|
|
03-13-2019, 09:46 PM
|
#1
|
Retired Old Fart
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: McDonough, GA
Posts: 971
|
Timken - no longer USA made?
Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later. I've been paying the premium price for Timken bearings and seals for all my trailers for years. Ordered a set for the travel trailer this week and they came today. Made in Taiwan, and the back of the package says "Distributed by the Timken Company. Timken Service Parts are carefully chosen from select manufacturers." So did Timken even make these?
They appear to be valid Timken boxes and markings and not counterfeit knock offs, but I'm starting to wonder about paying that "Timken premium price" going forward? I presume they are made to the Timken standard, but it's hard not to question this in the back of my mind now.
Anyone have any bad experiences with seals or bearings from the larger online trailer stores? I mean these are $9 seals and I can get them for 1/3 of that at e-trailer.com and other big online vendors. If all Timken is doing is buying less expensive and packaging it, why pay the premium going forward.
__________________
Just the 2 of us in a...
"Currently between trailers"
Sold the 246RKS in 2023
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 05:34 AM
|
#3
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Maryville, Tn.
Posts: 594
|
At least made in Taiwan is better quality than made in China.
__________________
2016 F150 XLT 4X4 SCREW 5.0
2014 Grey Wolf 21RR
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 06:03 AM
|
#4
|
Georgia Rally Coordinator
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: GA
Posts: 24,350
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by jd50i
At least made in Taiwan is better quality than made in China.
|
x 2 Later RJD
__________________
2020 Shasta Phoenix SPF 27RKSS (sold)
2018 Dodge Ram 2500 6.4 3:73 gearing. Traded 2015 Chevy 2500 6.0, 4:10
Traded 2015 30WRLIKS V-Lite
Days camped 2019 62
Days camped 2020 49 days camped 2021-74 2022-40 days 2023 5 days
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 07:40 AM
|
#5
|
Camper
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 396
|
While I prefer Made in the USA quality is not determined by where it is made. The manufacturing specifications determines the quality of the product. There are some products made to high manufacturing standards that are made in China. There are some crappy items manufactured in the USA.
Usually the crappy things come from China but that is because the company ordering the product orders it with low standards.
__________________
Thanks,
Brian
TV - 2006 F350 6.0 DRW CC
TT - 2018 Wildwood 31KQBTS
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 07:45 AM
|
#6
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Summit Township
Posts: 872
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Macrosill
While I prefer Made in the USA quality is not determined by where it is made. The manufacturing specifications determines the quality of the product. There are some products made to high manufacturing standards that are made in China. There are some crappy items manufactured in the USA.
Usually the crappy things come from China but that is because the company ordering the product orders it with low standards.
|
Exactly!!! Well said.
__________________
2019 Hemisphere 272RL
2015 Ford F250 6.2L
2005 Jayco Bantam Flier
Hensley Hitch
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 10:51 AM
|
#7
|
Retired Old Fart
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: McDonough, GA
Posts: 971
|
I agree, but I'm questioning the logic of continuing to pay $9 a seal for Timken when the $3 ones are now likely from the same actual maker in Taiwan.
__________________
Just the 2 of us in a...
"Currently between trailers"
Sold the 246RKS in 2023
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 11:14 AM
|
#8
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: California
Posts: 7,616
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by dward51
I agree, but I'm questioning the logic of continuing to pay $9 a seal for Timken when the $3 ones are now likely from the same actual maker in Taiwan.
|
I am sticking with the Timken. Sucks to have grease leak onto your brakes with crappy seals. As it is, don't use the EZ-lube "feature".
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 12:10 PM
|
#9
|
Broken Toe
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Imperial (St. Louis) MO
Posts: 3,745
|
Not made in America does not automatically equal poor quality.
Tim
__________________
FROG Member MO-0008-571 Since 20124444444444My Project Blog: https://cowracer.blogspot.com/
"Camper" 2016 Rockwood Signature Ultralite 8329ss
"Casper" 2017 Ram 2500 Laramie Diesel
..ProPride 3P Hitch - "Yeah. It's worth it."
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 01:10 PM
|
#10
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: ALASKA (World's Biggest Campground)
Posts: 6,626
|
As I posted in another thread concerning Timken Bearings, My neighbor recently bought a couple sets from NAPA for his snow-machine trailer. All the boxes were marked "Made In India'. So, who knows?
