Grease Your Bearings!

[Gerdo]

I'm on a 900 mile trip to Prescott Arizona. I didn't bring my TD but I did tow a basic utility trailer (15" wheels, 3500lb axle) with a 6x6 ATV on it. About 8 miles from my destination I noticed a wobble in one of my wheels. I immediately pull off the road. The lug nuts are tight but the whole wheel and hub can be rocked. I jack it up and yank off the wheel and hub. The inside bearings gernaded. There were about 6 thing rings but nothing that looks like bearings. It dod gaul the spindle a little but not bad. It also ate the bearing race that presses into the hub. We found replacements at NAPA. The new race fits but didn't need pressing in. I've been driving it and all seams to be fine. I have greased all of the bearings but it has been a couple of years now.

The morral of the story is... At home before a long trip and or once a year take the time, spend the money and grease or have all the wheel bearings greased! Belive me doing it in a dirt parking lot with a store owner yelling at you for being there stinks.

I know that alot of old rear wheel drive cars that have the same type bearings never get repacked and last for ever but trailers need the attention.

Luckly we did find all the parts needed to get back on the road and that everything didn't fail and the wheel fly off.

Pictures to come.

[G-force]

I work in the high performance marine buisness so I see alot expensive boats and trailers. One thing I have noticed the last 5 or so years is more and more trailers are coming with more than just a spare tire, nowdays many come with a complete spindle assembly with bearings. They just weld on a spindle stub and bolt the whole assemblly. Pretty smart if you ask me. At a minimum, I carry a spare set of bearings and races.

[Dee Bee]

Amen to regular check on the grease as part of pre trip planning

[Arne]

I just installed a torsion axle on my new (and still abuilding aero-1) tear drop.
I think I'll give them a call and get a spare arm and hub. That way, if I ever have a problem, one nut and I can just replace the whole arm on the road.. They claim all it takes is a 2 pound hammer to remove the arm.

----

I'm back.. checked.. the arm, hub, etc is too expensive... bought a bearing kit, which includes bearings, seals, nuts, cotter pins, etc., for 2 wheels, 30 bucks.

[brian_bp]

I work in the high performance marine buisness so I see alot expensive boats and trailers. One thing I have noticed the last 5 or so years is more and more trailers are coming with more than just a spare tire, nowdays many come with a complete spindle assembly with bearings. They just weld on a spindle stub and bolt the whole assemblly. Pretty smart if you ask me. At a minimum, I carry a spare set of bearings and races.

If I bought a new truck and found that the manufacturer thought that the bearings were so unreliable that a spare set needed to be carried, I would be alarmed; I don't see a travel trailer (including a teardrop) as any different.

I assume that this is done on boat trailers because the unsealed bearings die due to immersion in water at every launch and retrieve (or whatever you call putting the boat back on the trailer). Since a teardrop is not likely dipped in a lake daily, it's hard for me to imagine why the bearings should be so likely to need a spare.

Maybe better bearings would be a better solution; in the mean time, I suppose a level of maintenance that hasn't been needed on ordinary cars for decades is still required for trailers.

[shawnkfl]

I work in the high performance marine buisness so I see alot expensive boats and trailers. One thing I have noticed the last 5 or so years is more and more trailers are coming with more than just a spare tire, nowdays many come with a complete spindle assembly with bearings. They just weld on a spindle stub and bolt the whole assemblly. Pretty smart if you ask me. At a minimum, I carry a spare set of bearings and races.

If I bought a new truck and found that the manufacturer thought that the bearings were so unreliable that a spare set needed to be carried, I would be alarmed; I don't see a travel trailer (including a teardrop) as any different.

I assume that this is done on boat trailers because the unsealed bearings die due to immersion in water at every launch and retrieve (or whatever you call putting the boat back on the trailer). Since a teardrop is not likely dipped in a lake daily, it's hard for me to imagine why the bearings should be so likely to need a spare.

Maybe better bearings would be a better solution; in the mean time, I suppose a level of maintenance that hasn't been needed on ordinary cars for decades is still required for trailers.

i work in the boat trailer manufacturing industry, and we also include a spindle with bearings and races with our spares on the high end models. this is to give the owner a set of bearings should they need them. it's just a convienence package. these are typically for the hardcore fisherman and professional fisherman trailers. the spindle is no good for a spare, since we weld them to a spare tire bracket, but the races and bearings are prepacked and ready to install if needed.

[G-force]

Perhaps I wasnt clear, the trailers I am talking about tend to cost as much as a new pickup truck. Its not an issue of how long the manufacturere thinks their product will last. They often have oversize/oddsized/custom rims, and hydraulic disc brakes. Not the sort of stuff you will find off the shelf if you need a replacement out in the boonies. I have between 6 and 10 million dollars worth of boats and trailers sitting in my yard at all times...to us a 250 thousand boat/trailer combo is "a little cheap weekend playtoy." Most are $500-900k each. An extra wheel and spindle assembly is peanuts to our buyers, having one or two on the trailer makes it easier and more convient when something goes wrong in the middle of nowhere. You have no idea how difficult people can be when you get a call from them on a monday morning so they can complain about the 10's of thousands of dollars it cost them when they had to fire up their King Air twin aircraft, pick up a wheel assembly, and fly it to their broken down rig 1500 miles away so they could make it to a race on time.

