Trailer Bearings

P

Pat Anderson

New member
OK, just as soon as David got his issue (perhaps) resolved with the Johnson 40 on his CD16 yesterday, he headed toward the water to launch for a test. About 50 feet out of his driveway, he noticed one wheel on his trailer was wobbling - bearing failure. David, fortunately, has a neighbor who is a mechanic. And David could probably figure this out even if he didn't have a mechanic neighbor.

But I don't know a bearing from a lug nut (well, NOW I do know the lug nut, up close and personal - and I HATE that sucker!). I don't know how to test, re-pack, fix, or replace trailer wheel bearings. If I took off for Lake Powell and one failed in say, Mountain Home, ID, I would be in huge trouble. So a couple of questions:

For starters - I go into NAPA and order - exactly what? How do I know what I need to buy? What info do I need to have to buy bearings for my CD16 trailer?

Now I get home. What tools do I need? Anything exotic? Back to NAPA to buy some tool or supply that I should have bought when I was there the first time?

OK, I loosen the lug nuts, jack the trailer up and put it on a jack stand. What do I do now?

Honestly - I just Googled this topic , and got great advice like "put grease in the hubs until full but not too much grease" (how do I know how much grease is "too much" grease?). "Adjust the bearing, be sure it is neither too tight or too loose" (OK, apart from it being "neither...nor," again, how do I know if it is "too tight" or "too loose" - I guess until it either burns up or falls off...).

I know this has got a lot of you macho mechanics (and most of the women in Alaska) scratching heads - how can a person grow up and not instinctively KNOW how to re-pack wheel bearings? But it is a fact...

Book? Video? Good web site? Help please!
 
Pat,
There are several web sites that give good instruction for changing wheel bearings. But you sound somewhat like me when it comes to mechanics. I had my local tire place check and repack my bearings before trailering to Lake Powell last year and I felt better the whole trip. I still printed off the instructions and got a complete spare set (inner,outer, and seal) from our tire place and a little personal instruction from them when I picked it up. I would call Les Schwab or whoever you use and get a quote for best and worst case scenario.
 
Hi Pat,

I'm just a shade tree mech. I've been on the underside of middle income all my life so have had to do a lot of things myself. I've always had the same questions as you, because the instructions have been what you posted for as long as I can remember. In short I don't know. It's like cooking. Just a little of this or that but not too much.

Too try and be a little helpful I've got those bearing buddy things on my wheels. They have a grease fitting on the end and you just put in a couple of shots of grease. I have one of those infra red temp gauges that I point at the hub and tire and watch that the temp are running equal and not too hot. What's too hot? Depends. On my trip from Tampa they were running right at 100F, the best I can remember but the outside temp was a bit cold.

Before I head west on the long trip I'm going to buy a couple of complete hub assembly to have as backup. They are not all that pricey (around $35). I am also going to add remote pressure sensors to the trailer tires. I have the system on my RV tires so only have to add the sensors for the trailer tires. The brand I have is the Pressure Pro System.

Roger
 
Pat-

I'm sure you will get lots of advice and links to explanations of how to change wheels and bearings from your C-Brat friends here, but I think the best instruction method would be for some C-Brat near you to come over and do a hands-on lesson.

Nothing written or graphically explained ever beats a hands-on experience with a good teacher along side.

I wish I were up there to come over and give you the 1-on-1 show/tell/do experience. Maybe someone else can.

Joe. :thup :teeth
 
Pat - Joe's advice is the best. If you want to make a trip to Olympia, I will give you some hands on experience. I have my flatbed trailer in the warehouse to repack the wheel bearings. If you can do it on one, you should be able to do it to any trailer.
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
Pat, Dave-

I can see it now, C-Brats are lining up 20 deep to give Pat a chance to "practice" on their trailer rigs! Would RV's be OK too?

Joe. :lol:
 
Pat
Take Oldgrowth up on his offer. That is the best way to learn, well worth the drive to Oly. I would save you a couple of miles but my trailer has oil bath hubs, so are somewhat different in the type and method of lubrication. But changeing the bearings and such is pretty straight forward. And on the way to or from Oly stop at that big trailer supply shop if Fife with your trailers make and model info . They are right off the freeway.They will be able to set you up with any and all parts you might need. The only special tool you might need is a big socket for the spindle nut.

Chuck
Bootleg Hooch
 
Pat,

It is good advice to have someone who knows the proper procedure show you how it's done. I'd take the offer. Below is a url that would be informative. It has the procedure and has links for part numbers. Each of the cup and cones (bearings) will have part numbers stamped into them. This site also explains how to "pack" the bearings. Be sure you replace the seal and pack the cavity between the sets of bearings.

http://www.rverscorner.com/articles/bearing1.html

Good luck,

Don
 
Pat,

Before you get into how to replace wheel bearing, repack bearings, etc., ask yourself this question.

Is the cost of having Les Schwab do the work more than the cost of having the wheel come off while you are driving I-5?

If they do the work, its warranted and they will pay for any failure and consequential damage, right?

If you do the work, no warranty, and you get to pick up the tab for anything that goes wrong!! Can you say 'How do I remove a trailer wheel from the windshield of a Mercedes?

