Why does it seem like wheel bearings on trailers need constant maintenance, but the ones in our cars don’t?

139 views

For example, I know a couple people with trailers and they all talk about regreasing their wheel bearings and removing them from the trailer on a somewhat set schedule in one way or another, but I’ve never heard of that being done on a car.

What is the difference? Are trailer wheel bearings just made poorly?

In: 2

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

It depends on the quality of the trailer. Many trailers use cheap axles with bearings that are designed to be replaced easily at home with regular tools. You can buy a new road-legal trailer for under $500. Obviously not a lot of money is going into the axles and bearings at that price. A lot of these cheap trailers have smaller diameter wheels that spin faster than the wheels on the tow vehicle, so the bearings see a lot more wear per mile.

You are viewing 1 out of 3 answers, click here to view all answers.