I work in the high performance marine buisness so I see alot expensive boats and trailers. One thing I have noticed the last 5 or so years is more and more trailers are coming with more than just a spare tire, nowdays many come with a complete spindle assembly with bearings. They just weld on a spindle stub and bolt the whole assemblly. Pretty smart if you ask me. At a minimum, I carry a spare set of bearings and races.

If I bought a new truck and found that the manufacturer thought that the bearings were so unreliable that a spare set needed to be carried, I would be alarmed; I don't see a travel trailer (including a teardrop) as any different.

I assume that this is done on boat trailers because the unsealed bearings die due to immersion in water at every launch and retrieve (or whatever you call putting the boat back on the trailer). Since a teardrop is not likely dipped in a lake daily, it's hard for me to imagine why the bearings should be so likely to need a spare.

Maybe better bearings would be a better solution; in the mean time, I suppose a level of maintenance that hasn't been needed on ordinary cars for decades is still required for trailers.

[angib]

If I bought a new truck and found that the manufacturer thought that the bearings were so unreliable that a spare set needed to be carried, I would be alarmed

Ahhh! Takes me back to the days of my mate's Kawasaki 500 two-stroke triple, the ultimate speed machine of its day with an engine at least twice as powerful as the chassis could handle. That had a plate welded to the frame under the seat with three threaded holes in it - to carry the spark plugs that got you home, since clearly it was too much to expect that one set would get you both there and back.....

Andrew

[bobhenry]

I know that alot of old rear wheel drive cars that have the same type bearings never get repacked and last for ever but trailers need the attention.

Those old rear wheel drive cars have 1 to 3 quarts of 90 weight spirex rear end oil in them giving a continuious soaking lubrication to the bearings. Some never see fresh oil in 20 plus years but they are in a bath. There are new hubs that have this same bath type lubrication available and a clear sight window to visually check the fluid level.

Many of the badly malegined Harbor Freight bearings are not inferior just mistreated and ignored. Many of these kits are put together without cleaning and repacking the bearings. They arrive installed in the hub and folks simply slip the hub onto the axle. Bearings are not removed and cleaned. They are not repacked properly. The nut may be cranked down way to tight. Clean and pack the bearings properly. Install them correctly by tightening the axle nut while spinning the tire when the tire seems to no longer spin freely back off the nut just enough to install the cage style keeper and replace the cotter pin and dust cover.

I purchased a 40x48 HF trailer and put it together and cleaned and packed the bearing properly. I later purchased a used 4x8 HF and used the axle set and tongue to build Chubby. I have towed him a little over 1000 miles to date without checking the bearings. Dumb Dumb Dumb !
The idiot I purchased it from did just what I have described slapped on the hubs and started draging it around. We took the trailer to the shivaree at Brown County State park on 1-19-08 about a 180 mile round trip for us.
On the way back about 30 miles from home with the outside wind chill at -15 I became concerned about what I thought was a low tire. As I reached the back of the tear I could smell burning rubber. The tire was not running true and was rubbing on the side of the teardrop. Bearings were failing and I crossed my fingers and towed the remainder of the trip on secondary roads at a reduced speed. We made it with the grace of God but I still cuss the idiot that I bought the trailer from and myself for assuming that all was well without checking.
So like the man said " CHECK YOUR BEARINGS"

[brian_bp]

Perhaps I wasnt clear, the trailers I am talking about tend to cost as much as a new pickup truck. Its not an issue of how long the manufacturere thinks their product will last. They often have oversize/oddsized/custom rims, and hydraulic disc brakes. Not the sort of stuff you will find off the shelf if you need a replacement out in the boonies...

...An extra wheel and spindle assembly is peanuts to our buyers, having one or two on the trailer makes it easier and more convient when something goes wrong in the middle of nowhere. You have no idea how difficult people can be when you get a call from them on a monday morning so they can complain about the 10's of thousands of dollars it cost them when they had to fire up their King Air twin aircraft, pick up a wheel assembly, and fly it to their broken down rig 1500 miles away so they could make it to a race on time. ...

When someone pays $100,000 for the new truck to pull their toy, I don't think that they reasonably expect to find any significant parts for it, either, "out in the boonies"... and would not reasonably expect to need them, so that's okay. For that matter, there are probably no spare wheel bearings to be found for the King Air... and no need to carry them with the aircraft.

The issue for me is not whether or not the part is exotic or available, but whether it is so likely to fail that replacement will be needed during a trip. Even if every gas station carried wheel bearings for my trailer, I would not be happy if they needed exceptional attention (many times the level of attention the equivalent parts of my tow vehicle need) to avoid having to replace those parts due to failure on the road.