Kidding aside, there are times when paying an expert to do the job right is cheaper than the worry and liability of doing it yourself.

For those who don't have an infrared temperature gauge to check for overheated hubs and tires, just touch (carefully!) the hub and tread area of each hub and tire on the trailer and the rear tires of the tow vehicle. Do this first at every rest stop.
Your hand will get a little dirty, so have a paper towel. This walk around also give you a chance to see and check the trailer hitch, chains, wiring, boat tiedowns, etc. I also check the turn signal and brake lights during the trip.

If you cannot keep touching the hubs or tires for a couple of seconds, the hubs are over 100 to 110 degrees. Smoking, red hot hubs are near failure!! To find out what 100 to 110 degrees feels like, run hot water into a bowl with a cooking thermometer in it and stick your fingers in.

If the tires are constantly too hot, check the tire pressures when they are cool.

Trailering long distances and especially in the deserts can overheat tires and hubs to the point of failure.


Pat,
If you practice checking the tire and hub temps when you trailer locally, you will have a 'base line' touch temp feeling to compare to when you hit the highway. Or buy an infrared thermometer and practice with that.

Trailering long distances and especially in the deserts can overheat tires and hubs to the point of failure.
 
We use a $29 (on sale peroidically) IR thermometer from Radio Shack. It has been consistant, and durable for 3 years. (We have checked it against more expensive units). We drive across country and up and down the West Coast almost every year--and the trailer hubs stay at about 100 to 110 degrees. We check the tires and hubs every 2 hours.
I also have an iron "Thumper" which I hit the tires with. Not a substitute for a pressure check, but you get a good idea of what the pressure is, and we check this in the mornings before getting on the road.
 
dogon dory said:
Here's a pic where you can see our Dogon spare mounted up by the winch. If you have a spare wheel mounted on the trailer but aren't sure whether it is already on a spindle, simple test, can you spin it around? If yes, then it's on a spindle already. Then you just have to get the right wrenches (and a big hammer) to be able to change the whole assembly.


You need a torch & grinder & welder to change the Spindle on any of my trailers. Now if you mean Wheel & Hub all you need is a pair of Channel locks(water pump pliers) & a jack :wink: :mrgreen: :beer
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Obviously, there is one more essential tool needed to perform any maintenance work on DOD any time soon and that would be a SNOW SHOVEL!
 
The bearings have been replaced. I need to pick up some dust caps to replace the Bearing Buddies that were on before. One of them disappeared when the bearing went. My neighbor doesn't think Bearing Buddies are really that great. They allow you to squirt in grease through the zerk fitting and get plenty of grease on the outer bearing, but the inner bearing doesn't get properly greased.
Pat, if you look at the end of the axle sticking out the middle of the hub (remove the dust cap or bearing buddy which is just pressed into the end of the hub, and clean off some grease) you will see a cotter pin through a castle nut. Looks just like your prop on the boat. You need to jack up the trailer and get the tire off the ground for this. Remove the pin and take off the nut and a large keyed washer and you should be able to pull the wheel and hub off the axle. The wheel will have an inner bearing and an outer bearing pressed into it. You can re-grease the inside bearing liberally and reinstall. If you need to remove them or what is left of one that has gone to pieces, you have to drive them out of the wheel, each from the opposite side through the center of the hub. You will need a small hammer and a long punch to catch the inside edge of the seals race. There is also a seal involved (spring tensioned collar looking thing) which is supposed to keep water and dirt from getting from the outside to the inside. When you tighten back down the castle nut you need to adjust the tension according to the feel of turning the wheel and the tension on the nut. Not overly critical, but you don't want it too tight or too loose.

You can check the bearings by getting the tire off the ground and taking hold of the tire at 9 oclock and 3 oclock and move in and out to see if there is any slopiness there. It should be tight. If you hear or feel movement, you are getting to a problem stage. On the dual axle trailer you can just pull the trailer up on a block so the other tire is hanging free.

Today I am moving the axle towards the front about 8-10". I have way too much tongue weight right now. My neighbor has air wrenches etc, so with a little heat on the 16 nuts involved I am hoping it will all go somewhat smoothly. It is the somewhat that always worries me.
 
"Today I am moving the axle towards the fron about 8-10". I have way too much tongue weight right now. My neighbor has air wrenches etc, so with a little heat on the 6 nuts involved I am hoping it will all go somewhat smoothly. It is the somewhat that always worries me."

David on Anna Leigh


Hey Dave, get some help from your buddy Pat! He knows how to get lug nuts off too! :lol:

I've got some sort of oil bath covers on the TC trailer. You can see the oil level in there all the time. Very reassuring.

Charlie
 
Axle move is completed. Had to throw a bunch of heat on all the nuts. a couple wouldn't budge, but luckily I could get at least one nut of each set of U bolts loose.
 
Which boat? I assume the CD25? Is this likely something we need to consider, since both boats and trailers came out about the same time?
Anna Leigh":3mew8can said:
Axle move is completed. Had to throw a bunch of heat on all the nuts. a couple wouldn't budge, but luckily I could get at least one nut of each set of U bolts loose.
Click to expand...
 
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