__________________
'07 K3500 Silverado LT Crew Duramax (LBZ)
2016 Salem 27RKSS
1984 CHEV SCOTTSDALE K20 2GCGK24J0E1XXXXXX (Chevrolet Legends-Class of 2019)
"...exhaust fluid? We don't need no stinkin' exhaust fluid"
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 01:38 PM
|
#11
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: NE Wyoming
Posts: 165
|
I prefer jobs in the USA. I pay a little more for products made in the USA and hope it is of higher quality or the business will go out. I like to keep my neighbors working and paying taxes. Foreign labor does not pay taxes in the USA and tariffs/import fees do not make up for the loss in wages/taxes. Just my two cents.
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 01:45 PM
|
#12
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Millcreek UT
Posts: 341
|
China can build to any quality level and does, it is whatever the buyer wants. I have been running Chinese bearings for years and never had a failure. Failures generally come from poor maintenance or cranking the spindle nut down leaving no play in the bearing to allow grease to come in.
__________________
2018 Rockwood 2509S Mini Lite
Past: 1984 Road Ranger 20', 1988 Kit Companion
1984 Starcraft 24 foot popup
TV: 1999 Dodge 2500 Cummins 4x4
Honda EU2200i Generator, 300 Watts Solar
Ham Callsign KD7UM
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 03:56 PM
|
#13
|
Member
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Home
Posts: 65
|
Timken in NC used to be a customer of my company and something tells me that they were bought out by another, larger American company.
__________________
2017 Compass 320RSC
2019 F-350 Lariat 6.7
and the Old Puppy
|
|
|
03-14-2019, 08:39 PM
|
#14
|
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Central Oklahoma
Posts: 339
|
Timken seems to be the parent company still. They are buying other companies though. They have plants in the US, China, India, Taiwan and Romania that I can find. The have closed the Columbus plant and sold the Ashland, Ohio plant. They also shut down in England.
Frank
__________________
Frank & Brenda
Thor Windsport 27K TST 507 Tire Monitors
2012 Jeep Liberty Limited Jet 4X4, Hopkins TOWD light wiring, Blue Ox baseplate W/Ready Brute Hercules tow bar and Ready brakes
|
|
|
12-04-2019, 09:12 AM
|
#15
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Central NJ
Posts: 1,004
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by babock
|
How are these bearings holding up for you? I have them on my Amazon wish list, but I'm a bit concerned. $8 for a Timken bearing and race? Thats like $5 cheaper than I see the bearing alone selling for. I'm concerned if these are real or not.
I want to get a spare set to keep in the parts bin. I was hoping to upgrade to quality Timken or similar bearings. I can find kits for my 3500lb Ez lube axle (spindle #84 I believe) anywhere: eTrailer, Northern Tool, Amazon,..... One cheap Chinese company after another. I've seen kits for 1 wheel as low as $7. I can't find any Timken kits. Well, I found one for both wheels with a bunch of extra nuts and stuff at SouthWest Wheel for $110.
Has anyone found a Timken kit for one wheel? Other quality brands? Or is piecing it together from Amazon the way to go?
Thanks
Jim M.
__________________
2020 Flagstaff Super Lite 26RBWS
Former: 2017 Rockwood MiniLite 2104S
2015 Silverado 2500HD 6.0L Gas
|
|
|
12-04-2019, 09:20 AM
|
#16
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 4,041
|
even the bearings that come with most units are not bad if serviced and if you replace seals and get good ones from napa or auto zone with the extra spring to give a good seal you won't have issues . TimKin is a name like harley davidson great bikes but not worth 30 to 40 K
|
|
|
12-04-2019, 09:58 AM
|
#17
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Clarksville Va.
Posts: 10,422
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmarako
How are these bearings holding up for you? I have them on my Amazon wish list, but I'm a bit concerned. $8 for a Timken bearing and race? Thats like $5 cheaper than I see the bearing alone selling for. I'm concerned if these are real or not.
