Older Trailer - What To Do

[platinumedge]

Hello Trailer Aficionados,

A couple of years ago I purchased a 1994 Four Winns Sundowner 215, with the trailer. The whole rig had been sitting in a parking lot in Maryland, exposed to the elements, for approximately 2 years. While restoring the boat to working order, over the past few years, I have been happily surprised to see how well the individual systems have survived the seasons.

During my initial inspections, I found absolutely no tire rot on any of the four tires. In fact, the tires have held their pressure since I purchased the boat/trailer combo!? I have taken the rig out for a couple of very short, low-speed cruises in the past few months, and everything seemed to function well.

I am nearing the point where I would like to take the boat to a local bay (Pohick Bay, in Fairfax County), for a test run. The trailer has Bearing Buddies on it.

My question to the "experienced trailer group" is: If everything else seems to be functioning properly (tires, wheels, brakes, springs, etc.), is it reasonable to merely replace the Bearing Buddies? Or are there other components that I need to look at/replace for safety/?

I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

-- Jeff

 

[achris]

Bearing buddies are just a cap with a sprung plunger to ensure that water doesn't get into the bearings. You don't replace them, you remove them, pull the bearings and either re-pack them or replace them (at which point it's a good idea to replace the rear seals on the hub too), then put the bearing buddies back on, and give them a couple of shots of grease every 6 months.

Chris..........

 

[JASinIL2006]

Chris is 100% correct that the Bearing Buddies can be reused if they are still in good shape. However, unless your bearing seals are leaking, you probably don't want to be continually adding grease to the Bearing Buddies, or you'll blow out the seals. Sometimes, when Bearing Buddies are first installed (or reinstalled after servicing the bearings), you'll need to add a bit of grease after the first couple of trips, but often even that step is unnecessary. If you routinely add grease thru the Bearing Buddies, it is going to eventually have to go somewhere, and you'll blow out the seal and have grease running all over your hub.

Also, while Bearing Buddies are helpful to reduce the amount of maintenance (e.g., removing, cleaning and repacking bearings), they don't eliminate it. You should still check your bearings every few years.

 

[mike_i]

Maybe it's just me being anal but I would sure sleep better knowing that the bearings, brakes, seals, and other components are 100% in working order. At least you'd have a reference point to start with as maintenance goes. A few hours of work and a little grease on your hands is worth the confidence that the chances of something going wrong while pulling the trailer is minimized.I agree with the others regarding the bearing buddies.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Maybe it's just me being anal but I would sure sleep better knowing that the bearings, brakes, seals, and other components are 100% in working order. At least you'd have a reference point to start with as maintenance goes. A few hours of work and a little grease on your hands is worth the confidence that the chances of something going wrong while pulling the trailer is minimized.I agree with the others regarding the bearing buddies.

Absolutely. I don't think its anal, especially with a trailer with unknown maintenance history. Excellent point.

 

[achris]

Last fire season (6 months ago), we had a fire started very close to the city. It was caused by a wheel coming off a boat trailer, and the driver pulling over to the side of the highway. The red hot axle caused leaf litter on the side of the road to catch fire, and away it all went. Caused millions of dollars damage, and all the guy said was 'sorry'. :facepalm:

There's only one reason a wheel comes off an axle. Lack of maintenance. Personally, I think the guy should have been charged, and made to pay for the damage he caused. 10 minutes of attention to the bearings would have prevented that fire.

Chris......

 

[Caddo_Lake_MTB]

Something that others have not mentioned are the date codes on the tires. Traveling any distance at speed with tires older than five years could lead to a blow out and or an accident. Follow this link to learn how to date your tires.

 

[Lou C]

I think with any trailer unknown to you previously it’s a good idea to take apart the bearings to check them for wear, rust and pitting on the races. If you have a good feel for these things you can spin the wheel/tire with either the drum brakes shoes backed off (adjustment) or disc pads removed temporarily to reduce drag. Then when you spin the tire you can more easily feel for roughness in the bearing. It should be glass smooth. Problem with bad trailer wheel bearings is you won’t hear the noise and/or feel the vibration while driving like you will in your vehicle.
After I owned this boat a few years I replaced the axle with new bearings etc and added surge drum brakes. I’ve changed the brakes a few times but have not had to change the bearings.