisted it up so that we could spin the tire. Then he installed a jack stand for added support and crawled out. 

Getting our bearings

Donning bright orange gloves, Bob fully removed the lug nuts and separated the tire from the trailer. Then he took off the dust cap and the wheel nut, allowing him to pull the hub forward and the outer bearing and washer to fall into his hand. 

With the hub out of place, Bob took time to survey the wheel and brake. The electromagnet for the brake just kind of hung, not acting like it should.

On the back side of the hub, Bob used a special tool to knock the grease seal out of place so that he could get to the inner bearing. He put both the inner and outer bearings in a pail of acetone to clear away the grease. While they soaked, he cleaned old grease from the hub and spindle and slathered on fresh grease.

He ran the larger of the two bearings through the acetone to wash away adhering grease and lifted the bearing from the pail. After spraying the unit with brake cleaner and wiping it with a paper towel, he forced air into it with a compressor for added measure. That blew out any remaining grease. 

Greasing the bearings

Bob carefully examined the outer bearing for any damage. Seeing none, he scooped up a generous amount of fresh grease and rubbed it on, massaging the bearing to push the grease into all the nooks and crannies. He repeated the process with the inner bearing. ​

Satisfied with his work, Bob carefully put the hub pieces back together, adding grease where needed. I handed him a new grease seal and a new dust cap. He reattached the hub to the trailer, followed by the tire, securing it with the lug nuts. Then he lowered the trailer, tightened and torqued the lug nuts, and moved to the next tire to repeat the process. 

By this point, about two hours after we began, sweat pooled in my eyelids as the sun climbed higher in the sky. After removing the second tire on the sunny side, we relocated to the shady side of the trailer for some respite and did the cleaning and grease packing for that tire there. 

We finished reassembling the second tire on the south side of the rig around 11 a.m. and moved to the shady side for the duration of the project, grateful we had taken drinking water out of the rig. 

Leveling up … or down

Disassembling and reassembling the other two wheels and repacking the bearings went pretty smoothly, but the hot day dragged on. We finally finished the two passenger-side tires around 2 p.m., having depleted all of our drinking water well before that. 
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Thirsty and famished from eating nothing but granola bars that morning, we cleaned up, detached the truck from the trailer, and tried to level it. 

The automatic leveling system kept erroring out. We figured the unseasonal heat must have been too much for the motors, so we decided to wait for the weather to cool off before trying again. In desperate need of food, drink, and air conditioning, we secured everything and climbed into the truck to head to a restaurant, groaning about aches and pains from our day’s work. 

In the coolness of the eatery, Bob did some research. We realized we needed to retrain the RV’s leveling system after reattaching the dangling sensor when we resealed the trailer’s underbelly. 

We returned satiated but exhausted. We decided to put jack stands under the trailer’s middle stabilizers and reteach the leveling system when we had more time to deal with it. 

A braking development

A week passed before we had a free morning to attempt to level the rig again. Because we hadn’t leveled it the way we wanted to, we hadn’t installed the X-chocks or the king pin tripod stabilizer (paid links), not wanting to redo those aspects later. Tired of feeling like we were on a rocking ship every time one of us moved about inside the fifth wheel, we spilled out of the trailer another morning to do something about it. 

The delay in leveling turned out to be a blessing, as it allowed time for us to secure a new brake electromagnet and new rubber for the king pin hitch. 

With our slide-outs closed and the trailer connected to the truck once again, Bob crawled under the rig, jacked it up, and removed the front driver-side tire, bearings, and hub to get to the brake. He unclipped the wires holding the electromagnet from the brake disc, cut them, and attached the new electromagnet wires to them using butt splice connectors and a heating gun.

In the process, it became apparent that the previous electromagnet was missing a clip to hold its spring in place and allow it to function properly. As a result, the X hole that allowed the magnet to move toward and away from the disc had been worn into more of an oval shape. ​

Bob put the new magnet into place and secured it with a fresh clip. Then he put the hub and tire back together and lowered the trailer. ​

Hitching up

We once again disconnected the truck from the trailer and attempted to level the rig. This time, it worked on the first try. We had successfully retaught the system what level was and were able to set up the trailer like normal — X-chocks, tripod stabilizer, and all.

We cleaned up, and Bob moved to the bed of the truck to install the new hitch rubber in place of the worn material. He had done the same thing a few years earlier, as recommended by the manufacturer every three years. 

We’re grateful for the things we found that needed our attention en route to repacking the bearings on the RV. All were important, and we have greater confidence in our trailering ability for the travel season ahead.

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