I want to get a spare set to keep in the parts bin. I was hoping to upgrade to quality Timken or similar bearings. I can find kits for my 3500lb Ez lube axle (spindle #84 I believe) anywhere: eTrailer, Northern Tool, Amazon,..... One cheap Chinese company after another. I've seen kits for 1 wheel as low as $7. I can't find any Timken kits. Well, I found one for both wheels with a bunch of extra nuts and stuff at SouthWest Wheel for $110.
Has anyone found a Timken kit for one wheel? Other quality brands? Or is piecing it together from Amazon the way to go?
Thanks
Jim M.
|
Yes, you can still get them on eBay the last time I checked, this guy must of had warehouse full of them, yes it true they are no longer made in the good old USA, but if you check his site his box plainly shows made in the USA. You can buy 1 or 4 as many as you like from his site on EBay. Only place I know that still has them, I know my local Napa now has them from a outside country, so try EBay.
__________________
Coachmen M/H
Concord
2018 / 300 DSC
|
|
|
12-04-2019, 10:38 AM
|
#18
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: North of Seattle, WA
Posts: 17,283
|
Are you sure those bearings that are marked "Made in USA" are really made here?
A quote from National Precision Bearing's website:
Quote:
"Made in the USA" is a traditional mark and label used by many bearing manufacturers. This statement however can be misleading. In today's highly competitive marketplace many manufactures seek international off-shore sources for raw materials and components (such as balls, rollers, cages and rings). As a result many of the "Made in the USA" bearings are finished and assembled in the United States but contain components and materials that have been produced off shore.
|
In this day and age the label really doesn't tell the full story and the actual product could be mostly foreign made, just enough "cost" added in the US to make it qualify as domestic production (only has to meet or exceed 50% as a rule on "value added").
Personally I've never had a bearing fail due to material or mfr quality. The few that have failed (about 3 in the last 50 years) were from neglect or improper install.
Then again I never purchased the cheapest bearings I could find.
__________________
"A wise man can change his mind. A fool never will." (Japanese Proverb)
"You only grow old when you run out of new things to do"
2018 Flagstaff Micro Lite 25BDS
2023 f-150 SCREW XLT 3.5 Ecoboost (The result of a $68,000 oil change )
|
|
|
12-04-2019, 11:18 AM
|
#19
|
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: ALASKA (World's Biggest Campground)
Posts: 6,626
|
Just a word of caution here. I have a friend who is a US Customs Agent at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. He has recounted to me numerous times where they have inspected freight shipments of auto parts coming in from China. The parts are bulk-packed without labeling. Then there are other boxes which contain the actual "counterfeit packaging". He says generally these items are consigned to various places in Southern California. The way the scheme works is that these items are intended to be shipped to "houses" in California where the parts and packaging are married-up and then they are listed for sale on eBay, Amazon and Walmart by faceless merchants at below market prices and never hit the established automotive parts channels. He says for the most part the packaging print/design is impeccable, but often a web address or QR is bogus and the end consumer never knows the difference. Last year they uncovered 50 counterfeit Honda 2000 generators in one shipment. Ever notice how merchants disappear all of a sudden from Amazon? They either get caught or they switch to a different "merchant house".
As the old saying goes: Caveat Emptor!
__________________
'07 K3500 Silverado LT Crew Duramax (LBZ)
2016 Salem 27RKSS
1984 CHEV SCOTTSDALE K20 2GCGK24J0E1XXXXXX (Chevrolet Legends-Class of 2019)
"...exhaust fluid? We don't need no stinkin' exhaust fluid"
|
|
|
12-04-2019, 12:21 PM
|
#20
|
Junior Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 14
|
I want to get a spare set to keep in the parts bin. I was hoping to upgrade to quality Timken or similar bearings. I can find kits for my 3500lb Ez lube axle (spindle #84 I believe) anywhere: eTrailer, Northern Tool, Amazon,..... One cheap Chinese company after another. I've seen kits for 1 wheel as low as $7. I can't find any Timken kits. Well, I found one for both wheels with a bunch of extra nuts and stuff at SouthWest Wheel for $110.
Has anyone found a Timken kit for one wheel? Other quality brands? Or is piecing it together from Amazon the way to go?
Thanks
Jim M.[/QUOTE]
Lookup timken SET 4 and SET 17 on amazon those are the bearing sets with the race included for the 3500 lb axle.
|
|
|
|
|
Thread Tools |
|
Display Modes |
Linear Mode
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Discussions |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|