Trailer bearings...how do I know if they're okay? Or not?

[Kelpie]

I've never had the bearings fail, but have had umpteen wheels collapse due to corrosion on the rims. I really ought to remove them but it's a bit of a faff and one more thing to get in the way of going for a sail, or even just moving the boat around the garden which I need to do from time to time.

I don't suppose there is a source of little galvanised wheels for trailers?

 

[William_H]

I have a yard trolley that is used to launch and retrieve once a year. After each dunking I remove the hub and re-grease the bearings. It takes maybe a couple of hours and you get to see the actual bearings. The trolley is probably 30+ years old by now and the bearings still good. I wouldn't bother with the expense of a flushing kit, especially as you still can't be certain that the bearings are OK inside.

+1 except I reckon I can do my bearings in about 10 minutes. Leave the wheel on the hub. Just jack the trailer, knock off the bearing cap, Pull the split pin. I don't actually spread the legs on my split pins. They remain vertical and are held in place by the cap. Undo the big nut, remove outer bearing and lift the wheel with bearing off. from there it is obvious if water has got in. Refit the same way not too tight on the nut and spin the wheel to listen for bearing noise. good luck olewill

 

[dancrane]

Thanks to all - I'm glad to know there is so much expertise here for reference, when I have a look at my trailer.

 

[alahol2]

+1 except I reckon I can do my bearings in about 10 minutes.

Don't they have tea breaks down there?

 

[William_H]

Don't they have tea breaks down there?

Thats the problem with being retired. There is no such thing as tea breaks, Friday afternoons, public holidays, weekends or knock off time. It's all on your own time. (and I love it) olewill

 

[ghostlymoron]

I'm told that as well as the bearings suffering, the brake linings can become detached by sea water.

 

[Beamishken]

I'm told that as well as the bearings suffering, the brake linings can become detached by sea water.

Unlikely on a trailer for a 150kg boat!

 

[VicS]

I'm told that as well as the bearings suffering, the brake linings can become detached by sea water.

I does not need sea water for them to become detached. I was checking/ cleaning the rear brakes on one of the cars last year when one of the linings simply came off the shoe in my hand!

 

[ghostlymoron]

They're not riveted on anymore.

 

[pagoda]

My trailer was critical to my buying the boat...or so I thought...but starting my 3rd year at the club, I'm aware that the trailer has scarcely rolled a yard since the boat took up residence.

Just the same, I don't want to discover that it's unusable when eventually I do need it. The trailer looked creaky under the boat's 150kgs, but the previous owner was happy to deliver the boat quite a distance to my club, upon it. All the same, one wheel looked significantly out of vertical, and the tyres are decidedly 20th century...and I think there's a slow puncture, though that's no sweat to sort out. There was lots of rust showing until SWMBO and I rubbed the worst off and applied Hammerite.

The thing is, everyone always seems to say their old trailer either needs new wheel-bearings, or has just had them replaced...

...so, how would I know if my bearings need renewing? Might they explain the slightly drunken-looking wheel? Thanks in advance. :encouragement:

A lot of the hassle surrounding wheel bearings depends on how they have been treated. Immersed several times a year with no attention? Bad news.
Same amount of immersion, but pulled out / cleaned / regreased every season - might get 5 seasons out of them.

Having pulled racing dinghies across Scotland several times, I would not dream of any long distance trip without pulling off the grease caps and checking for lubrication and / or rust. Many of the dinghies were on combi trailers so the road wheels were not put in the sea, but it's good practice to look first!

 

[VicS]

They're not riveted on anymore.

No so a dab of wallpaper paste stuck it back on OK

 

[lw395]

A lot of the hassle surrounding wheel bearings depends on how they have been treated. Immersed several times a year with no attention? Bad news.
Same amount of immersion, but pulled out / cleaned / regreased every season - might get 5 seasons out of them.

Having pulled racing dinghies across Scotland several times, I would not dream of any long distance trip without pulling off the grease caps and checking for lubrication and / or rust. Many of the dinghies were on combi trailers so the road wheels were not put in the sea, but it's good practice to look first!

I get some peace of mind from carrying a spare hub, complete with bearings.
They are not that expensive for most dinghy trailers.
Also the 8 inch wheels can often be bought complete for little more than the cost of the tyre.

 

[prv]

Another slight bit of thread drift...

How much grease should there be inside a trailer bearing? I fitted new hubs to the Zapcat trailer last night; my mate was towing it away to a storage unit before it closed and I don't have a grease gun for the nipple, so I just dobbed plenty of grease into the space between the two taper bearings using a brush (enough so that some squidged out as I pushed the outer bearing into position). Should I (or he) get hold of a grease gun and pump more in so that it's really full, or is it fine as-is, or indeed might I have over-filled it?

