ARRRRRRRGGGG... Ever had a trailer burn a bearing ? On side of road half a day.

[ARC]

I just got "slack" with having driven it for awile...
I felt like... ehh tis fine little trailer...
My screwup....
Never again.

 

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[ARC]

pepperj... tis crazy story...
I would have asked for my money back on rental.

 

[chirper97]

One tip for the trailer novices:

Bearing buddy.

Before each trip, give a fresh shot of grease into each bearing!

Available at walmart.

 

[ARC]

Chirper...
I had gone to walmart and bought them... at a tune of almost 30 bucks...
filled them full of marine grease... and still went out...
Only one bearing... the inner axle side only.
The outer was like new...
just a fluke... first time for me...
I know all about bearing buddies...
have known and used em forever... will not have a trailer without em.

I have been through so many boat trailers/trailers in my years...
When I buy a trailer... I drive directly home... AFTER greasing bearings on site....
Then trailer will not move again until I have THOUROUGHLY gone through entire trailer...
Including brand new bearing and buddies...
this is standard for me...
this one I greased and buddied... and instead of heading straight home with it...
I took detour thinking... ehhh nothing is wrong with these... trailer is well kept new shape....
WRONG I was.

 

[Higgy]

I always check bearings... and keep spares...
EXCEPT TODAY !!! heh
What a damn day is all I can say...
Sheessh people if you own a trailer be it a boat trailer or whatever... CHECK.
Best way to check is to jack each side and grab tire with both hands....
one on each side and try to wiggle it...
Any "play" and it should tightened or replaced...
Cotter pin removed and castle nut slight tight...
Bearing buddies or not...
IF YOU HAVE semi a lot of "play"... REPLACE BEARINGS before you drive it.
OR you will feel like I do...
First time for everything I guess... gotten complacent I guess.
Arrrrrg.
Off to shower.

Arrcie, old buddy, I feel for ya. I can relate. BTDT for sure. It only had to happen once to me for me to be rather anal about being sure my trailer bearings are good. Yesterday, I drove into Manchester (ManchVegas, if you are local ), to pick up a log-splitter deal I saw on Craigslist. It was way too huge to put in the bed of my pickup, so I towed it an hour's drive home. I made darn sure that I stopped and checked the wheels in a parking lot before I drove any distance though. I didn't do it there - crazy CL people - creepy people and creepy neighborhood.

 

[Limitool]

NO LOL !!! BUT...
that is so funny you just said that... heh
SO... we are *****ing and YES you are gonna "love" this part...
We ARE SWEATING OUR ASSES OFF... I mean dripping wet..
It had to be friggin 90 in that damn parking lot...
No joke man...
ANYWAY... One of the guys there says... "well it could be worse"... "it could be raining"...
The old line from the movie Young Frankenstein...
Of course I just looked up at him WITH BEARING GREASE ALL OVER ME... which has got to be the
WORST grease BOTH in smell and "durability"... which in my case only seemed to work well when I went to wash my hands of it.

***** word WAS B word.... rhymes with old lady who rides a broom.

Yep one drop of that axle grease goes a million miles and when used/burned it stinks also. Kind of like roofing cement/tar... I always say I'm NOT going to get this stuff on me anywhere. Hell, I might as well dive inside the can head first and just get it over with... Brad

 

[pepperj]

I wasn't sure what the car hauler had so I looked up on the spec. sheet and it comes with dual E-Z Lube axles, something to repack come spring as the mileage is still low on the trailer. It's recommended that it's done every 10K, but I really think it has to a lot to do with weather heat, load, speed, moisture. The trailer is only 50% loaded at a time (one way it's empty) speed on highway can range from 50-75mph, weather -30f-+85f, and in all types of conditions.

Good read and a very good reminder to put it on the to-do-list.

