The short answer most caravanners are after: service your wheel bearings at least every 12 months or 10,000 km, whichever comes first, and sooner if you spend real time off the blacktop, on the sand, or crossing water. That baseline will keep the majority of tourers out of trouble.
The longer answer is where it gets useful, because "whichever comes first" and "sooner" are doing a lot of quiet work in that sentence. A van that only sees bitumen between caravan parks lives a very different life to one pounding the corrugations into the Cape. Here's how to set an interval that actually matches how you tow, what a "service" really involves, and how to catch a bearing that goes off the rails between services.
The baseline: 12 months or 10,000 km, whichever comes first
Australia's major running-gear makers and motoring clubs land in much the same place, give or take. AL-KO, whose hubs sit under a huge share of Aussie vans, specifies inspecting and lubricating the bearings at 5,000 km or six months, then every 10,000 km or 12 months after that — and replacing them as a matched set when wear shows up, rather than on a fixed odometer figure. Cruisemaster asks for a first check at 1,000 km on new gear, then a strip-and-inspect every six months or 10,000 km. RACQ keeps it simple: service at least every 12 months, and more often if you head off-road or through sand and water.
| Source | Inspect / repack interval | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AL-KO (OEM) | 5,000 km / 6 mo, then 10,000 km / 12 mo | Replace as a matched set on condition |
| Cruisemaster (OEM) | 1,000 km first check, then 10,000 km / 6 mo | Off-road independent suspension; more often on corrugations |
| RACQ | At least every 12 months | More often for off-road, sand and water |
| RV Daily | 10,000 km / 12 mo, whichever first | Twice a year for heavy or off-road use |
There's a second school of thought. Some trailer specialists argue you should inspect on condition rather than the calendar: pull a hub, and if the grease is clean and the rollers are smooth, keep going. Both camps agree on the practical bit — get eyes on the bearings at least once a year or every 10,000 km, and replace them when they show wear rather than at some arbitrary mileage.
When "every 12 months" is too long
The baseline assumes a fairly gentle life. Load the van up, point it at the dirt, and the interval shrinks fast.
- Corrugations and off-road: regular off-road towing or heavy haulage pulls the interval back to roughly six months or 5,000 km. On harsh, sustained corrugations (think the Tanami or the Old Tele Track), some camper-trailer makers suggest checking as often as every 2,500 km.
- Beach and saltwater: salt is brutal on bearings. It emulsifies the grease (you'll see a milky, whipped look), hardens seals and rusts the races. Boat-trailer and heavy-beach users are generally looking at a repack around every six months, plus a check after any big salt-launching season.
- Water crossings: a hot hub cooling down after a crossing contracts and can draw water straight past the seals, because trailer bearings aren't fully sealed units. That's how you end up with milky grease and pitted races. Get eyes on the bearings soon after a significant crossing rather than waiting for the annual service.
- Heat, heavy loads and high ATM: Dexter notes the interval should be shorter if you routinely tow in extreme heat or near maximum load. Towing at your van's full ATM through a Territory summer is a good reason to halve the interval to six months.
- Before a Big Lap: service the bearings before you leave, not three weeks in, and carry a spare set of bearings and seals for each hub size. In the middle of the Nullarbor, a $30 bearing kit in the boot is worth its weight in gold.
"Service" means inspect, repack or replace — know the difference
People use "service the bearings" to mean three different jobs, and the difference decides what it costs you.
- Inspect: pull the hub off and look. Clean grease and smooth-turning rollers mean you're in good shape.
- Repack: clean out the old grease, work fresh grease into the bearings, fit a new seal, and set the preload. This is the standard annual job for bearings that still look healthy.
- Replace: any pitting, heat discolouration (a bluish or brown tinge), a bumpy roller surface, or burnt-smelling grease means the bearing is done. Replace it — and replace the cup and cone together as a set, per AL-KO, because a worn cone has already chewed its matching cup.
The money logic is simple. A trailer bearing set is cheap, so if there's any doubt, replace rather than repack and remove the worry. If you're staring at a bearing wondering whether it'll last another lap, it won't.
Your hubs change the details
Most Australian vans run tapered roller bearings inside AL-KO or independent-suspension hubs. One bit of terminology trips people up constantly: a "parallel" set refers to the axle (two equal-sized bearings instead of a big-and-small pair), not a different kind of roller. They're still tapered rollers. Upgrading to bigger parallel bearings buys you load capacity and robustness on rough tracks, but it does not buy you a longer service interval. The cadence stays the same.