[brian_bp]

I know that alot of old rear wheel drive cars that have the same type bearings never get repacked and last for ever but trailers need the attention.

Those old rear wheel drive cars have 1 to 3 quarts of 90 weight spirex rear end oil in them giving a continuious soaking lubrication to the bearings. Some never see fresh oil in 20 plus years but they are in a bath. There are new hubs that have this same bath type lubrication available and a clear sight window to visually check the fluid level...

That's the rear wheel bearings... but the front of those same vehicles had grease-packed bearings just a like a typical trailer. While I had some die in an old Chevy truck, I will admit that I never maintained them (who knew they were that crude? I was accustomed to cheap Japanese cars...), and they still lasted 90,000 miles. I guess my conclusion is that the traditional trailer bearings need maintenance, but they shouldn't need repacking annually.

I doubt that oil bath trailer hubs are actually new, but they certainly are available, at least on axles larger than teardrops and tiny travel trailers use.

[G-force]

I guess we'll have to agree to dissagree. "Likley to fail" is a moot point, some things you cant control. Something that takes the abuse of a boat trailer being dipped in salt water weekly, a problem can occure between your normal, typical maintance schedules. Inspect and repack your bearings yearly? Perfect advice for 99.9% of all trailers. But I've seen freshly rebuilt spindles (new seals, bearings, etc) fail within months. Dipping hot spindles into 40 degree seawater repeatedly, it can occationaly suck in water. Then let it sit a week or two, followed by a coast to coast tow to get to a race or to winter storage. It happens.

When you stop by my shop and are ready to order your $900k boat and trailer...I'll pull the spare hub and bearings off for ya I think I've said what I need to say in this thread. I'll bring it back on topic with the basics: Inspect, repack, and maintain your trailer bearings at intervals suitable to your rate of use and conditions you opperate in. Have spares handy if you can afford it to get yourself out of jam should one occure. Dont assume a new trailer or axle had the bearings properly packed at the factory.

Perhaps I wasnt clear, the trailers I am talking about tend to cost as much as a new pickup truck. Its not an issue of how long the manufacturere thinks their product will last. They often have oversize/oddsized/custom rims, and hydraulic disc brakes. Not the sort of stuff you will find off the shelf if you need a replacement out in the boonies...

...An extra wheel and spindle assembly is peanuts to our buyers, having one or two on the trailer makes it easier and more convient when something goes wrong in the middle of nowhere. You have no idea how difficult people can be when you get a call from them on a monday morning so they can complain about the 10's of thousands of dollars it cost them when they had to fire up their King Air twin aircraft, pick up a wheel assembly, and fly it to their broken down rig 1500 miles away so they could make it to a race on time. ...

When someone pays $100,000 for the new truck to pull their toy, I don't think that they reasonably expect to find any significant parts for it, either, "out in the boonies"... and would not reasonably expect to need them, so that's okay. For that matter, there are probably no spare wheel bearings to be found for the King Air... and no need to carry them with the aircraft.

The issue for me is not whether or not the part is exotic or available, but whether it is so likely to fail that replacement will be needed during a trip. Even if every gas station carried wheel bearings for my trailer, I would not be happy if they needed exceptional attention (many times the level of attention the equivalent parts of my tow vehicle need) to avoid having to replace those parts due to failure on the road.

[bobhenry]

I know that alot of old rear wheel drive cars that have the same type bearings never get repacked and last for ever but trailers need the attention.

Those old rear wheel drive cars have 1 to 3 quarts of 90 weight spirex rear end oil in them giving a continuious soaking lubrication to the bearings. Some never see fresh oil in 20 plus years but they are in a bath. There are new hubs that have this same bath type lubrication available and a clear sight window to visually check the fluid level...

That's the rear wheel bearings... but the front of those same vehicles had grease-packed bearings just a like a typical trailer. While I had some die in an old Chevy truck, I will admit that I never maintained them (who knew they were that crude? I was accustomed to cheap Japanese cars...), and they still lasted 90,000 miles. I guess my conclusion is that the traditional trailer bearings need maintenance, but they shouldn't need repacking annually.

I doubt that oil bath trailer hubs are actually new, but they certainly are available, at least on axles larger than teardrops and tiny travel trailers use.

Silly me the word rear stuck in my head. The front spindle bearings DUH !

I serviced my FRONT wheel bearings when the brakes were changed.
Most Dealerships and larger auto repair centers include it in the brake work to avoid liability issues.

[Trackstriper]

G-Force:

What's been your the experience with the oil bath hubs, either original equipment or conversion kits?

[G-force]

I havent seen it on any of the trailers we deal with. I like the idea, alot of semi truck trailers use this systems, but I havent seen them on boat trailers. Typicaly, most are standard greased bearings with a cover, or a Bearing buddy which is spring loaded and keeps the inside of the hub at about 3 psi to keep water out. Dont ever see EZ-lube type as they are not sealed at all, only a rubber plug to keep dust out, not rated for water submersion.

G-Force:

What's been your the experience with the oil bath hubs, either original equipment or conversion kits?