Trailer Maintenance
Trailer Maintenance
Submitted by Jared Linkhart
Trailer maintenance, such a super fun topic, right? Last fall, starting an overnight trip on the Rogue, we helped a group stack a broken trailer on to another trailer, because the bearings had completely failed due to failure to prepare.
Many of us use trailers for our weekend excursions, and they are a key part in successful trips to the most remote areas of the united states. Could your group stand to lose a trailer on the Owyhee, Middle fork Salmon, or Grande Ronde? Okay, those are the extremes, but needless to say, we rely on our trailers to haul our stuff out, and none of us want to deal with problems on our vacations.
In one of my past careers, I worked on trailers of all assortments, and trailers that enter water are the most vulnerable to bearing failure due to moisture. When driven a great distance, the hub and bearings warm up, then are submerged into cold water, causing a contraction within the hub, sucking some moisture into the hub.
Over time, the moisture will rust the bearing surfaces and break down the grease. Bearings are simple devises that rely on precision machined surfaces. Any rust on those surfaces will quickly end the bearing’s life. Bearings with a little damage can easily be replaced, but a bearing that completely fails and overheats can ruin a hub, or the entire trailer axle. I’ve replaced probably over 100 trailer axles due to this kind of failure.
Trailer hubs have a good automotive grease seal on the back, and in the front typically is a grease cap that fits snug on the hub face over the end of the axle, but it does not have a proper sealing surface, it is just a metal on metal fit.
For these reasons, I personally pull my hubs every year, clean and inspect the bearings, pack a significant amount of grease into the bearings, and then i coat all of the interior of the hub and axle with grease. The next step is to replace the hub seal, and re-install the hub onto the axle.
For boat trailers, there is really cool product you can install on you hub called a bearing buddy. This seals a bit better that a standard grease cap, and it has a plate with a spring that keeps positive pressure in the hub at all times. There is also a zerk fitting on the plate to add grease periodically to your hubs. (Caution, you can add too much grease) I don’t extend the service interval because of the bearing buddies, I still say your best defense is to pull the hubs every season to properly inspect and service.
Most of us use a trailer with no brakes and is a 2,000 lb or 3,500 lb trailer axle. The design is kept generic so different brand axles will take different brake parts. (Typically, your axle sets the trailer gross weight rating, so if you have a 3,500 lb trailer, you have a 3,500 lb axle) I carry a spare 3,500 lb trailer hub on my trailer as a spare tire mount. If anyone suffers a failure with me, I hope to have what we need to limp them out of where ever we are.
If you are wanting to get this service performed, but don’t want to do it yourself, most shops that service trailers can do this for you for a fee. If you are interested in doing this yourself but don’t feel comfortable just diving in, feel free to reach out to me at , and I would be happy to help!