Trialer Wheel Bearings

[bowman316]

I was just wondering how often you guys repack or tighten your trailer wheel bearings? How often do your wheels get loose? I noticed that mine will wabble a little with the trailer is jacked up, but i think that is normal, to let the bearings heat up on the road. I tried to tighten the bearings, but the next hole on the nut would have been too tight.
Should you repack bearings every year?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

atleast the beginning of every season, if you are in salt water, 2 twice a year is not bad. and having bearing buddies, is not an excuse not to do them. you also need to keep your tire pressure up to the rated pressure.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Wheel bearings should not wobble as you put it. With the wheel off the ground you should be able to barely feel any movement as you rock the wheel. The best way to do that adjustment is to tighten the nut slightly with a wrench. Then loosen it so you can turn it with your fingers. Tighten the nut finger tight and if the holes don't line up, back up to the first hole and insert the cotter pin.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

I'm glad I read this thread.
I have to make a 200 mile trip with my utility trailer Wednesday to fecth a golf cart and I can't remember when I last packed the bearing.
thanks guys - another chore on my never ending list.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

do you have to take everything off and repack it, or just re tighten the nut?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

have are you going to inspect it with out taking it apart? clean, make sure there is not rust, or wear. i prefer to replace each year. remember these are the one of the things, that keep you from having to leave you boat on the side of the road, or call a flat bed wrecker to haul it. do you have a spare tire, jack, and lug wrech that fits your trailer?

 

[bowman316]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

no, i don't have a spare tire. The lugnuts are rusted on, like every other bolt on my trailer. The only bolt not rusted is the bearing bolt.
Even if I had a spare tire, I would need an impact wrench to get the old tire off. I am just taking my chances that I don't have a flat.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Take the bearings out and clean both the race and the cage. Inspect both for signs of wear or damage and replace both the race and cage if there are signs of wear or damage.

Upon installation a slight preload (nut starts to cause resistance while spinning the wheel) is required to set the bearings and races in place. Take the trailer out for a couple laps around the block and come back and adjust the bearings again. I tighten the nut until I feel the nut start to cause resistance then back it off to the first notch in the nut that I come too.

Recheck after a 100 miles or so and adjust as required

 

[KLINDWW]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Saw a trick on Extreme 4X4 (The TV Show). Where he repacked a bearing by taking a grease gun and applied the grease to the outside of the bearing and then put it in a vacuum packer, aka; Seal a Meal, and it forced the grease into the bearing and thus packed the bearing. Was going to try this for myself the next time, was wondering if anyone has actually tried it?

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

it would work.

bowman316. all the more reason for properly servicing your trailer. i had me bearings serviced at a tire store, prior to a trip the the FL Keys. 250 miles down the road i had a tire come of the trailer. it did $1,000 worth of damage, had to have boat towed, and lost a day, waiting for trailer to be repaired. it ended up the kid that remounted the tires, put oil on the lugs to make the nuts easier to go on. thus the lug nuts came loose. never heard a sound out of the trailer, except for seconds before the tire came off, bouncing across the interstate.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Do you put any kind of rust preventative on you lug nuts?
So they won't rust up.
I am thinking about trying to use an air gun to get my nuts off, then make sure they don' rust up again.
But i may have to weld them off, they are almost the same piece of metal now, and no longer a bolt and a nut.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

....I am just taking my chances that I don't have a flat.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.....

 

[KLINDWW]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

bowman316, Try using Never Seize. I have always used it on trailer tires and even use it on my truck lugs. In fact I Never Seize just about anything that I might want to take back off. Great stuff the only down side is that it can get all over everything.

One thing that wasn?t mentioned was to maintain your Buddy Bearings also. First and most important is to keep them pumped up. They are designed to maintain a positive pressure on the inside of the bearing housing. The can only do this if the spring is compressed and not bottomed out. Next time you are at the boat ramp look at some of the other trailers and note how many of those Buddy Bearing look to be bottomed out. Or you also have the trailers that have the nice dust covers over the Buddy Bearings, I always wonder when the last time that dust cover was taken off. You know: Out of Site, Out of Mind. The second part is when you inspect your bearing soak and clean the Buddy Bearing and move it back and forth by hand to make sure that it operates freely.

As far as the oil on the lugs, I don?t think that is what caused the wheel to come off, I think that the kid didn?t tighten the lug nuts tight enough. Anyway sorry to hear of your mishap TD, nothing puts a damper on a fishing trip like having problems before you ever hit the ramp.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Thanks for the advice Klind,
I have had a hell of a time getting my truck lugs off too. Had to stand on the end of the tire iron.

TD,
when your wheel fell off did it damage the boat at all?
I would think that the side of the boat would scrape the rd, depending on the angle.
that must have been a job getting it on the tow truck,
guess you had to support it with the jack stand.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

luckily the boat was not damaged, tore the axle off, one side when it hit the road, other side stayed on, but bent the axle, and blew the tire when it rubbed against the trailer frame. had to drag boat on to the shoulder. State Trooper, help me tremendously. flat bed wrecker, hooked on the the tongue, and drug it up the bed.. the trailer place had to get fork lift to get it off the wrecker. total new undercarriage, including wheels and tires. the tire shop finally got right with me on the cost. NO Oil on the lugs or nuts.

buy a 4 way X lug wrench, it is a necessity.

 

[bowman316]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Man, that sucks.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy a used trailer to replace the broken one?
I am learning though the thing that sucks about old trailers is all the bolts tend to be rusted up.
Mine is a 1979 trailer.

 

[hank55]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

Bowman316

I would wire brush any visible threads on your lug nuts first, then spray the nut and threads with a Penetrating Oil, I would apply the oil several times over the course of a day or two.

If you cant break a nut loose, try to tighten it , this helps to break its bond, then try again to loosen it.You may have to try this several times, this method can be used on any nut and works wonders.

I have also used a T handle wrench to loosen lug nuts when a breaker bar wasnt available,I set a concrete block under the "handle end" of the wrench and then stand or lightly bounce on the wrench.

Be careful not to fall if the nut lets loose fast.

You may have to shim the block to get the wrench level, or turn the tire to align it up.

I will break my lug nuts loose just a little and re-tighten them at least twice in a season, just to keep them from locking up.

 

[hank55]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

do any boat trailers have left hand threads on the lug nuts??

Might be a helpful tip

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

it is possible. a lug is easily knocked out and replaced. you never know what a previous owner has done.

bowman316, the trailer was almost new, galvanized. when you are in a strange area, at dust, Friday evening and your wheel comes off. there are not many options. i was lucky, the wrecker driver was taking the night off, so he said he would leave the boat on the trailer till morning. i got up early, got the local phone book, and found a trailer shop, that was open on Saturday morning. they were extremely accommodating, they took it right in, and went to work on it. they had me back on the highway, by noon Saturday.

the $1,000.00 included the towing, repair, and a unplanned night in a hotel.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Trialer Wheel Bearings

do any boat trailers have left hand threads on the lug nuts??

Might be a helpful tip

I have had one in the past. What a pain!
The studs should have an "L" stamped on them at the end.