# Trailer bearings



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

My trailer is on the older side and I've only owned it a year. I've heard some horror stories about the bearings going bad. Anyone have any instruction on how to check them out and see what condition they're in?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Jack up the axles and pull on the wheels. There shouldn't be a lot of play in them. Spin the tires and listen for noise, the tires should spin quiet and freely. The best way though is to repack the bearings with grease and you will know for sure you are good to go.


----------



## moabxjeeper (Dec 18, 2012)

I can't imagine how hard salty marsh water would be on trailer bearings. We have a little dirt bike trailer and the bearings completely rusted away just from sitting outside too long. I'd find the highest quality marine grease you can find and repack them.


----------



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

Fowlmouth said:


> Jack up the axles and pull on the wheels. There shouldn't be a lot of play in them. Spin the tires and listen for noise, the tires should spin quiet and freely. The best way though is to repack the bearings with grease and you will know for sure you are good to go.


Appreciate the help! I'll check em out this weekend. What kind of grease should I be using and where can I get it?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Get marine grease if you go into the water above the hubs. If it doesnt have brakes on the trailer just stick some bearing buddys on it and fill'em up.


-DallanC


----------



## utahbigbull (May 9, 2012)

I just re-packed mine last weekend. Trailer is only 4 years old. It's a good thing as my left bearing pre-load was a notch loose. Found that by what Fowl said. Jack it up, and feel for side to side play, as it should be minimal. 

I Also found that the water making it past the wheel seals then sitting from the winter had started to slightly rust and pit out the bearings / races. They were good enough I was able to scotch brite the rust off, re-clean em up, and re-use them one more year. 

But just take the outer hub cap of by tapping it side to side until you can use a screw driver to finish prying it off, take the castle nut off (after taking out the cotter pin), clean bearings and hubs thoroughly making sure to clean the grease from between the bearing rollers with solvent or brake cleaner (they hold more grease than you would think) and using marine grease, manually re-pack the bearings to get good new grease back into the rollers before re-installing. Put it back together, then torque the castle nut to around 50 ft. lbs. while spinning the hub. Loosen the castle nut without moving the hub then re-tighten the nut finger tight and re-pin the castle nut. Fill with grease and wallah.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I have come to the conclusion that trailer bearings need to be repacked every 2 years if not every year. 

It isn't a hard job once you learn how to do them just a little bit messy. 

It is good insurance against being the one sitting on the side of the road with a broke down trailer.


----------



## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

Do yourself a favor & replace them. An ounce of prevention goes along way. You'll feel better about it going down the road


----------



## DUSTY NOGGIN (Feb 27, 2017)

> Do yourself a favor & replace them. An ounce of prevention goes along way. You'll feel better about it going down the road


races and bearing have a mating surface after they have worked against each other, if you only replace the bearings you run the risk of the bearings only contacting partially , if they are not burnt, blued or pitted i personally would reuse the same bearings , if you replace the bearings you should replace the races at the same time , on p/u trailers you would probably save money to replaced the whole hub with new races pre-installed , rather than hammering out old / in new ones (9 but can be done too )) . if you hammer out races make sure to wear your eye protection , if you catch a chip in the cheek you will understand , if you hammer in new races , torque it down to 200 ft pound initially to insure they are sitting in there square , then back off bearings like stated in previous post above


----------



## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

One thing I do particularly on long trips is to feel the trailer hubs every time I stop. If they are hot to the touch you have a problem that needs immediate attention. I also feel the sidewalls of the tires for excessive heat while I'm at it too as that is an indication of under inflation.

Between work and play I have a dozen or more tow behind trailers and other pieces of equipment and I can't keep track of which ones have been recently serviced and which ones haven't. But by gauging the hub temperature you can tell which ones need work and likely save yourself a wasted day.


----------



## Josh Noble (Jul 29, 2008)

Trailer axles/bearings are the DEVIL (not to mention trailer wiring...UGH)!!! Echoing what Jerry mentioned an ounce of prevention goes a VERY long way. The best advice I would give is if you do replace your axles go with "Lube Through" spindles. This design allows the grease to flow through the spindle and come out on the back side of the bearings. As you pump grease in, it forces the water and old grease out the face of the hub verses a bearing buddy that just mashes all the goop to the back seal.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Josh Noble said:


> Trailer axles/bearings are the DEVIL (not to mention trailer wiring...UGH)!!! Echoing what Jerry mentioned an ounce of prevention goes a VERY long way. The best advice I would give is if you do replace your axles go with "Lube Through" spindles. This design allows the grease to flow through the spindle and come out on the back side of the bearings. As you pump grease in, it forces the water and old grease out the face of the hub verses a bearing buddy that just mashes all the goop to the back seal.


