Basic, basic trailer questions

[Chuck]

Hello everyone. I'm building a Cubby, and have pretty much finished the exterior. I've never really used any sort of trailer, so I have a couple REAL novice questions. First, when the trailer is hitched, and I lift up on the tongue, should there be any freeplay. I've tightened that adjusting nut under the hitch enough so I can just barely close the handle on top of the hitch. There's still some "slop" however. Is this normal?

Second, I need some general tips on greasing. The assembly instructions call for filling the dust cap about 1/4 way with automotive grease. I did that. I took my trailer for a brief "spin" yesterday. After about 10 miles at 45mph, I felt the dust caps, and they were slightly warm. Is that OK?

Thanks for any info anyone cares to share. This group has been a great source of information.
Chuck

[Chris C]

Chuck, I don't want you to think you are being ignored. I don't believe the subject of trailer ball "play" has been discussed here on the forum. I've always just accepted that a ball is a fixed size, as is the receiver. There is "play" between the two and that's that! However, I've always been told to grease the ball and receiver. Don't know what good it does, but I've always been advised to do so.

As for bearings................personally, on any trailer I've ever owned, I've greased all wheels before any major trip. Dust caps will always be warm. I think it would be of concern if they were HOT! Another thing mentionable................GREASE BUDDIES are something you might look into. They are a spring actuated, on the hub, automatic greaser. They work great on my utility trailers...............just don't think I'd want to put one on a pretty teardrop.

Good luck on your build. Welcome to the group.

[madjack]

...there should be a "very little" play in the hitch...afterall it has to be able to move around on the ball...a little dab of grease in the coupler should be all that is necessary.
As to your hubs...I always take apart new hubs and repack the bearings...a bearing packer is cheap at any auto parts or Wallyworld...they look like 2 suction cups screwed together...you may not be able to get to the rear bearing...always make sure you have plenty of grease in the hub...to that effect, bearing buddies can be a life(bearing)saver
madjack

p.s. if you have no experience disassembling a hub, you should do some research and maybe find a friend that does

[JunkMan]

Second, I need some general tips on greasing. The assembly instructions call for filling the dust cap about 1/4 way with automotive grease.

I have never heard of filling the dust cap with grease unless it was a bearing buddy. If the bearings are properly greased, there should not be any grease in the cap (unless it is a bearing buddy). The purpose of the dust cap is just that, to keep dirt and dust out of the bearing. A glob of grease in the dust cap will just sit in the dust cap, it will not find it's way into the bearing.

A bearing buddy, on the other hand, is a spring loaded dust cap, that forces grease into the bearing as needed. Some people swear by them,. and others swear at them. The are mostly used on boat trailers, to keep a positive pressure on the grease in the hub, to help keep water out when you back into the lake to unload your boat. I have them on my boat trailer, but not on any of my many other trailers, and I don't see any advantage to them. You still need to pull your hubs to repack and check the bearings every so often.

Greasing a bearing requires more than just smearing a little grease on it (I know, I found out the hard way ). A bearing needs to be "packed" with grease. You can do this with a bearing packer (the easiest way) or by putting a glob of grease in the palm of your hand and pressing the edge of the bearing into it until grease oozes out the other side (between the rollers or balls in the bearing). Rotate the bearing a little, and continue to pack it with grease until it has oozed through all of the way around, and you are done. Unfortunatly, this is very messy.

As several people on this forum have noted, just because your trailer or axel is new, doesn't mean that you can assume that your bearings are properly packed. Many have come from the factory with little or no grease in them.

[crankshaft]

Chuck For the most part I have to agree with the rest of these guys.

However in case they didn't mention, Make sure the Hitch and the ball are compatible.. Those things come in different sizes and if you put a 2 inch hitch on a 1 & 7/8 ball you sure will have slop.

As far as the wheel bearings are concerned. Grease in the dust cap? Have never done that or heard of it till now, Grease belongs in the bearings.. Do it as the Junk man suggests.


Have fun


Crankshaft

[Roly Nelson]

Hmm, thanks guys, I guess my Dad was wrong. No wonder I am slinging a bit of grease out of my dust caps. So, next step, I'll clean out the grease and do it right...........

Roly ~~

[Chuck]

Thanks much for the information guys. The setup on these HF trailers may be a bit different than you're used to. The assembly directions call for grease in the dust cap, and there's even a grease fitting in the end of the dust cap. It might be a weird setup, but that's how it is.

Thanks again.

[madjack]

...Chuck, check to see if those dust caps are spring loaded, if they are then they are "bearing buddies" as was mentioned above. If they are not spring loaded, be carful when putting grease to them...too much grease can blow out the seal in the back of the hub...of course the same applies to bearing buddies
madjack

[february1966]

I've heard of putting a thin coat of grease on the inside edge of a dust cap to help keep out water when submerged (boat trailer) or in really wet/humid climates. But dust caps should not be "packed." Buddies are of course used according to the instructions.

[Chuck]

No, the dust caps aren't spring loaded, they're just empty caps. I glad you guys pointed out, though, that it's important not to overload that setup with grease. My plan is to just repack the bearings as has been suggested above, and maybe put a little grease in the cap as was indicated in the trailer assembly directions. I don't think I can go wrong with that.
Thanks for the help!

[st]

I don't see how there could be a problem in packing the caps with grease. The caps that I've seen have all been packed..... and your instructions say to do it.... It is not going to force grease places you don't want it any more than a bearing buddy would, likely much less

[madjack]

...there is no problem packing grease into the caps so long as you are not expecting "that grease" to solely take care of your bearings
madjack

[ALAN GEDDES]

A tiny bit of play on the coupler is fine. I was surprised on Tear 3 when I gave a yank up and it came right off the ball. I assumed it was adjusted at the factory but it was way loose.

[st]

...there is no problem packing grease into the caps so long as you are not expecting "that grease" to solely take care of your bearings
madjack

Fair enough. I took it for granted that someone wouldn't do that Thinking about it, some dodgy trailer shops probably do it often to save time

[doug hodder]

Chuck....look under the coupler, there should be a nut that you can tighten to minimize slop in the hitch...tighten it up until it has a little play and not cranked down tight....to check, latch the ball, if you have to fight it, it's too tight...ideally you don't want it to bang and clank while going down the highway....Doug Hodder