Trailer bearing care and other maintenance

[convergent]

I just bought the boat in my signature and wanted to get some tips on what kind of maintenance I need to be doing on the trailer. It is in good condition, other than a little surface rust on the axle that I plan to sand and repaint on a raining day in the garage. What kind of maintenance should I be doing on the bearings? I'm pretty handy and have rebuilt car engines years ago, but never maintained a trailer. Also, what are bearing buddies? I don't think I have them, but just curious if I need them?

 

[jusfloatin]

Re: Trailer bearing care and other maintenance

Any trailer that I or a friend has purchased, the first thing I have always done is to replace the bearings.
You can get a good quality bearing kit that comes with everything you would need to change them out for under $25.00 a side.

As for your question on the bearing buddies;

Again if the trailer came with them I would place them in the same spot I would put the old bearings.
They give a false sence of security, buy a set of factory caps and check the bearings before each trip. It only takes a couple of seconds and you will know for sure whether water got in. This also give you a chance to look at the tire.

Nothing worse than changing a flat tire or leaving the trailer at the side of the road while you hunt down a bearing kit.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trailer bearing care and other maintenance

Just because you recently bought a trailer does not mean you need to "replace" bearings. What you do need to do is thoroughly inspect the trailer for proper light operation, loose bolts, broken parts, and the other obvious visual things. Wheel bearings should be inspected, replaced if necessary, and repacked if the inspection shows they are ok. There is ample information on the web for bearing removal, cleaning, inspection, and packing. Bearing sets are readily available at any auto store or any department store that sells boating supplies.

Bearing Buddies look like this and are available right here on iBoats.

http://www.iboats.com/Bearing-Buddy/dm/*******.924992671--**********.007157595--view_id.39431

 

[jusfloatin]

Re: Trailer bearing care and other maintenance

Just because you recently bought a trailer does not mean you need to "replace" bearings. What you do need to do is thoroughly inspect the trailer for proper light operation, loose bolts, broken parts, and the other obvious visual things. Wheel bearings should be inspected, replaced if necessary, and repacked if the inspection shows they are ok. There is ample information on the web for bearing removal, cleaning, inspection, and packing. Bearing sets are readily available at any auto store or any department store that sells boating supplies.

Bearing Buddies look like this and are available right here on iBoats.

http://www.iboats.com/Bearing-Buddy/dm/*******.924992671--**********.007157595--view_id.39431

Silvertip has givin you good honest advice as always but as for the bearing replacement I would bet Silvertip finds much better projects then me.