Hello everyone,,
I've had my trailer for a bit over a year now, and last Sunday we took out the boat and it was a blast!! Great fishing, calm water (for the most part) Just wonderful!
This is our first boat, so it's all been a learning process.. lol.
Well, the ride home seemed to go well.. But alas, it didn't..
Bear in mind, the lake we go to is only about 15-20 minutes from my house, so it's a short drive... (THANKFULLY...)
About 3/4 way home (about 7 minutes to go) I started to smell something burning..
The tow vehicle is new (new to me anyway) so I was wondering about it's brakes or something..
Got it home, and parked the trailer in the back yard. By now it was dark out. Couldn't see much, but could unhook the trailer and move the truck.
When unhooking, the smell was actually coming from the trailer.. The right side.. Knelt down and reached out my had and could feel intense heat from the right wheel hub of the trailer. Couldn't see anything as it was dark, but it was enough to tell me it's time to replace bearings (both sides).
So I went into the house feeling comfortable that I'll be replacing wheel bearings and inspecting hub etc.. and let it be until I could take the time to dig into it.
Started doing research on boat trailer maintenance, bearings, bearing buddies (pro's and con's) etc...
Basically it left me shaking my head thinking "Now why the heck didn't I look this stuff up sooner!!!!!! "
Oh well.. Another lesson learned..
Anyway,
Today, as we were getting ready to head out for some camping (without the boat of course), I happened by the boat and was SHOCKED!!!
This is what I saw:
So now my first thought was that the cotter pin must've come out or broke, and the castle nut backed off letting the bearing come out and this is result.
But closer look shows the cotter pin is still in place. You can see that in this picture:
So I jacked it up and put a jack stand under it to help get the weight off of it for now.. Can't do anything or see anything more than I've shown until sometime next week at the earliest.
My next thought, was the spindle broke off.. But that can't be it either.. I'd think the whole wheel would've come off if that happened..
So what do you folks think could cause that much of a gap, pop off the dust cap, expose the bearing, but not be a broken spindle or something..
It's obvious to me now, that the bearings were NOT maintained by the PO, and that (as I've learned by research) I SHOULD have looked at all this right off. But I didn't. Hence the lesson in trailers I'm getting right now.. LOL
I know at this point I'm asking for guesses, but any educated guess as to what I might be looking at (outside of what I'm thinking below) would be appreciated..
I'll know for sure what I'm up against once I can get the wheel off, take off the hub, inspect spindle, inside of hub, bearings (ok, junk but will inspect anyway) etc...
Bare minimum I'm thinking is new bearings (inner and outer, BOTH sides while I'm at it). That minimum is IF I'm really lucky, but that's not likely.
Also thinking possible new hubs, and with this kind of gap, maybe even new spindles somehow..
Willing to bet the part of spindle the seal seats on is toast now too. Not sure I want a "Re-sleeve" either..
If it's that bad, I think I'd want to replace it all with new..
The trailer is a home built by the original owner of the boat.. (not PO), so no manufacturer or brand associated with it.. lol
Thoughts?
Sorry so long, but wanted to give some details..
I've had my trailer for a bit over a year now, and last Sunday we took out the boat and it was a blast!! Great fishing, calm water (for the most part) Just wonderful!
This is our first boat, so it's all been a learning process.. lol.
Well, the ride home seemed to go well.. But alas, it didn't..
Bear in mind, the lake we go to is only about 15-20 minutes from my house, so it's a short drive... (THANKFULLY...)
About 3/4 way home (about 7 minutes to go) I started to smell something burning..
The tow vehicle is new (new to me anyway) so I was wondering about it's brakes or something..
Got it home, and parked the trailer in the back yard. By now it was dark out. Couldn't see much, but could unhook the trailer and move the truck.
When unhooking, the smell was actually coming from the trailer.. The right side.. Knelt down and reached out my had and could feel intense heat from the right wheel hub of the trailer. Couldn't see anything as it was dark, but it was enough to tell me it's time to replace bearings (both sides).
So I went into the house feeling comfortable that I'll be replacing wheel bearings and inspecting hub etc.. and let it be until I could take the time to dig into it.
Started doing research on boat trailer maintenance, bearings, bearing buddies (pro's and con's) etc...
Basically it left me shaking my head thinking "Now why the heck didn't I look this stuff up sooner!!!!!! "
Oh well.. Another lesson learned..
Anyway,
Today, as we were getting ready to head out for some camping (without the boat of course), I happened by the boat and was SHOCKED!!!
This is what I saw:
So now my first thought was that the cotter pin must've come out or broke, and the castle nut backed off letting the bearing come out and this is result.
But closer look shows the cotter pin is still in place. You can see that in this picture:
So I jacked it up and put a jack stand under it to help get the weight off of it for now.. Can't do anything or see anything more than I've shown until sometime next week at the earliest.
My next thought, was the spindle broke off.. But that can't be it either.. I'd think the whole wheel would've come off if that happened..
So what do you folks think could cause that much of a gap, pop off the dust cap, expose the bearing, but not be a broken spindle or something..
It's obvious to me now, that the bearings were NOT maintained by the PO, and that (as I've learned by research) I SHOULD have looked at all this right off. But I didn't. Hence the lesson in trailers I'm getting right now.. LOL
I know at this point I'm asking for guesses, but any educated guess as to what I might be looking at (outside of what I'm thinking below) would be appreciated..
I'll know for sure what I'm up against once I can get the wheel off, take off the hub, inspect spindle, inside of hub, bearings (ok, junk but will inspect anyway) etc...
Bare minimum I'm thinking is new bearings (inner and outer, BOTH sides while I'm at it). That minimum is IF I'm really lucky, but that's not likely.
Also thinking possible new hubs, and with this kind of gap, maybe even new spindles somehow..
Willing to bet the part of spindle the seal seats on is toast now too. Not sure I want a "Re-sleeve" either..
If it's that bad, I think I'd want to replace it all with new..
The trailer is a home built by the original owner of the boat.. (not PO), so no manufacturer or brand associated with it.. lol
Thoughts?
Sorry so long, but wanted to give some details..
