Check yer bearings

[PACMEN]

Was headed to the Berry last Sat. morning when BAM we lost a wheel and dropped an axle end on the freeway.
Looking out the mirror it looked like someone had lit off a 4th of July commercial fireworks fountain.  Got the rig pulled over and immediately started checking for fires on the side of the road.  We were lucky in that it was early enough so that things were still cool and things a bit damp from rains the week before.
The end of the spindle was glowing cherry red.  U-bolts were ground off and leaf spring was skidding on the mounting plate.
We were in luck as I was able to call a friend and he brought up a trailer with misc. tools etc and we were able to load the thing.
Left home at 5:15 and got back home with the boat and trailer loaded on his trailer at 1:30pm.  

Not quite the fishing day that we had planned.
New axle that I ordered is $600 with all new components. 10 days to get it here then the install so no boating for a bit around here.

I must have had water in the bearings and that was the end of it.

I am definitely going to be more diligent in my bearing duties from now on.
Yesterday I started repacking another trailers bearings.  Only have 2 more trailers to do after it.

[fishinfool]

Was headed to the Berry last Sat. morning when BAM we lost a wheel and dropped an axle end on the freeway.
Looking out the mirror it looked like someone had lit off a 4th of July commercial fireworks fountain.  Got the rig pulled over and immediately started checking for fires on the side of the road.  We were lucky in that it was early enough so that things were still cool and things a bit damp from rains the week before.
The end of the spindle was glowing cherry red.  U-bolts were ground off and leaf spring was skidding on the mounting plate.
We were in luck as I was able to call a friend and he brought up a trailer with misc. tools etc and we were able to load the thing.
Left home at 5:15 and got back home with the boat and trailer loaded on his trailer at 1:30pm.  

Not quite the fishing day that we had planned.
New axle that I ordered is $600 with all new components. 10 days to get it here then the install so no boating for a bit around here.

I must have had water in the bearings and that was the end of it.

I am definitely going to be more diligent in my bearing duties from now on.
Yesterday I started repacking another trailers bearings.  Only have 2 more trailers to do after it.

I check the bearing on the boat trailer twice a year. Once in the spring while I am getting things ready for the season. I jack it up check for slop and rotate it check to see if it is grinding at all, And check the rear seal to see if it is loosing grease out the back. That is the sign you're going to have some troubles. The second time I check is mid season or close to the fall it is a simple seal check and pump a little more grease in them. 

One thing I see over and over is folks over filling the bearing buddies with grease. They blow the rear seal out letting water in. Second is not using marine bearing grease. Regular grease will fail instantly if water gets in. Marine will not.

[N.E.T.O.]

I carry a tool kit and spare bearings and grease with me, and always have. In 30 plus years of boating, I've never used that tool kit for MY OWN rigs..but I've used it PLENTY of times for friends and relatives on the side of the road. People don't take bearings seriously because it's out of sight, out of mind.

Yes, it can happen to you, and does quite often, and it happens fast. If you are lucky it only ruins the fishing trip.

You need to check for noises and play and leaks often, and feel the hub(s) at each stop. If they are "more than warm" to the touch, you need to service your bearings. If you can wiggle the wheel back and forth more than just a little bit (a little bit is normal) it's time to service your bearings. If your grease seals or hubs are leaking...you need to service your bearings. If you hear noises when the trailer is rolling...or better yet, jack the trailer up and spin the wheels..if any rumbling, ticking, or scraping noises...you need to service your bearings. If your grease cap or bearing buddy falls off...that is an indication that you've got some play in the bearings and they need to be serviced. Dont' just buy another one and hammer it back on.

Here is a good rule of thumb: Service your bearings once a year either in the fall before you put the boat away, or in the spring before you get it out for the first time. By servicing, I don't mean squirting some grease in them. They must be pulled apart, inspected and regreased or replaced and with new seals.

I'm old enough now that whenever I'm invited on a fishing trip, the first question I ask is "when is the last time you serviced your bearings?". Just because I have the tool kit and parts does not mean I want to ruin my vacation on the side of the road fixing your lousy bearings because you were too lazy to do it yourself conveniently in the driveway.

Can you tell this is a little sore spot with me?...



Oh, also...service your bearings.
Randy

[Troutster]

Great info. I don’t have a boat but I’m checking my little flat bed bearings this weekend. Thanks for posting!