Cheers,

Pete

 

[VicS]

Another slight bit of thread drift...

How much grease should there be inside a trailer bearing? I fitted new hubs to the Zapcat trailer last night; my mate was towing it away to a storage unit before it closed and I don't have a grease gun for the nipple, so I just dobbed plenty of grease into the space between the two taper bearings using a brush (enough so that some squidged out as I pushed the outer bearing into position). Should I (or he) get hold of a grease gun and pump more in so that it's really full, or is it fine as-is, or indeed might I have over-filled it?

Cheers,

Pete

Work grease into the bearings between the balls or rollers

No more than half fill the space that will remain in the centre of the hub when all assembled....... LakeSailor will recommend even less than that. Half fill the cap.


It is a mistake to overfill.

 

[prv]

Work grease into the bearings between the balls or rollers

No more than half fill the space that will remain in the centre of the hub when all assembled....... LakeSailor will recommend even less than that. Half fill the cap.

It is a mistake to overfill.

Ta. I probably have about the right amount in there in total, though not quite distributed as you describe. Hopefully it will even itself out. It's in a lockup in the next county now, I can't just pop down and sort it.

Pete

 

[Neil]

I does not need sea water for them to become detached. I was checking/ cleaning the rear brakes on one of the cars last year when one of the linings simply came off the shoe in my hand!

The glue is water resistant, but the gluing machine does not give 100% coverage with the result that (sea)water can get under the lining and as soon as a bit of rust starts, it expands and pushes the lining off. A friendly brake relining company can rivet. For another pictorial on trailer brakes see; http://www.boat-angling-ireland.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1165

 

[rbmatthews]

Work grease into the bearings between the balls or rollers

No more than half fill the space that will remain in the centre of the hub when all assembled....... LakeSailor will recommend even less than that. Half fill the cap.


It is a mistake to overfill.

We have 'bearing savers' (or 'bearing buddies') on our trailer - a spring pressing against a plate keeps a positive pressure of 3 psi on the grease inside which keeps most of the water out. The inner cavity is pretty much full of grease - any expansion due to heating is absorbed by the spring and any excess is squirted out of a small hole on the saver casing if the spring is compressed beyond a certain limit.

I can certainly vouch for them -the trailer gets dunked 6-8 times a season, but before each dunking I give the bearings a squirt of grease until it comes out of the small hole, and also make sure the bearings have cooled before the immersion. Nothing more than that, and I only dismantled them after seven years at the same time as I renewed the brakes and found they were more or less as good as new. No rust or pitting. I did replace them though just to be on the safe side. Hopefully they will do another seven.

https://shetlandf4.wordpress.com/trailer/

 

[Lakesailor]

When you have taken the hubs off clean the bearings and inspect them. If yours are like those on the left, they are shot. That corrosion on the tracks is from leaving the trailer unmoved for too long. Make a point of spinning the wheels or moving the trailer every few weeks. Those on the right will regrease and last another year. If you are planning a long journey put new bearings in.
They come in two sizes, 25mm and 1". This refers to the hole in the middle (the stub axle actually). Best to get the bearing number from the edge of the bearing track to be sure because they are very similar and you can measure them wrongly.

You can, as already said, get complete hubs with new bearings ready fitted for not much more than the cost of the bearings alone.
If you do this you can keep them at home until you need to use the trailer on the road. This avoids dunking your new bearings. Better to knacker the old ones.


New hubs with new bearings ( I always fit the inner bearing to the stub axle before fitting the rest of the hub. It saves it dropping off on the floor anyway)

Tyres need replacing if they have sidewall crazing. Probably not serious on a lightly-loaded trailer, but it's an easy pull for the plod.

 

[Beamishken]

When you have taken the hubs off clean the bearings and inspect them. If yours are like those on the left, they are shot. That corrosion on the tracks is from leaving the trailer unmoved for too long. Make a point of spinning the wheels or moving the trailer every few weeks. Those on the right will regrease and last another year. If you are planning a long journey put new bearings in.
They come in two sizes, 25mm and 1". This refers to the hole in the middle (the stub axle actually). Best to get the bearing number from the edge of the bearing track to be sure because they st/bearing1.jpg[/img]


You can, as already said, get complete hubs with new bearings ready fitted for not much more than the cost of the bearings alone.

Where do you get hubs for less than a fiver a side? That's all the bearings cost!

 

[Lakesailor]

Depends on which bearings your trailer uses. It also depends on what quality bearings they are.

Could be £13 per side http://www.trailertek.com/acatalog/Hub_Assemblies.html

Which is more than £5 per side, but if you are doing it in the trailer park and aren't experienced at replacing bearings, it's a very good option.