If your van has Dexter E-Z Lube hubs, the spindle has a grease nipple that pushes fresh grease through without pulling the hub apart. Handy, but Dexter still specifies a proper lube every 12 months and a new seal roughly every six, and pumping grease in doesn't remove the old grease or let you actually see the races. It's a top-up, not a substitute for a periodic strip-and-inspect.
DIY or the local shop?
A bearing repack is within reach of anyone comfortable with basic tools. The two steps that catch people out are fitting the new seal squarely and setting the preload: you snug the castellated nut up to seat the bearings, then back it off about a quarter-turn so the hub spins freely without noticeable play, and lock it with a fresh split pin. Too tight and you'll cook the bearing; too loose and it hammers itself loose.
On cost, keep caravan figures separate from car figures — trailer tapered-roller sets are far cheaper than the pressed hub units on a modern 4WD. As a rough guide from caravancampingsales, a bearing-and-brake check, clean and adjust runs around $200 for a single axle and $300 for a tandem, an axle set of bearings is about $100, and a full annual undercarriage service lands near $400. If you're not confident setting preload, that's money well spent at a caravan service centre.
The bit between services: catching a hot hub early
Servicing on schedule is prevention, and it's the part you control. But a bearing can still get into trouble between services. A stone nicks a seal, a river crossing sneaks water in, a hot run at full ATM cooks the grease. Here's the problem: a failing caravan bearing usually can't be heard from the tow vehicle. By the time you'd notice anything through the mirrors, it's often smoke.
The one thing a distressed bearing always does before it lets go is get hot. That's the whole reason passive wheel-nut indicators are designed to discolour at around 120°C — a cheap, purely visual heads-up that a hub is running away. A hub-mounted temperature sensor is the live, continuous version of that idea: it watches each hub's temperature as you tow and warns you the moment one starts climbing, while you've still got time to pull over. It's the same monitoring principle behind catching a bearing before it becomes a fire.
To be straight about it: temperature monitoring is a safety net between services, not a reason to stretch them. Heat only rises once trouble is already underway, and a sensor can't tell you the state of the grease or whether the preload's right — only a strip-and-inspect does that. Service on schedule; monitor for the kilometres in between.
Quick-reference service schedule
| How you tow | Inspect / repack interval |
|---|---|
| General blacktop touring | 12 months or 10,000 km, whichever first |
| Regular off-road / heavy loads | 6 months or 5,000 km |
| Harsh, sustained corrugations | Check around every 2,500 km |
| Beach / saltwater / boat trailer | Around every 6 months, plus after a big salt season |
| After a deep water crossing | Check and repack soon after |
| Before a Big Lap or remote trip | Service first; carry spare bearings and seals |
Frequently asked questions
How often should I service caravan wheel bearings?
At least every 12 months or 10,000 km, whichever comes first, for general touring. Drop that to roughly every six months or 5,000 km for regular off-road work, heavy loads or saltwater, and check as often as every 2,500 km on harsh corrugations.
How long do caravan wheel bearings last?
Anywhere from about 10,000 to 50,000 km depending on load, conditions and how well they've been maintained. Because the range is so wide, the safe approach is to inspect on schedule and replace at the first sign of wear rather than trying to run them to a set number.
Should I repack or replace my bearings?
Repack if the bearings are smooth and the grease is clean, with no pitting, heat discolouration or brinelling. Replace them as a matched cup-and-cone set if you see any of those signs. Given how cheap trailer bearings are, replace whenever you're genuinely unsure.
How do I know if a bearing is failing between services?
Heat is the giveaway. You generally won't hear a caravan bearing grinding from the tow vehicle, but a failing one runs hot before it seizes. A hub temperature monitor flags a climbing hub early; on a quick stop, a cautious hand near (not on) each hub can also tell you if one's markedly hotter than the rest.
Do E-Z Lube hubs mean I can skip servicing?
No. Pushing fresh grease through the spindle is a top-up, not a service. It doesn't clear out contaminated grease or let you inspect the races. You still need a periodic strip-and-inspect and a new seal on the manufacturer's schedule.
Match your service interval to the way you actually tow, keep a spare bearing kit in the van for remote trips, and add a hub temperature monitor so the kilometres between services aren't flying blind. For the bigger picture, our Australian caravan safety checklist pulls the rest of the pre-trip jobs together.