+1

These new style axles rock. I replaced the axle on my boat a couple years ago when we lost a bearing (luckily we made it home). It was surprisingly cheap, we got our axle at Hendersons for I think $130.

-DallanC


----------



## sketch21 (Jul 11, 2013)

I'm blessed with a much nicer boat and trailer setup now, but I had my share of boat issues in the past. As Jerry said it's preventative maintenance that will usually make the difference. 

Not proud of this but I once made it home from FB with a cotter pin holding my wheel to the axle. Didn't even know realize what was going on until I was home. 
Had I checked my setup regularly I would have noticed. Went to hendersons and had to buy a new axle and wheel.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Usually trailer wiring problems can be traced back to a bad ground and then corroded sockets with the wiring being the last to look at. That is unless the wiring is hanging down where brush or something off of the road can grab it to tear it loose.


----------



## F.A.L. (Nov 4, 2016)

Youtube!! Piece of mind for you and your family, replace them.


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Speaking of wiring, the best thing I ever did was replace the lamp style tail lights with LED's. They are absolutely wonderful. I was replacing lamp bulbs every trip, they get water on them and pop, they get rattled around and pop, finally got tired of that mess. 

I did rewire the trailer last year. I kept blowing fuses. When I took the old wire out of the trailer there were bare wire spots where the insulation rubbed off from bouncing around in the steel tubing.


----------



## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

Trailer wiring tip.
I used a good quality 3 wire extention cord. Along with heat shrink conectors with glue in them. Ran the wiring through pvc pipe to the rear of the trailer. It's lasted over 12 years with no problems. Knock on wood.


----------



## Josh Noble (Jul 29, 2008)

JerryH said:


> Trailer wiring tip.
> I used a good quality 3 wire extention cord. Along with heat shrink conectors with glue in them. Ran the wiring through pvc pipe to the rear of the trailer. It's lasted over 12 years with no problems. Knock on wood.


JINXED!!!!!


----------



## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Oil bath hubs. Haven't touched mine since I brought it home from Boise in November 2005. As in, precisely no maintenance. Original oil. Slightly warm to the touch today after getting home from Strawberry.


----------



## JerryH (Jun 17, 2014)

paddler said:


> Oil bath hubs. Haven't touched mine since I brought it home from Boise in November 2005. As in, precisely no maintenance. Original oil. Slightly warm to the touch today after getting home from Strawberry.


Oh the $hit storm will hit when you're 90 miles from nowhere.


----------



## DUSTY NOGGIN (Feb 27, 2017)

paddler said:


> Oil bath hubs. Haven't touched mine since I brought it home from Boise in November 2005. As in, precisely no maintenance. Original oil. Slightly warm to the touch today after getting home from Strawberry.


im gonna have to disagree with the oil bath option , when an oil bath blows out , it can empty the hub , catch on fire , and go bouncing into a field in as little as 15 miles

although they do make better wheel seals like the federal mogal/ national most of the time the smaller p/u 3500lbs axles wheel seals are basically just a flap of plastic material with a spring that holds that flap against the seal journal , two main ways a wheel seal will fail is to wear down the plastic material so that it no longer maintains the seal ( this takes quite a while and you should notice a seap well before it give you a bad day) , or in my opinion more common is a crack with is usually causes by letting the trailer sit for long periods of time (2year+) which lets the oil dry out on the seal... sort of gluing it to the spindle and as soon as you roll it , it splits , can also happen if running hot and parked.. the seal melts and sticks to the spindle, a cracked probably wouldn't ruin your weekend with a grease hub , but a much higher chance if you are running an oil hub


----------



## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Well, I've owned both types. I trailer to Washington State each August, the trip is typically 2400 miles round trip. And I launch into salt water over there. With my old boat I'd pack them before I left, and have them lubed before returning each time. So far I've made the trip with my current boat 12 times in 11 years, plus local fishing, so well over 30,000 miles, with absolutely no problems and zero maintenance.


----------



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

So I plunged into it tonight and started in one side of the trailer. Got everything off just fine until the, I wanna call it the hub?, I pulled that off and I heard some pieces of something start falling, looks like the rear bearing started falling apart and I can't get the other part off. Any ideas what to do next? I have some pictures here.







