Slow Ride
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2011
- Messages
- 166
I have been having issues with the bearings on my tandem axel trailer. The bearings on the front axel keep giving out. I mean, they fail and the wheel comes off. I have owned boats for decades and have never had this sort of issue. I live on a cul de sac and have noticed that they are under tremendous stress making the tight turn. Other than that, I cant explain the repeated failures. It happens once or twice a year and the boat only gets used 10-15 times a year. Maybe 200 miles on the trailer each year. Yes, it is in salt water. I do clean it well after each use and have normal amount of corrosion on the springs and axels. They are 3 years old and honestly are in need of replacing, but I'm on the 4th or 5th set of bearings in the same time. The boat is a 1988, 31 foot fountain, center console. I estimate it at around 8500 lbs (based on what the fountain factory told me). The trailer is aluminum with steel axels and hardware. Axels are 7200lb axels with 8 lug 16 inch wheels. Could and alignment problem be affecting the life expectancy? That's the only thing I can think of. I make special effort to rinse the trailer after each use and I use bearing buddies the same way I have on all my other boats over the years. Any ideas? Im about to replace everything again.....springs, axels, hubs, hardware, etc.... and I don't want to make a repeated mistake.
