Question About Using An Old Trailer

[Rickochet]

I bought a new 17' pontoon that came with a single axle trailer in 2000. It has the low profile tires. The trailer has very few miles on it as I launch the boat in the spring and store the trailer. For the past 5 years I have left the boat in the lake and trailer stored inside and it hasn't moved. It is equipped with bearing buddies that I always made sure had plenty of grease in them. Last month the boat was damaged in an ice storm. I am contemplating bringing it home (85 miles). The tires look like new but still they are 16 years old. And what about the bearings. I am really concerned about the tires and bearings just because of the age. I do have spare tire that has never been used. I thought about loading the boat and driving it around locally a few miles and see if there is any heat generated in the hubs.

Any suggestions on which way to proceed would be appreciated.

 

[oldjeep]

I'd be concerned about 16 year old tires, not about bearings that have been kept greased.

 

[GA_Boater]

Don't take a chance with the tires. With no weight, driving empty won't prove much. Put new tires on it.

Take the wheel bearings out and examine them. Stored inside the chances are the bearings only need packed, but the seals could be deteriorated.

 

[fishin98]

I concur with the prior posters, inspect the bearings....replace the tires....The dollars spent on tires, is nothing when compared to changing them on the side of the road.

 

[Rickochet]

I concur with the prior posters, inspect the bearings....replace the tires....The dollars spent on tires, is nothing when compared to changing them on the side of the road.

I agree. I have 20.5 x 8-10 C and I am seeing them mounted on rims shipped for just over $100 so that is a no brainer. Still wondering about the bearings. The bearing buddies I have have external indicators that show when enough grease is in them and keeps positive pressure in the hub. I don't know if that helps long term storage but it would be nice. Changing the tires for this old geezer with is not too bad but changing the bearings in the field is more of an issue.

 

[Rickochet]

Looks like bearings are pretty inexpensive. By the time I take the seal out and check the inner bearing I might as well put new ones back in. The trailer mfgr. gave me the part #'s for the bearings. Looks like it is a very common bearing for a 3500lb. trailer. I found them on Amazon and Ebay. I wonder if local auto parts stores like NAPA or Advance would have these?

 

[oldjeep]

Looks like bearings are pretty inexpensive. By the time I take the seal out and check the inner bearing I might as well put new ones back in. The trailer mfgr. gave me the part #'s for the bearings. Looks like it is a very common bearing for a 3500lb. trailer. I found them on Amazon and Ebay. I wonder if local auto parts stores like NAPA or Advance would have these?

Yes. also Northern Tool, Fleet Farm, etc

 

[Rickochet]

Yes. also Northern Tool, Fleet Farm, etc

While searching for bearings I noticed that at Northern Tool I can get a complete assembled and lubed hub assembly for just a bit more than the bearings. I got the hub specs from the trailer factory. The spindle is tapered with an outer bearing of 1 1/16th and inner at 1 3/8". The bearing numbers and grease seal part #'s match. A question I have is are all spindle lengths the same and are all hub lengths the same? This would be a quick and easier fix for me. Also the bolt pattern matches the new premounted tires I have ordered. The trailer is 85 miles from my home and I am not even sure if the trailer has 4 or 5 studs.

 

[GA_Boater]

I got a new axle and hub kits from NT, So far no complaints in over 3 years and a few thousand miles.

Except for a few oddball axles from long ago, spindles and hubs are standardized. The new hubs should fit and with the bearings/hub specs in hand, you're way ahead of the curve.

 

[Rickochet]

I got a new axle and hub kits from NT, So far no complaints in over 3 years and a few thousand miles.

Except for a few oddball axles from long ago, spindles and hubs are standardized. The new hubs should fit and with the bearings/hub specs in hand, you're way ahead of the curve.

I may have hit a snag. The Northern bearing part #'s match up to the OEM specs. The OEM grease seal is listed at 1 3/8. The Northern seal does not list a part # but lists it at 1.72". Any thoughts?

 

[Rickochet]

Something puzzling is going on. The info I got from the factory is for a grease seal "171255TB 1 3/8." Everything I am finding on the internet for that part # is 1.72" which is what the Northern hub has. I think the factory gave me the wrong inch dimensions. Wouldn't it be odd for the inner bearing to be the same id as the seal ID? There wouldn't be any steel for the inner washer to snug up against. I think I need to check with the factory again.

 

[airshot]

Why not just jack up the trailer and remove and inspect the bearings....this should be done every couple years whether you have bearing buddies or not. If bearings are not corroded then repack with fresh grease and check out the tires. Do they have cracks in the side walls? Any sign of deterioration then by all means replace them. If they look in good condition and are holding air without a problem then you should not have any issues. With a close inspection on the tires and freshly packed wheel bearings you should be good for a couple seasons. If the tires have sat out in the sun then they are probably rotted but if stored away from sun and weather they could still be good. My atv trailer is stored inside and it has 16 yr old tires that still look like new with no sign of deterioration.

 

[Rickochet]

Why not just jack up the trailer and remove and inspect the bearings....

Lots of other factors are involved. The trailer is in storage 2 hours away. I am an old fart with bad knees and back. A two hour drive isn't as easy as it used to be. If the trailer was home it would be no biggie to do as you suggested. The tires have never been removed from the hubs so I don't even know if the nuts will come off. The roads I have to travel to get the boat home do not have any safe shoulders to try to do a field repair if I smoke a hub. So, for $200 I get new pre-mounted tires and pre-greased hub assemblies. All I have to do is to remove the old tires/hubs and pop the new ones on. I got new bearings and seals for the old hubs for $25 and will rebuild them for spares when I get them home. $200 I consider cheap insurance for my safety.

 

[Rickochet]

Something puzzling is going on. The info I got from the factory is for a grease seal "171255TB 1 3/8." Everything I am finding on the internet for that part # is 1.72" which is what the Northern hub has. I think the factory gave me the wrong inch dimensions. Wouldn't it be odd for the inner bearing to be the same id as the seal ID? There wouldn't be any steel for the inner washer to snug up against. I think I need to check with the factory again.

Update. I got an email back from the factory and they insist that the seals are 1 3/8". I ordered some bearing/seals on ebay that shipped from a close city using the factory part #'s and got them today. The seals that the factory insist are 1 3/8" measure 1.719" ID with my digital calipers. I see these seals advertised as being for 1 3/8" axles but still list the ID of 1.719". So, the Northern hubs should work.

 

[airshot]

I totally understand your situation now, yep I would do the same thing........

 

[SeaDooSam]

As others said, I would definitely change the tires. But the bearings should be fine as long as you pack them with grease! I don't know if there is one near you, but Harbor Freight Tools has fairly cheap trailer tires.