Are Harbor Freight Wheel Bearings Any Good?

[Jim Marshall]

I have been told that I will need to change out the bearings on my Harbor Freight trailer because they will not hold up. Does anyone have any problems with the H/F wheel bearings or do I need to go ahead and change them out?

[sdtripper2]

I searched the web looking for any information on Harbor Freight Trailers and didn’t find much that would point to their bearings being bad.

Here is some information I did find:

Harbor Freight - Heavy Duty Trailer #40597

Fewer miles between maintenance for Harbor Freight Trailers
For this model Trailer it is suggested that you lube them after 2-3 thousand miles. See page 18 of the manual under Inspection Maintenance and Cleaning # 4 for exact wording.

Manual for Trailer #40597
http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/40 ... /40597.PDF

*:thumbsup:*

Suggestion for checking wheel bearings:
Between service intervals check for excessive looseness with this quick and dirty test. Putting a knee against the top of each tire and push repeatedly, hard enough to make the entire trailer rock back and forth rhythmically. If that bearing is seriously loose, the wheel may make a sort of thunking noise, and you will very definitely feel the looseness. A little (very little) is normal and needed - out on the road they will warm up, making the fit tighter. (This test taken from the link below)

Interesting reading on trailers in general:
http://haystackhill.com/TrailrGeneral.html

Here is a link and Pictures for a Harbor Freight trailer 4x8 and the first thing he did was to repack the bearings as they had very little grease.
http://windsurf.hansanderson.com/trailer/

[Joseph]

I don't think you need to replace your bearings but you do need to pack them well. I would buy at least one set of spare bearings, races and grease seals. I lost the grease seal to one on the trip up to last year's Adirondack Spring Tear-Up, probably blew it out pumping too much grease into the hub. What was weird was NAPA had the bearings and races but not the seals. I had to search all over the Internet to find a source for seals that wasn't a wholesaler.

Joseph

[davel]

We have over 9,000 miles on ours now, no problems at all. Do repack them before you use the trailer.

[Jim Marshall]

Steve, thank you for all the time and information my friend. I really do appreciate you taking your time to do this for me.

Joseph, that is some really good advice, I will pick up a set and keep them handy, where did you finally find the seals?

Dave, you have made my day, thank you for sharing your experience.

Fellows I really do appreciate you responding and all the information.

One thing I did find out yesterday. We took the tear down to the car wash to see how the seals on the hatch and doors did and they didn't leak so we are good to go there. I decided to hit the expressway with it to see how it pulled at driving speed. It was a very windy day but it pulled great. Our hatch latches haven't come in yet and I figured the hatch was heavy enough to stay shut but I was sure wrong about that. The wind across the top of the tear would lift the hatch up and it would float and slam shut, but the winds were very heavy. It didn't hurt the hatch at all but I could sure feel the drag when the hatch came up. Our latches should be here by Friday and we will be finished with our tear. Working on it almost daily for almost three months, just about burned me out on it. Now that it is almost finished, it was really worth it.

We will have some pictures of it up here soon cause we know Jack loves da pics.

[Joseph]

Joseph, that is some really good advice, I will pick up a set and keep them handy, where did you finally find the seals?

Maryland Metric, a dealer for AnySeals.com
Your best bet is probably to check AnySeals for a distributor near you.

Joseph

[EZ]

The 1175# trailer came with just enough grease to keep the bearings from rusting. It does have zerk fittings on the axel so that I can just pump them full. Do I pump until some grease oozes out the seal or will that mean I have ruined it?

Sure is nice to hear that someone has gone so many thousands of miles on the stock bearings. It will take me until I retire to put on that kind of miles.

Funny how this forum works. I was just thinking about the bearings and greasing them last night......

Ed

[Nitetimes]

. Do I pump until some grease oozes out the seal or will that mean I have ruined it?

Ed

Filling your hubs full of grease is just a waste of grease and pumping them full till it comes out the seal just puts the seal under pressure. Eventually the seal will blow out of the hub, a little dirt will get in there, the grease will turn to sandpaper and you'll find yourself sitting along the highway with possibly a ruined axle, hub and...... (the main reason I discourage the Bearing Buddy caps)
Take the hubs off, knock the seal out, pull the bearings and pack them with some good grease. Put it all back together, if you've done it right you shouldn't have to touch it for a couple of years.

[Joseph]

Do I pump until some grease oozes out the seal or will that mean I have ruined it?

It won't ruin it but I believe that's what blew off one of my seals. With the wheel off, grease the bearings (especially the inside one) well with your finger. Remove the hub, pack it with grease and gently tap it into place. You can then pump grease into the zirk fitting on the hub to fill the void between the seals, but do so gentlly and when you get a bit of resistance (grease coming out the zirc fitting), stop.

Also, when messing with bearings, I find cheap disposable latex gloves (available at the major hardware stores) to be invaluable.

Hope this helps,

Joseph

[Arne]

I couldn't find the information on the seals, but I bought them using the millimeter measurements, not a number.

One of my bearing felt like it spun a bit 'rough', so I bought a couple of sets and carry them with me... so far, after 15k miles, all is well.