 

[texasred777]

Back in the mid 70s, I got a phone call about 2:30 a.m. from my brother-in-law. They, him, my sis, and 3 children, were broke down about 50 miles from where I lived. On the highway, too far from town to walk, very little traffic, and Sunday morning. I drove to the site. He had a Ford pickup with a camper, with a little Jon (?) boat on top, and towing a trailer with an old Lincoln welder to power the a/c in the camper. They had been fishing/camping down in south Texas and were returning to Ft. Worth. The passenger rear bearing 'went', snapped the axle; the wheel was about 50 feet behind the truck. We got the old axle out of the rear end housing, found the race for the bearing broken and part of it welded to the housing. Tried to chisel it out, but wouldn't budge. Waited a while for auto supply to open in the town, about 8 miles away. Bought a little rotary file, bearing, seal, and grease. The auto supply people called a wrecking yard owner, who came and sole us a used axle. I happened to have a little a/c drill motor and the Lincoln welder supplied the power. That little rotary file cut that bearing race out of the housing! Was very careful and didn't nick the housing enough to cause trouble. Got everything installed, and they were on their way. He kept that old truck with the camper for several years and never had trouble with the bearing we replaced, so I guess we did a decent job! I got home a little after noon that day.

 

[hvacker]

I know I wasn't the only guy to loose a bearing but I didn't expect so many. I had a bearing fail on my dual axle trailer along with loosing the brake drum tire and wheel. My PU is quiet and I didn't realize it had happened until I pulled in for gas.
Not sure what to do. I had a logging chain and a pad lock. So I jacked up the axle, wrapped the chain around it and the frame and locked it down. I was at an Indian village and some kept coming over asking for money. Finally I told them if I don't figure a way to make it home I'll be asking you for money. I doubt they had heard that before but they quit asking. Another invited me to stay at his home if I couldn't get it going.
You might be surprised how good gas mileage is at fifty MPH.

 

[DonDigger]

I've pulled single axle trailers for many years and many miles without issue but I do take a lot of care. I currently haul a large motorcycle cruiser around the country in a fully enclosed ramp equipped single axle rig painted to match my truck. I always check bearings for grease and preload before going more than a short ride and have started using an infrared thermometer to check bearing heat at every stop. Just point and read. Instead of failing all at once they will start running hot for quite a while giving you the opportunity to replace the bearings before complete failure. Don't use multipurpose grease, opt for high temp bearing grease instead. For boat trailers use marine specific trailer bearing grease.

Temps will vary due to ambient temps, loading, grease, and bearing preload. Take some readings and get an average for your trailer while its warm from pulling at highway speeds. Both sides should be fairly close to the same. Check at every stop and any imminent failure will be preceded by a spike in temp on the bad bearing. You can check by feel, but I use the infrared thermometer to keep from driving around with possibly greasy hands.

 

[hvacker]

I know a guy that works for Intel and all he does is measure bearing temps. Down time is pricy fir Intel.

 

[ARC]

SO... Update...

I just built the best trailer trailer parts/bearings/tool box. and is very small and portable.
IF I am ever in that situation again...
I will simply open box and begin the damn task.
CONTENTS -
1 Box of Nitrile Gloves ($6.00) - Nitrile Gloves - 100 Pack of Disposable Nitrile Gloves, Large
1 Collapsible 4 way tire lug wrench ($8.99 ) - 14" Stowable Four-Way Lug Wrench
1 Small grease gun - ($9.99) - Grease Gun with 3 Oz. Grease
1 Pack grease (3 tubes + tube that came with the grease gun) (cannot find on HF site ? ) blah blah...
1 medium set of channel locks.
1 Needle nose pliers.
1 EXTRA cotterpin (even though bearing set comes with one.)
1 for now... but am gonna get another type for my other boat trailer... SET OF bearings.
1 rag.
1 GOOD hammer.
1 chisel with GOOD solid head to beat on... any with bigger area to hit adds some hand protection... obvious a plus.
And an assortment of beatable chisel and small crow bar and longer 12 inch plus sized HD screwdrivers or the likes.

AND IN MY OTHER HAND... so if we meet... and you wanna go out in YOUR BOAT... expect me to bring the following as well.
DECENT mini floor jack. heh.

I will never ... ever tow a trailer without this box... ANY trailer... THIS INCLUDES EVEN YOURS !!! heh
this pain in the arse scenario was first for me in all the years.
BUT
While doing this I remembered helping an old friend MANY years ago do the same thing that I just did.
My boat trailer stays in top notch shape...
I always touch hubs... change out bearing when I see the slightest wobble when I jack her up about once a month.

