Trailer bearings- to immerse or not

[Kelpie]

Been following the Indespension thread and it has caused me to question my plan of launching and recovering on my new trailer.
I have primarily bought the trailer (twin axle, braked, never yet immersed in salt water) to save on storage costs, but I was also hoping to save on crane fees. I have the choice of launching/recovering from a slipway at effectively zero cost, and at any time that suits me, or craning on and off at about £150 a go (so, £300 a year), which also means I have to do it at the same time as some other boats so that we can book the crane together.

So the question is- will it be a false economy to launch/recover straight onto the trailer, i.e. will I end up spending as much or more on constantly rebuilding the bearings and brakes?

 

[Avocet]

The only way to know is to price up a set of replacements, I think.
My own experience is that brakes, if washed with fresh water quickly enough, can put up with it pretty well. If the trailer is only really used to store the boat, can't you just take all the brakes off and store them somewhere? Or does it still do some road miles? Similarly, although I take the point made by others on the Indespension thread about over-filling with grease, it becomes immaterial if the trailer is only used as a launch trolley, so fill them with grease (waterproof grease) an forget about them until just before you're due for a road trip. I asume the trailer is galvanised and of a half-decent design with no closed box sections or water traps? I used to get a couple of seasons out of bearings and about 4-5 years out of simple over-rub, rod-operated brakes even with two dunkings a year, so it's not really worth loosing too much sleep over. Modern cable-operated auto-reverse brakes will be much more of a problem in seawater.

 

[VicS]

Been following the Indespension thread and it has caused me to question my plan of launching and recovering on my new trailer.
I have primarily bought the trailer (twin axle, braked, never yet immersed in salt water) to save on storage costs, but I was also hoping to save on crane fees. I have the choice of launching/recovering from a slipway at effectively zero cost, and at any time that suits me, or craning on and off at about £150 a go (so, £300 a year), which also means I have to do it at the same time as some other boats so that we can book the crane together.

So the question is- will it be a false economy to launch/recover straight onto the trailer, i.e. will I end up spending as much or more on constantly rebuilding the bearings and brakes?

Much will depend on the type of bearings fitted. Some cost a lot more to replace than others.
Also on how well you can flush the brakes etc.

RM trailers are fitted with sealed for life bearings

http://www.rmtrailers.co.uk/include/manual.pdf worth a quick butchers.

Also factor in the possible costs if a bearing fails while you are towing, or the brakes failing.

 

[Kelpie]

The trailer will do about five miles each way on the road, but as a 3.5t load it really needs to have brakes. And, yes, they are auto-reverse cable-operated etc. I am quite happy to do a thorough washing down with fresh water if it will solve the problem. But I don't want to have to completely replace the braking system every couple of years!

Not worried about the structure of the trailer itself, fully galvanised with drain holes.

 

[Lakesailor]

Give it a whirl.
It's only salt. Lots of fresh water will shift it. Get a cheap pressure washer at home, just to get the salt out of the corners.
Bearings are fine until left, undisturbed, with salty water in them. The bearings that fail have corrosion on the the tracks where the rollers contact them. A simple pull apart clean and re-grease should prevent that, rather than relying on the super bearing buddies doing the job (but never quite knowing if they are).
It's just one split pin and one nut (don't bother taking the wheels off the hub).
It really is just a 20 minute job, if you have a good trolley jack.

 

[aquaplane]

I just clean the bearings in paraffin and put them back with fresh grease after a dunking.

It's best to do it promptly though. I launched @ easter and went for a 2 week cruise. I looked at the bearings 2 weeks after we got the empty trailer home. One side still looked brand new, the other side I replaced the bearings as they were pitted and rusty but it's only £30 for both sides.

Bringing the boat home in September, the offside bearing was warmer than I was comfortable with so I repacked it after about 10 miles in Lochgilphead. It was much better after that but still warmer than the other side untill after Glasgow then it was OK.

I do give the trailer and wheels a good wash down with water before the sea water has a chance to dry on. It's easier with a jetwash but a hose pipe will get most of it off. Driving home in the p1ssing down rain is quite effective too.

 

[William_H]

Dunking trailer

No question in my mind, the convenience of being able to haul out your self for no cost and not dependent on others far out weighs the maintenance required on the trailer. I have been doing it for 30 years good luck olewill

 

[Jim@sea]

This is what I do with my 4 wheel boat trailer. Its all down to time and familiarity.
I realised that I had to get up to speed and familiarise myself with the trailer hub so that a hub strip would be child's play and take minutes, like at a garage (like wot I owned once)
So get a cheap 12v Electric Impact Wheel Nut Remover.
Dedicated long nose pliers, hammer, grease, trolly jack, etc.
32MM Socket for the castle nut holding the bearings in.(or whatever size yours is)
A £15 set of Replacement Bearings and Oil Seal.
Anyway after a bit I could change a set of bearings with one eye closed, one hand tied behind my back and read Practical Boat owner with the other hand, if you know what I mean.
The point is that bearings on boat trailers have always been a problem and you have to minimise the risk of problems. Replacement bearings are as "Cheap as chips" and what I decided to do was at £15 for a set inc Oil Seal I bought 2 sets. I fitted. The other was a spare set. and the old ones which came off were kept as they were perfect.
Again how many people stop after towing for 5 miles and actually touch the wheels to see if they are running "Hot" which could indicate that the brakes are sticking. Trailer Maintenance is something which has to be learnt.

 

[Lakesailor]

That's another thing I always do. I've collected two boats on unknown trailers in the past couple of weeks with more than 50 miles to travel it makes sense to check the bearings for rumble before setting off and stop to feel for heat after a few miles. Always carry wipes, as you will definitely get greasy fingers.
It's perhaps the reliability of modern vehicles that lulls people into thinking that you can just jump in and drive with trailers.