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

My guess is that rear bearing is seized and stuck on there??? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## utahbigbull (May 9, 2012)

And that right there is proof it's a good thing you did a little maintince this summer or you would have been one of those guys that lost a wheel on the highway this season. That bearing race should be a slip fit on the axle shaft. It should slide off if you take a punch and hammer and tap it off. Just be careful not to ding the shaft. Then you're gonna need to replace the bearings and races. The races are a press fit in the hub you'll have to drive out then press back into the hub. You can find the part number etched into the back side of the beating and race. Take that wheel seal in and have them match it up and get a couple of those too. Then a trailer shop should stock em. If you're in Weber County area, I reccomend TJ's trailers.

PM me if ya need more help. They are pretty easy to do.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

quackaddict35 said:


> So I plunged into it tonight and started in one side of the trailer. Got everything off just fine until the, I wanna call it the hub?, I pulled that off and I heard some pieces of something start falling, looks like the rear bearing started falling apart and I can't get the other part off. Any ideas what to do next? I have some pictures here.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That tapered part (called a "race") needs to come off. If you have a gear puller use that, otherwise you can try and tap from behind. If its good and seized on you can use a dremel or cutoff wheel and cut mostly through it (Being VERY careful not to cut into the underlying axle shaft), then hammer in a cold chisel into the cut to spread it a little and break it loose.... but I HIGHLY recommend just getting a cheap jaw puller or renting one from Autozone and pulling it straight off.

-DallanC


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Everyone needs one of these things in their toolbox:

https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/pullers/8-in-three-jaw-gear-puller-69224.html

-DallanC


----------



## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

DallanC said:


> Everyone needs one of these things in their toolbox:
> 
> https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive-motorcycle/pullers/8-in-three-jaw-gear-puller-69224.html
> 
> -DallanC


Oreillys and AZ all loan these out for free.

If it is really bad and welded on there I found a great way to do it. Use the cutting blade on a dremel. Only issue is to not cut into the shaft. I did it once and it worked great. I just cut at like 10 and 2 oclock positions and then some soft chisel hits and off it all came.


----------



## trackerputnam (Dec 21, 2014)

I have had two complete failures at speed when I had my tuna boat. It is not fun. Is kind of interesting watching a flaming tire come past you and off into the brush. I would not recommend it though, no matter the entertainment factor. Paddler is the towing guru in my eyes making that trip each year. Was always nice to hear he had made it to the coast. 

Ok, as to bearings on my boat trailer, two things really helped. Getting rid of surge brakes was a vital factor. No more heating up to smoking value, had a great longevity factor on the bearings. And checking the bearing at each stop as was mentioned before is very important. One of the great reliefs of my life is not to have to deal with bearing on a trailer anymore. But like most addict, my time will come again where my neck will be sore from looking back at the bearings and wheels in the mirror while driving. The use of a cell phone while driving has nothing on the constant fear of being beat to the boat launch by my trailer tires.


----------



## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

trackerputnam said:


> I have had two complete failures at speed when I had my tuna boat. It is not fun. Is kind of interesting watching a flaming tire come past you and off into the brush. I would not recommend it though, no matter the entertainment factor. Paddler is the towing guru in my eyes making that trip each year. Was always nice to hear he had made it to the coast.
> 
> Ok, as to bearings on my boat trailer, two things really helped. Getting rid of surge brakes was a vital factor. No more heating up to smoking value, had a great longevity factor on the bearings. And checking the bearing at each stop as was mentioned before is very important. One of the great reliefs of my life is not to have to deal with bearing on a trailer anymore. But like most addict, my time will come again where my neck will be sore from looking back at the bearings and wheels in the mirror while driving. The use of a cell phone while driving has nothing on the constant fear of being beat to the boat launch by my trailer tires.


I have trailered over to the coast every year since 2000, this will be my 18th year and 19 trips. Two trips the year the tuna bug bit.:mrgreen: So about 45,000 miles on that route alone. I know that road well. Never had a bearing failure. My Alumacraft had a Master Craft trailer under it with greased bearings. One side always had a slight leak problem, grease on that side always got dark before it should have. I took it apart and found a tiny bead of slag where the inboard seal ran. I filed it down and polished it, problem solved.

