Trailer Needed

[smdonald]

Hi guys. Had an issue today on the way to the lake. My wheel bearing exploded sending the wheel and hub assembly down the road in front of me. Quite a bit of damage to my single axle trailer. Im not sure what to do. Do I get a new trailer, or do I repair the one I have? I've been thinking that I really would like to upgrade to a tandem axle trailer. Question is, where can I find one? I have a 2005 SANTE 210. Anyone know where there is a trailer available for my boat? With my current storage situation I need to have a trailer with a swinging tounge.

Any help is appreciated.

[shag]

I would think it would be cheaper to repair your trailer. A new trailer will be between 3-4K, unless you can find a used one maybe around 2K. What is 'quite a bit of damage??

[smdonald]

The fender is bent pretty bad, prop guard looks bent and is scraped up pretty good. The center rail in front of the axle is scraped. Hub assembly and all brake parts are shot on one side of the axle. The list goes on.

Id really like to find a used tandem axle trailer. Any ideas on where to look for one?

[brock.higdon]

The fender is bent pretty bad, prop guard looks bent and is scraped up pretty good. The center rail in front of the axle is scraped. Hub assembly and all brake parts are shot on one side of the axle. The list goes on.

Id really like to find a used tandem axle trailer. Any ideas on where to look for one?

Good luck finding one used. I wish you were local and I would buy yours and fix it.

[nyryan2001]

SM-

Highly suggest you look at repair. Any decent sized RV, utility or other trailer retailer will have mechanics that specialize in trailer repairs... and from my experience in it over the last few years its not terribly expensive as compared to other automotive repairs as they are easy to work on, and get to the parts easily.

[emjayem]

On another note, how could you prevent this? How would you even know if the bearing was failing? Any signs to look for?

[swankster]

What PM's did you do on the trailer? Is it 10 years old? Every so often we turn off the radio and listen for change in noise. Also, on stops we check the temperature to see if it has changed.

[s_kelley2000]

A quick and easy way to check bearing before a long trip is to jack up one side of the trailer, spin the wheel and listen. Should spin smoothly and be nice and quiet. If you hear any grinding noises that is not a good sign and they should probably be taken apart, inspected and repacked. While it's jacked up you should try to wobble the tire back and forth. It should not have much give at all. If there is much play then something is off with the bearings. The best thing to do is take them apart at regular intervals (varies depending on your usage) to inspect, replace any parts that look worn and then repack them with fresh grease.

Checking for exessive heat whenever you stop is also a good idea. Look in the rear view mirror for any sort of wobble as well.

[emjayem]

Good tips, thanks.
My bearings say "no service necessary".... do I believe that?

[ski4evr]

Sounds like an oil bath bearing. If so, they are truly not intended to be serviced, only inspected for fluid levels. However, they do not like being dunked in the lake after being heated up going down the road. UFP sent me replacements for mine when I added brakes to the second axle. The engineer was very insistent on sending me free replacements if I would change out to their greasable bearing buddys. The folks at UFP were great to work with and had everything I needed to complete the job, along with pictured instructions.

[Chexi]

I have been waiting and watching for 3 years to find a used original SAN tandem trailer (to no avail). Your best bet is to repair or buy a new one without all the unnecessary bells and whistles.