Just curious how often people service/replace bearings in their dual ski trailers. After the 4th I *may* haul my skis about 5 hours one way to a family members cabin but I am pretty skeptical as I have never trailered them over 1.5 hours. I often feel the hubs just to make sure they aren't about to light on fire after trips, but they've never been anything past warm. Should I take them apart and at least repack them before this, or should I just replace both wheel bearings? The last thing I need is to be stranded on the highway if I lose a wheel 5 hours from home.
Recommended bearing service life
- Thread starter Jhucke
- Start date
2lick
Brap!!!
- Location
- Limerick, PA
Bearings are cheap. Your time isn't and vacations are not either.
If your questioning them and your gonna invest your time into repacking and inspecting, why not just put in new. $50 about the same amount of your time and no worries.
If your questioning them and your gonna invest your time into repacking and inspecting, why not just put in new. $50 about the same amount of your time and no worries.
Kind of what I was thinking, thanks.
- Location
- Canberra, Australia.
After an incident many years ago where my entire wheel and hub assembly detached from the trailer and ended up in a valley I have made sure to carry a spare wheel, a complete hub and the necessary tools effect the repair. Haven't had so much as loose wheel nut since then so I've benefitted more than just by having peace of mind.
- Location
- the jetski grave yard
after a short trip, I get out and feel the hubs too. if they are warm and not hot, there is no problem. if they have bearing buddies, keep them full. jack up the trailer and just spin the tire. if its smooth and quiet, they are good. if its dry and sounds rough, its time to get in there and probably replace. if the bearings that are in there are good, and you replace them just for the hell of it, you may be putting in junk bearings that will fail long before the ones you took out would have. bearings and races are easy to inspect. they should be smooth with no pitting or roughness on either surface. when its jacked up, I check them for looseness and retighten if necessary. you can hand pack the bearings by scraping them full on a greasy hand palm. takes a few minutes
CD155MX
Squirrel!!!
- Location
- Alta Loma, CA
I'm a big can of bearing packers. Makes the job a little quicker and easier.
- Location
- Canberra, Australia.
You can find a lot of complete bearing replacement kits around that are cheap but they are often Chinese-made and are cheap for a reason. I prefer to use the Timken kits as they have a good reputation.
- Location
- Los Gatos, CA
If the preload is correct and they are greased it seems unlikely they will fail suddenly and catastrophically.
I agree with Buzzard, feel how they spin or take it apart and check the races, rollers and cages. Definitely make sure it is not loose and has the correct preload, that will kill them fast.
I've definitely fallen victim to maintenance induced failure, because I tend to over-maintenance everything.
I agree with Buzzard, feel how they spin or take it apart and check the races, rollers and cages. Definitely make sure it is not loose and has the correct preload, that will kill them fast.
I've definitely fallen victim to maintenance induced failure, because I tend to over-maintenance everything.
Thanks for the input, I ended up deciding not to mess with it. I'm just a little paranoid about this thing because my trailer is the one thing I seriously neglect year after year and kind of take it for granted. It is old as hell and it literally sits in feet of snow through a good portion of the year.
- Location
- the jetski grave yard
i'm a big fan of bearing packers too, but I don't have one and haven't used one since I was a professional car mechanic 15 years ago. now I just use my hand , but only to pack bearings. lol I rarely pack bearings