I think any system will work with proper vigilance and maintenance. And I was skeptical of the oil bath setup. But it works very well, and I wouldn't go back. Nothing worse than seeing a boat trailer jacked up on the side of I-84 out in the middle of the Snake River plain.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

*backward seals work for me*



trackerputnam said:


> I have had two complete failures at speed when I had my tuna boat. It is not fun. Is kind of interesting watching a flaming tire come past you and off into the brush. I would not recommend it though, no matter the entertainment factor. Paddler is the towing guru in my eyes making that trip each year. Was always nice to hear he had made it to the coast.
> 
> Ok, as to bearings on my boat trailer, two things really helped. Getting rid of surge brakes was a vital factor. No more heating up to smoking value, had a great longevity factor on the bearings. And checking the bearing at each stop as was mentioned before is very important. One of the great reliefs of my life is not to have to deal with bearing on a trailer anymore. But like most addict, my time will come again where my neck will be sore from looking back at the bearings and wheels in the mirror while driving. The use of a cell phone while driving has nothing on the constant fear of being beat to the boat launch by my trailer tires.


I'm going to jump in here and offer a comment or two.

Inertia breaks are made for flat country IMHO. If you're going to use them in the mountains you need to back off on the adjustment wheel to keep them from engaging too much or too often when going downhill.

Back in the early 80s I had a bearing failure the first time I pulled my boat down Sheep Creek Canyon on the Gorge; burnt an axle and a tire. Up until that point I normally packed my trailer wheel bearings myself. This time I welded a new spindle on the axle, threw on the bearings and wheel and took it to an "expert", a mechanic that worked on semi-trucks and trailers, the guy that did the maintenance on our fleet trucks and trailers at work. They guy also pulled a pretty big boat back n forth between Evanston and the Gorge.

He put the bearing seals in backwards (the lip(s) facing the outside. The normal seal arrangement keeps the grease in the housing so you don't get grease splattered on yer pretty boat. But when the hot wheel housing hits the cold water when launching a vacuum is created by the temperature differential and the water gets sucked in the wheel housing easily because the seal lip(s) face towards the inside of the wheel housing providing an easy path for the lake water to get sucked into the wheel housing.

It seemed to work for me and for the last 35 years I have had Bearing Buddys installed and the rear seals turned around when I had the bearings re-packed for the first time on any of my trailers. I get more miles between bearing re-packs and there's little or no evidence of water in the old grease. Little or no grease will leak out as long as you follow the Bearing Buddy instructions.

The basics:
1. Install rear spindle seals on backwards, even the double-lip seals.
2. Pack grease in bearings and wheel housing by hand.
3. Use a Bearing Buddy on the end of the axle. 
4. Pull trailer around a little bit to spread the grease around and get some of the air out.
5. Pump grease into bearings thru the Bearing Buddy as directed by the instructions.

Backward seals work for me.

I don't know much about oil bath bearings but have heard mostly positive comments about them.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

quackaddict35 said:


> My guess is that rear bearing is seized and stuck on there???
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Probably, but it doesn't take much at all to pop it off with a puller like Dallan and Huge mentioned.

.


----------



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

UPADATE

Jaw puller was a great suggestion. Picked one up at Home Depot today and hit it with the impact, came right off. So I'm gonna get some new bearings ordered this week. I kind of screwed myself and jacked the trailer up with out moving it away from the wall on the other side so I have to fix this side before I can even get going on the other. Good thing I started early! Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it all. If you have some more suggestions I'll gladly take them!

















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

quackaddict35 said:


> UPADATE
> 
> .............................Thanks for all the help, I appreciate it all. If you have some more suggestions I'll gladly take them!
> 
> ...


Glad its going OK.

I suggest you make your pictures smaller. :smile:

.


----------



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Most people in life have 50% luck, some have no luck, others have all the luck. There can be 99 guys that go through life with not so much as a flat, but for every 99 there is that one guy who blows two or three tires at once, or looses a trailer bearing every other year.

With proper maintenance you can stock the odds more in your favor for sure, but still things happen. 

If I bought a trailer with oil bath bearings I'd probably love it. But the old greasy bearings work well enough for me it so far, isnt worth the expense to swap over. I believe I've owned 9 trailers in my life, so far I've lost 1 bearing which in turn ate the axle... $130-140ish and a afternoon got that back on the road. /shrug

-DallanC


----------



## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

A friendly suggestion would be to attach a conduit to your frame rail and run your trailer wire in the conduit to protect it.


----------