I got slack and just assumed on this other trailer.
Never again. heh

 

[Nugs Bunny]

The trailer bear cartel makes more $3000 of a $1000 trailer on bearings alone!

I travel aloooot and see disabled trailers of all shapes and sizes along the Nations hiways and biways. I have often wondered why they don't make them comparable to the ones in a car or truck.

I have replaced worn bearings but haven't ever had one fail, even in the ones in the beater mud bog trucks I have owned survived some pretty extreme conditions.

 

[ARC]

The trailer bear cartel makes more $3000 of a $1000 trailer on bearings alone!

I travel aloooot and see disabled trailers of all shapes and sizes along the Nations hiways and biways. I have often wondered why they don't make them comparable to the ones in a car or truck.

I have replaced worn bearings but haven't ever had one fail, even in the ones in the beater mud bog trucks I have owned survived some pretty extreme conditions.

Agreed Nugs...
A car axel bearings last 250,000 miles or more it seems... sheesh prolly even longer...
WITHOUT greasing them EVER.
Go figure.

 

[DonDigger]

Small diameter trailer wheels will rotate at a much higher RPM than your truck, rv, or full size car. Small utility trailers with 8 or 10" tires turn extremely fast compared to the tow vehicles tires. Another factor for boat trailers is after being towed for an hour or so on the highway we have a habit of immediately backing down the boat ramp and submersing the trailer to launch the boat. Why else would we have towed it, right? Well the bearings, hubs, and axle are all pretty warm, even if working perfectly. They get submerged and immediately cool down to water temp. This caused the air inside to contract and sucks in water past the rear grease seal. Bearing buddies help here since they are usually full of grease and have very little air space left to cool down. But they also causes the bearing to run a bit warmer.

Bottom line is when selecting a trailer get one with at least 14 or 15" wheels and full size tires. And use grease specifically made for boat trailers which is more water tolerant.

 

[ARC]

My boat tires are 15's...
Never had a prob...
Always watch / maintenance them.

This was maiden voyage of trailer I just bought from an estate... which was an hour away.
It has 12's on it.
Before driving any trailer and also on this one...
I stopped by Wal-Mart and grabbed a set of Atwood bearing buddies...
and bring my trusty Estwing mini sledge hammer (tis perfect flat side for install) ... and of course my marine grease gun to fill em...
This is standard for me... before I drive any trailer.
Unless it already has bearing buddies... but I still always fill with grease before moving it.
I jacked up trailer when I bought it earlier and wiggled tires to see how much play if any...
was next to none ... so I felt confident that bearings where in order.
added the BB's and grease and took off...
1 hour later... an 3 miles from home...
all heck broke loose.

 

[bzbadger]

ARRC im sorry this happened to you and sometimes I think you hear or see something for a reason. I was just asked if someone could borrow my trailer for the upcoming St. Patrick's day parade. This post has me thinking I need to check the trailer thoroughly now.

 

[dieselram94]

Yup, sucks! Been there done that. As preventive maintenance in my garage right now is 2 new leaf springs, hubs and bearings for my aging boat trailer. Before I use it again I will install said parts lol


Sent from a empty soda can!

 

[texasred777]

Another story: In the mid 70s, I was working for Gulf Oil distributor. We also had a truck that delivered butane and propane. The driver called the office one evening just as I was leaving for the day. The boss stopped me as I was driving out of the parking lot. He asked me to go with him to check on the truck. The driver said he felt a 'wobble' in the front end and pulled to the side of the road and stopped.
When we got there, nothing was visible that would have caused the wobble. I placed a jack under the front axle and started pumping the jack. As the wheel cleared the ground, I tried to shake the wheel. The wheel fell off! The driver swore he never heard any noise. The spindle was broken and the bearing welded to it. The driver was very lucky to have been going so slow when he felt the wobble. If he had been driving 60+ miles an hour? And with almost a full load of butane/propane?

 

[Fletch88]

Bearing buddies or not, if you are dunking trailer in saltwater the best practice is to pull hubs and bearings every year, clean out old grease, re-seal hubs and hand pack fresh grease! Ask me how I know not to trust that bearing buddies are keeping everything greased and functioning! Not fun when 50 miles away from home!