TRAILER QUESTION

[rough_shag]

Just wanting any advice on what to do if my boat trailer has a bearing die or similar problem out on the highway.Any ideas would be great.Cheers!.Jace.

[blaze]

I carry my spare wheel on a complete hub/ stub assemble, so I have a full set of pre greased bearing ready to go. If you do proper maintance on the trailer you should never have a problem. I dont call bearing buddies and the like mainteance, just an escues for not doing it
cheers
blaze

[finga64]

preventative maintenance is the key...
Do you dunk the trailer Rough shag, if so maintenance will be quite regular.

Maintenance isn't just poping the dust cover off and having a gander. You have to remove the wheel and hub, clean and inspect all bearings and seals and then repack the grease. After a while it become second nature and takes no time at all.

I'm basically lazy so I don't dunk the trailer at all and therefore don't have to do the maintenance as often.
I'm with Blaze, I don't use bearing buddies but a lot of blokes do. There are some pro's and cons with them. It's your choice.

Do a search on trailer bearings and bearing buddies here and you will get some good advice on bearings and trailer maintenance in general.

[troy]

What Blase has said is the way to go.
Not a good idea of changing bearings on the highway but if your not set up like Blase has said it can be quite painful.
Troy

[Grand_Marlin]

Good advice Guys. :)

Dont discount the bearing buddies though.... good quality ones are a brilliant addition to the trailer.

The main downfall can be if you dont have marine seals on the back of the hub, and the correct axle machining.

Pretty well all newer trailers are fine, but some of th eolder ones gave trouble. The pressure from pumping up the bearing buddy forced the seal out, a lot of the grease (especially from the inner bearing) and gave way for water to be let straight in. It was worse if the hub was hot when dipped in the water 'cos the rapid cooling of the hub actually sucked water straight in.

Cheers

Pete

[Grand_Marlin]

Always dismantle and check your bearings every 12 months... more if doing any highway work.

If the bearings are still ok, leave them in for another 12 months.

I always replace mine every 2 years maximum.

I always use Timkin or NSK bearings... they are a bit dearer, but top quality ... still cheap insurance !!

There are a lot of Chinese $hit bearings on the market... buyer beware.

[Dignity]

Jace, bin there, dun it. Good advice here. Do the maintenance get to know the trailer and you will find that things are easier if anything goes wrong. Happened to me twice. The first time when some one else replaced the bearing for me and it lasted all of 3 trips before collapsing in a heap. The second time was on a long trip up into the Territory and one of the trailers had a collapsed bearing, when asking the driver where his back up was "Didn't bother as I replaced them all for the trip". We were lucky the other trailer owner had a set and they matched.

I have a tandem and find that I need two jacks to change my tyre let alone worry about bearings, one to lift the frame up and the second to lift the cradle. Also found a good piece of wood to use as a base for the jack is necessary as you often don't have the luxury of good bitumen when it happens. Don't forget some rags and some soap in a tube, all the right socket sets, some spare wheel nuts, grease etc. Do it at home, write down everything you used and then put it together into a kit. I keep one with my fishing boating gear all the time and just grab it and throw it into the vehicle everytime I hook the boat up.

[rough_shag]

Thanks for the good advice boys,I am currently putting together an emergency bearing kit as recommended.Cheers!.Jace.