The Accurate Reloading Forums
Trailer wheel bearings
30 June 2017, 01:05
OkieNewtonTrailer wheel bearings
How often do you repack the bearings? n reference to a 12ft. single axle utility trailer. Bout two years old and not a lot of miles on it. Maybe 2,000, just don't want any trouble on the road. Figure I can have it done here at home cheaper and easier than on the road.
Keep yer powder dry and yer knife sharp.
Why not just pack a spare bearing !! Much easier.
In my early days I had a Volvo 122S, They gave bearing info and I found that the cost installing a new bearing was lower than repacking the old one !.
I checked out everything as I worked for Timken at the time !
30 June 2017, 08:30
kk alaskaBoat trailer with Bearing Buddy, I knock off outer cap and remove and replace grease mid and end of season, repack every 2 years. Every time I stop I check bearings for temp. About 500 miles in a good season. With our roads in Alaska cant risk a break down, so I replace tires every 4 years about 2500 miles. Cheap insurance IMHO. Removing and repacking bearings easy to damage seal or contaminate bearing. If I go to that much trouble I usually replace bearing and have a spare set with me in the boat, as well as grease gloves just in case.
kk alaska
04 July 2017, 03:54
Jason PhillottFor what it's worth I have all my trailers fitted with these
http://www.sturdybuiltonline.c...ing-Buddy_c_142.htmlI also fit my spare wheels to a spare hub so if anything goes wrong I have a complete set of spares Hub, bearings and lug nuts
Danger and Death dance to the wild music of the gale, and when it is night they dance with a fiercer abandon, as if to allay the fears that beset the sailorman who feel their touch but see them not
George H Grant
04 July 2017, 10:59
Ray Alaskaquote:
Originally posted by kk alaska:
Boat trailer with Bearing Buddy, I knock off outer cap and remove and replace grease mid and end of season, repack every 2 years. Every time I stop I check bearings for temp. About 500 miles in a good season. With our roads in Alaska cant risk a break down, so I replace tires every 4 years about 2500 miles. Cheap insurance IMHO. Removing and repacking bearings easy to damage seal or contaminate bearing. If I go to that much trouble I usually replace bearing and have a spare set with me in the boat, as well as grease gloves just in case.
Exactly right. That's what I would do. Also, if it's a boat trailer, there are special and sort of "bearing buddy" that has an acrylic cover. This one requires a pressure of about 3 pounds, and what it does is a follows: when towing, the bearings and hub get hot, so when you get the trailer in the cold water the difference in temperature sucks water into the hub. The new bearing buddy, or whatever it is called, prevents the water from zipping in.
I am not sold-out on the acrylic bearing protectors, bus some people sear by them. Anyway, bearing buddy are plenty good for me.
06 December 2017, 07:08
BuffHunter63If you disassemble and repack make sure you replace the bearing seals and springs (if used). Put it together incorrectly and you can destroy the hub and strand yourself on the highway.
Also make sure you use compatible grease types other wise the old grease can liquify the new grease. Again bearing failure and/or destroyed hub.
BH63
Hunting buff is better than sex!
09 December 2017, 19:09
Slowpoke SlimIf you're certain they were done properly 2 years ago, and they haven't been submerged in water since, I wouldn't worry about it.
If you're not certain about either of those things, then just repack them yourself. It's not hard to do. Just clean out all the old grease properly, and carefully inspect the seals before you grease and reassemble the hub.
Si tantum EGO eram dimidium ut bonus ut EGO memor
10 December 2017, 15:31
p dog shooterWhen I was working one of the most common break downs along the highway was trailer wheel, axle, tire problems.
If it has been two years I would repack them.
I firmly believe in carrying extra bearing set two spare tires and the necessary tools to make changing them simple. If traveling any distance.
On boat trailers repack them in the fall every year is a good idea.
13 December 2017, 01:34
tsturmquote:
Originally posted by p dog shooter:
When I was working one of the most common break downs along the highway was trailer wheel, axle, tire problems.
If it has been two years I would repack them.
I firmly believe in carrying extra bearing set two spare tires and the necessary tools to make changing them simple. If traveling any distance.
On boat trailers repack them in the fall every year is a good idea.
I installed oil filled hubs on my trailers
a few years ago. You can look at the oil level, add oil as if nec. I still jack them up once a year & check endplay. My boat trailers get dipped in salt water every trip. Approx. 3000 miles a year. Zero trouble in 3-4 years.
Trucking industry has used wet hubs for 100 or so years, might be on to something?
17 December 2017, 16:20
p dog shooterquote:
Trucking industry has used wet hubs for 100 or so years, might be on to something?
As long as you remember to check and keep the oil at the proper levels.
I have seen more then one big rig lose whole wheel assembly's because of faulty bearings.