[SkunkedAgain]

Good post, I just had a similar failure on my disk, but it's a sealed bearing so you can't service it, but my point is bearings have gotten a lot more expensive, my replacement cost $160 for the bearing and $70 for a seal.... They used to cost less than $40 for both.... Plus I had a week wait for the parts to arrive, assuming they do get here today... Anyway it's a good idea to take care of them so you don't ruin your trip or worse your equipment and someone else's due to fall out from the failure... Later j

[Kent]

Last year, I decided it was time to replace my bearings, because the last time they were replaced was in October 2014. After pulling the bearings I discovered that my old bearings were in excellent condition and didn't need to be replaced. I replaced the bearings anyway and then the trouble began. After losing multiple bearing buddies I decided to just start over with new hub kits. That helped, but I still lost a couple bearing buddies.

I regularly squirt a little grease into my bearings and feel them often. Fortunately, my diligence has paid off so far.

[catdaddygar]

One more thing you never want to do is launch your boat and leave your trailer in the water till you return. I used too see it alot at Bear Lake along the beaches. I too never go with anybody on the first trip of the year I call it the break down cruise.

[wiperhunter2]

Last year, I decided it was time to replace my bearings, because the last time they were replaced was in October 2014.  After pulling the bearings I discovered that my old bearings were in excellent condition and didn't need to be replaced.  I replaced the bearings anyway and then the trouble began.  After losing multiple bearing buddies I decided to just start over with new hub kits.  That helped, but I still lost a couple bearing buddies. 

I regularly squirt a little grease into my bearings and feel them often.  Fortunately, my diligence has paid off so far.

I had the same thing happen a year ago. Do you do your own work Kent? I took apart my bearing to inspect and repack them, everything went well until I took it out for that first trip, when I got back home my bearing buddy{BB} cap was missing, so I assume I just did not put it on tight. I bought a new BB cap but it did it again, so I took it apart and the first thing I noticed was the nut was way too loose, I guess when I tighten it, I did not spin the wheel then tighten the nut again. That is all it takes to make those caps come off. I tighten it and never had any more problems. I should have known better but it won't happen again.

[lakepowellnut]

Happened to me last year on I15 just outside of Fillmore, except my tire lug nuts sheared off. Either the tire shop tightened them too much or I was sabotaged in the Lake Powell parking lot. Glad I have insurance.

[Bduck]

Last year, I decided it was time to replace my bearings, because the last time they were replaced was in October 2014.  After pulling the bearings I discovered that my old bearings were in excellent condition and didn't need to be replaced.  I replaced the bearings anyway and then the trouble began.  After losing multiple bearing buddies I decided to just start over with new hub kits.  That helped, but I still lost a couple bearing buddies. 

I regularly squirt a little grease into my bearings and feel them often.  Fortunately, my diligence has paid off so far.

I had the same thing happen a year ago. Do you do your own work Kent? I took apart my bearing to inspect and repack them, everything went well until I took it out for that first trip, when I got back home my bearing buddy{BB} cap was missing, so I assume I just did not put it on tight. I bought a new BB cap but it did it again, so I took it apart and the first thing I noticed was the nut was way too loose, I guess when I tighten it, I did not spin the wheel then tighten the nut again. That is all it takes to make those caps come off. I tighten it and never had any more problems. I should have known better but it won't happen again.

Curt, this not always the case but not wrong either. I lost a BB cap on the way to Strawberry noticing it was missing at the marina. I still launched not letting it spoil the day of fishing. The grease I used was a good superior grease which repelled the water from bearing corrosion. On the way home we stopped off at an auto parts store in Heber City and purchased a dual pack BB. Installed for the rest of the trip home. The nut was not loose to cause it to come off. Previous to the trip I installed 4 new sets of wheel bearings. After the trip I investigated for a reason of why it came off in flight and this is what I came up with. I rechecked the remaining 3 that still was installed and found 1 of them that felt loose to the point I could rotate it slightly until it tightened up but could not pull it out by hand. Then I went about the usual way with a hammer tapping side to side up & down on the cap until it came out. To this day I don't know if there is a BB removal tool but sure there must be one and never even looked to find one especially since a faithful hammer does the job. This is what I found, the insert sleeve portion while tapping removal gets reshaped. This is how I remedied my situation so I wouldn't have to purchase all new BB's and its been working.


 
First I get a center punch



Next I would position punch in approx center inside
sleeve in 3 places around sleeve giving it love taps
until a dimple on outer side appears. It doesn't take 
too much of a tap.



