Trailer bearing questions

[eleeski]

Why did I get a new boat that everyone wants at their tournaments? My boats were always happy on the boatlift. Who needs a trailer?

 

Kirk stole my nice new trailer that I stole from Stan. But the College kids need my boat for the tournament next week. UCSD abandoned their rotten trailer decades ago in my boneyard. Now I need a trailer. Stealing the wheels off Ryan-Sandy's junkyard bound van, some fresh steel, some 6011 (that's welding rod that penetrates heavy rust for the gameboy generation) and some Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and that trailer might not collapse under my boat.

 

Maybe I should check the wheel bearings. Wow! These look really pitted. And the seals are - well, not there. Now what?

 

Serious question. How good do the trailer bearings and seals need to be? The bearings are heavily pitted. The races are heavily pitted. The bearings are otherwise in good shape. The seals - well I hope there is enough for the bearing shop to identify. The round trip to Imperial is 150 miles. I might have to go there again in October.

 

Additional serious question. What grease do I use? The marine grease is an Aluminum base grease. Is that compatible with the Unoba EP grease I use on my tractors? Which grease is better for the occasional trailerer? How clean do I need to get the bearings if I switch grease bases?

 

One last question. What is the best solvent to clean the axles and parts with? WD40 sort of worked. Brake cleaner did not work at all (that was surprising - I use that on lots of stuff). Something that will dissolve the grease with a bit of spraying.

 

Thanks, Eric

[boarditup]

Replace the bearings, races, and seals. Most any marine grease or heavy duty grease will work - clean and repack if you switch greases. PB blaster will soften up most stuck greases and rust. You can also use a torch and wire brush (brass bristles to avoid scoring).

 

If the bearings fail, the wheel will fall off. That really sucks on the highway. It is much easier to replace in the driveway without trucks fanning your butt at 75mph.

 

Keep one grease gun filled with marine grease - you need it for your rudder anually anyway.

[A_B]

@eleeski, you may find this article helpful. I have been thinking about doing mine at some point.

 

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb3/content.php?187-Trailer-Bearing-Replacement-Here-s-How

 

 

[Chef23]

You need to replace the bearings I had one shred on a short trip last year and the wheel pretty much seized. Etrailers.com has parts and videos that can help.

[Chuck_Dickey]

@eric

 

I have a new Mastercraft trailer you can borrow for a short time. It's for my 2011WTT. Call me if you want it. It's in Lake Elsinore

[LeonL]

I'm with these guys. If you see pits in the bearings and races you're just asking for trouble on the highway. Apologies beforehand to our Ohio friends, but I'm referring to weekend wallys anyway. A friend of mine who ran a service station near I-75 used to ask the question -- "Where do Buckeyes do bearing maintenance? Answer-- "On I-75 South". Seriously, a friend of mine in Indiana was headed to FL last Spring and the bearing on one trailer wheel seized up and the spindle snapped off before he went 15 miles. (2007 trailer)

[Jody_Seal]

What the Hell Eric run it till it catches fire or causes an accident on the highway. Just make sure and take pictures of the aftermath.

[ForrestGump]

Even new bearings can fail. I bought a new Nautique in 96 with a new trailer. Had 120 miles on trailer and one of the wheels fell off at 55 mph. Castle nut was still there but bearing and bearing retainer were gone. You should have seen the cars on the highway run for the bar ditch as I was trying to reel that bad boy in without flipping it. LOL

[eleeski]

@Chuck Thanks for the generous offer. If something happens putting this POS trailer together (or Stan steals it from me - I do owe him one) I might have to call you. Be careful though, if tournament people know you have a new boat.....

 

OK, OK I'll spring for new bearings. AB, nice link. Jody, would they really light on fire? That might be kind of fun!

 

Eric

[A_B]

I take no offense, as I travel east and west in Ohio.

[ntx]

I was pulling a new 6 month old Nautique when a set locked up. Wheel stopped turning and yes the tire caught fire. Luck it was in Michigan in early March with some snow still on the should of the freeway. Drove the trailer off in to the snow to put out the tire and had to flat bed the trailer and boat to Correct Craft dealer in Indiana for repairs.

 

[Dirt]

I'm glad to hear you are going to change the bearings. There was a fatal accident in Los Angeles years ago where a wheel came off and went into oncoming opposite direction lanes. That would really suck

[GAJ0004]

I just had the bearings repacked on mine after 8 years. Our trailer only gets used to store, launch and recover the boat. It never leaves the lake unless we are towing the boat to a marina for service. I grease the bearings before each trip more than just a boat launch. It normally sits in the garage when not in use. Surge brakes need repaired though..

 

[RichardDoane]

@GAJ0004 try bleeding those brakes, they may come back to life

[wski1831]

When putting the races back in I put them in the freezer and bake the hub at 200 degrees. They seem to go in a little easier. Also if you do the brakes it is usually easier to do the complete backing plate with the brakes and wheel cylinder already installed, just four bolts.

[wski1831]

Oh one other thing if you use gas as a solvent skip the baking the hubs.

[GAJ0004]

The marina told me that the brake assembly on each wheel need to be completely replaced. The trailer is one of the last of the correct craft trailers(they quit making their own in 1995). It corroded because it was not used enough. I think the trailer has less than 1200 miles on it.. It is in good condition overall. It gets washed and waxed after the boat is on the lift, and it sits in the boat garage all year long. The marina told me it would be $500 to repair them..

[eleeski]

Boats are too heavy! As the trucks get lighter (and more fuel efficient) the boats we tow get harder to tow. The Ford Ranger was barely able to make 55 and wiggled all the way to Imperial. At least the rusty trailer didn't fall apart - sort of.

 

The new bearings worked fine after installing them (until 1:00AM the night before). I put on my best set of tires (heavy duty with lots of tread and stored in the container) and aired them up to the 50psi specs. 30 miles down the road (in the middle of a cell phone call) one tire disintegrated! Maybe I shouldn't complain as there was no accident, I had a spare, I had a floor jack, the breaker bar still had the right size socket on it, it was between rain squalls and there was no fire!

 

Still, trailering sucks. At least the tournament went off well. And the college kids wiped off my boat (my protective coating of dirt is gone - for a while).

 

Eric

[ntx]

@eleeski

 

Did they use your boat for jump last weekend? If so, my kid said it was "SWEET" and "felt great into the ramp"

Thanks for all you do to help the college kids

[eleeski]

My boat pulled every event. Shared duties with the 200 (but didn't have the rerides the 200 did!). My boat is a sweet boat for everything (except the 15 off wake is a bit hard - shortline rocks. A design tradeoff?).

 

College skiing is where I got my start. College skiing creates the future skiers, judges and supporters of the sport. College skiing is worthy of our support.

 

Eric