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| The bearings on my trailer started to go last night on the way home from our cabin. We made it home but will have to replace them. How hard is it to do yourself? Thanks | |
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| If you are at all mechanically inclined, should be a piece of cake. Make sure you have all the stuff you need prior to starting it though. Makes things go alot easier. I did mine earlier this year and ended up having to replace seals which I didn't have on hand. After tracking them down, I finished about 3 days later. Total work time was only about 3 hours or so though.
By the way, how did you find they were starting to go?? I usually check mine for heat at every stop I make. I've never had any problems with any of the trailers I have towed. Maybe because I keep up on the prevetative maintenance stuff, I don't know.
Good Luck and Be Safe,
Scott | |
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| Scott, thanks,
I have my bearings repacked every spring, but I don't usually check them at every stop. I started to hear a grinding type noise when I would make turns, but I was about 1/2 mile from home when it happened. When I got home I checked them and one side had grease that had splattered over the wheel. The bearings were hot to the touch, but didn't smoke or seize. In fact, they weren't even hot enough to get burned by leaving my hand on them. One other question though. This year we also have a one year old. In addition to him we also bring our two New Foundland dogs with us that weigh about 130 lbs. each. With the additional room we need for the baby we had to pack a lot of stuff in the boat which added to the weight on the axle. Will the added weight make a big difference in the performance of the trailer. I could use one of those travel bags that fit on top of the car, but I figured that would reduce my fuel economy more than just putting the stuff in the boat.
Thanks for the help,
Bob | |
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| Don''t know what you''ve got for trailer or what your, boat motor and equipment weigh...and this is only my non-expert opinion. But, unless you are hauling an awful lot of stuff in the boat or unless your trailer axle is pushing max with just the boat, I would say that it''s not hurting anything hauling that stuff in your boat. Most of the sales people I have talked to will usually put an axle at least one bigger than needed for just that reason. A lot of people now haul extra stuff in the boat when travelling.
I think most trailers run around a 2000 pound axle nowadays for any average sized 16 ft+ boat.
Just for example, I have an 1150 pound axle on mine. My boat/motor and equipment can''t be more than maybe 750 lbs. Motor is approx 120, boat guessing around 500 or so and then when you add on rods, tackle boxes, miscellaneous equip maybe another 100 to 150. But, that''s just ballparking it. Now subtract what the tongue weight is to see how much the axle is carrying and for mine I would guess around 500 to 600 pounds.
Kind of ball park it for your boat and see what you come up with. If you are really concerned you could take it to a scale (there should be a truck stop, gravel pit, construction company, landfill or state scale somewhere around your area). I''d load it up like you would normally trailer it with boat, motor and regular equipment. Then, guesstimate what you would put into it and then subtract what the tongue weight is. That will give you how much the axle is actually carrying.
Without knowing what your boat and motor is and how much you "pack" into the boat besides I''d only be guessing but...I would be real surprised if you are over the load rating for the axle. By the way the axle rating should be listed on the VIN plate on your trailer. Unless it is really, really old. My trailer is a 1991 and it has the axle rating listed on it.
If you don''t want to go through the trouble of weighing the trailer, you should be able to come close to what it weighs by checking your owners manuals and adding up the weights from what they give. I''d add about 10% for fudge factor too.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck and Be Safe,
Scott | |
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| Scott, thanks,
I have a Ranger boat and trailer so I would guess that their trailer is rated high enough, but I'm going to add it up myself to find out. Thanks again for your help.
Bob | |
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| Definitely put in new seals when you change the bearings-Bad seals or lack of grease/maintenance are usually the culprit that causes the bearing failure- if grease spattered the wheel -the seal is shot.[:((]
"It's your choice to Catch'em & Let'em Go!"
Al
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Trailer Bearings