Finally insert sleeve end into bearing
hub but not all the way leaving a small
gap. Next I used a high temp RTV running 
a small bead around BB sleeve and finish 
tapping sleeve up against bearing hub. Make 
sure areas are clean & free of grease for RTV to
adhere. RTV will bunch up, you can leave it or as I do 
take your finger around smoothing RTV
and remove excess leaving a fine bead. This 
further water tightens any possible seepage.
Have not had any issues with any water
penetration in the 5yrs having this trailer.

I don't care to fix a thrown bearing out on the road. Good Luck with your project.

[wiperhunter2]

Good idea Roger, thanks for sharing it with us.

[PACMEN]

In checking another trailer I found a pitted bearing. The bride is picking up the replacement today when she goes into town.
This is a dump trailer that never sees the lake.
2 more trailers to do.

---

New axle day!!!
Axle was supposed to come next wednesday but it just showed up 2 min. ago.
I am in total awe that we got it 5 days early.

Now all I gotta do is finish the trailer in the driveway and on to the boat trailer.

[FishfulThinkin]

One more thing about Bearing Buddies is that they come in several sizes to fit different hub diameters. Some are only a few thousandths  different in diameter. I put in the wrong Bearing Buddy one once and it was pretty loose until I discovered it was actually not meant for my hub. The correct one was actually only 2 or 3 thousandths larger but fit nice and snug. I have actually decided that I prefer a bearing cap in lieu of the bearing buddy now. My thinking is that since I'm pulling the hub apart every year anyway that a bearing cap is sufficient and it fits very snug. The Bearing Buddy can only get grease to the outer bearing so you have to pull the hub to grease the inner bearing anyway.  I second the recommendation to repack and inspect both bearings and the seal every year. It's a pain, but not as big of a pain as being stranded on the side of the road for 6 hours!

[Kent]

Last year, I decided it was time to replace my bearings, because the last time they were replaced was in October 2014.  After pulling the bearings I discovered that my old bearings were in excellent condition and didn't need to be replaced.  I replaced the bearings anyway and then the trouble began.  After losing multiple bearing buddies I decided to just start over with new hub kits.  That helped, but I still lost a couple bearing buddies. 

I regularly squirt a little grease into my bearings and feel them often.  Fortunately, my diligence has paid off so far.

I had the same thing happen a year ago. Do you do your own work Kent?

Sorry, I have been out of town (fishing for sturgeon).  This was the first time that I did my own work.

[wiperhunter2]

Last year, I decided it was time to replace my bearings, because the last time they were replaced was in October 2014.  After pulling the bearings I discovered that my old bearings were in excellent condition and didn't need to be replaced.  I replaced the bearings anyway and then the trouble began.  After losing multiple bearing buddies I decided to just start over with new hub kits.  That helped, but I still lost a couple bearing buddies. 

I regularly squirt a little grease into my bearings and feel them often.  Fortunately, my diligence has paid off so far.

I had the same thing happen a year ago. Do you do your own work Kent?

Sorry, I have been out of town (fishing for sturgeon).  This was the first time that I did my own work.

At least you had no more issues after loosing a couple of the BB's, could be what the one member said about them being a slightly different size.

[Kent]

At least you had no more issues after loosing a couple of the BB's, could be what the one member said about them being a slightly different size.

I lost more than a couple and quite sure that they were the right size.

[wiperhunter2]

At least you had no more issues after losing your BB's you are talking about the cap that hold   a couple of the BB's, could be what the one member said about them being a slightly different size.

I lost more than a couple and quite sure that they were the right size.

I'm guessing when you say you lost your BB's, you are talking about just the caps, not the actual bearings, is that correct?

[Kent]

I'm guessing when you say you lost your BB's, you are talking about just the caps, not the actual bearings, is that correct?

Bearing Buddies or similar other brands.

[wiperhunter2]

I'm guessing when you say you lost your BB's, you are talking about just the caps, not the actual bearings, is that correct?

Bearing Buddies or similar other brands.

OK, so I was talking about the cap or bra and it is called:



You actually lost the part that the grease goes in:




You did not have to replace the bearing that goes behind them, other than you replaced them because you had them apart to inspect them.

No more problems with them after you did it the last time? How many years did you have the BB's on before you replaced te bearings?

[Kent]

Curtis, "Last year, I decided it was time to replace my bearings, because the last time they were replaced was in October 2014."

I first installed two trailer bearing kits and two new bearing buddies (the part the grease goes in) (used my old bras). I lost both bearing buddies and of course the bras. I tried two more Bearing Buddies and lost both of them. Took off the new bearing kits and installed two new hub kits. Lost one Bearing Buddies and replaced it. Lost and replaced one of the bras. Haven't lost anything else since March, of this year, and so hopefully I am good to go for several more years.