 

[ProDave]

Well I've opted for a half way house.

I now plan to launch the boat at the start of each season from the slipway knowing I can bring the trailer home, strip, flush and re grease the bearings, nice and easy without the boat on it.

At the end of season I now use the clubs crane out days. I've always found recovering the boat from the slip a lot harder, so using the crane is easier, enables more precice positioning of the boat on the trailer (so the lift keel can be lowered) and means I don't need to strip and re grease the bearings with the boat on the trailer (harder but not impossible)

 

[snowleopard]

I am told it is unwise to launch the boat immediately on arriving at the slip because the bearings will be hot and the sudden cooling of immersion will create a vacuum and suck salt water in.

 

[electrosys]

Those who dunk regularly might want to consider replacing with stainless-steel bearings ? They have a slightly lower spec than normal steel bearings, but not a huge difference.

Whether to use sealed bearings or not ? Well - when I ordered replacement bearings for my little 2-wheeled trailer off Ebay, sealed s/s bearings of surprisingly high quality arrived - and as cheap as chips.
I don't plan on dunking, but eventually decided on at least keeping the innermost bearing seal intact as a dust seal as the hub's own inner dust seal was nothing to write home about.
But if I were to dunk - then I'd probably remove the other seals to allow easy cleaning and re-greasing - as I don't think that when manufacturers describe their bearings as 'sealed', they have complete salt-water immersion in mind.

Tip - if like me you use a press to replace hub bearings, taking a few thou off the old bearing's outer diameter then enables it to be used as a 'drift' to press the new ones into place. "We waste nothing ..."

 

[aquaplane]

I am told it is unwise to launch the boat immediately on arriving at the slip because the bearings will be hot and the sudden cooling of immersion will create a vacuum and suck salt water in.

I have been told that too. Most of the TSA folk rig the boat ashore so the bearings have had a good chance to cool before being immersed.

In my ignorance I always launched and rigged afloat until I saw the light.

The thing is, I always assume that the bearings are going to get water in anyway and act accordingly. Even if I had a trailer fitted with bearing savers I would assume that they weren't working and clean and repack.

I wouldn't like sealed for life bearings either. They would expire on the M74 on top of Beatock and then I would be well shafted. Taper bearings I can keep and eye on and swap in 30 mins.

 

[Neil_Y]

As snowleopard said, the temp change is what sucks water in, there are severl products for proecting the bearings, th ebest I've come across is Durahub, we thought about selling them as they are really nicely made but I'm just too busy with bearings! It is another great Australian product though.

 

[geoffatstanpit]

Another possibility which I followed was to have a "break-back" trailer. With that I was able to launch without getting the brakes in the water. Worked OK with my Parker 21 at about a ton but I'm not sure I'd want to recover 3.5 tons on a break-back.

 

[Avocet]

I'd be very wary of stainless bearings - stainless is pretty vicious to mild steel when in electrical contact with it. You might find that the bearings last pretty well but the stub axles and / or hubs rust sacrifically.

 

[maxi77]

I'd be very wary of stainless bearings - stainless is pretty vicious to mild steel when in electrical contact with it. You might find that the bearings last pretty well but the stub axles and / or hubs rust sacrifically.

As far as I can see most people manage the way I always did and that was simply do your maintainance after every dip,

 

[tinkicker0]

Give it a whirl.
It's only salt. Lots of fresh water will shift it. Get a cheap pressure washer at home, just to get the salt out of the corners.
Bearings are fine until left, undisturbed, with salty water in them. The bearings that fail have corrosion on the the tracks where the rollers contact them. A simple pull apart clean and re-grease should prevent that, rather than relying on the super bearing buddies doing the job (but never quite knowing if they are).
It's just one split pin and one nut (don't bother taking the wheels off the hub).
It really is just a 20 minute job, if you have a good trolley jack.

Agreed, after letting by hubs cool for half an hour or so, I immerse right to the top of the mudguards. I can then motor the boat right up to the snubber block using engine power alone (roller trailer).

Since I always chain it up on the drive, remove the wheels and put it up on blocks for security, I always check the bearings while doing this and have never yet found water in the hub.

 

[CreakyDecks]

I brought mine in a few weeks ago, a process that involved a long total submersion and, I am ashamed to say, never bothered to wash everything out with fresh water. So it was with some trepidation that I stripped them down yesterday. I am happy to say that all the bearings were absolutely fine because they were very well packed in with grease. The brakes weren't as bad as I expected either, I have seen that amount of rust on plenty of old car rears in my youth.
Even though the bearings were really well packed in grease there was no sign of grease beyond the inner shaft seals.
When I relaunch next year I will probably take the brakes off first, since I don't need to go on the roads. As others have said it takes two minutes to remove each hub and wheel together.

 

[maxi77]

I brought mine in a few weeks ago, a process that involved a long total submersion and, I am ashamed to say, never bothered to wash everything out with fresh water. So it was with some trepidation that I stripped them down yesterday. I am happy to say that all the bearings were absolutely fine because they were very well packed in with grease. The brakes weren't as bad as I expected either, I have seen that amount of rust on plenty of old car rears in my youth.
Even though the bearings were really well packed in grease there was no sign of grease beyond the inner shaft seals.
When I relaunch next year I will probably take the brakes off first, since I don't need to go on the roads. As others have said it takes two minutes to remove each hub and wheel together.

Mostly my last trailer did not get dunked but the brake drums still rusted up with lack of use. Even so a few hours work got the trailer ready for use each time. Also if the trailer has been left unattended for aany time check the wheel nuts there are some really sick characters out there