How to grease my trailer bearings

[lfadam]

bturner — looks great.

FYI was able to do those baseline diagnostic tests that SilentSeven suggested.

The good: Castle nuts and bearings appear to be in good working order. Silent as a lamb when spinning the wheel and no significant play in the castle nuts.

The bad: Think my rear seals may be leaking or bad as there was some grease on the back of one of the wheels. And brakes are definitely not working as one of the calipers fell off. Got some work to do this Fall.

[bturner]

If you're getting grease on the backs it's time to replace them. Make sure you're getting the right seals, it's easy to get the wrong ones if you order online and can't compare. Keep at it, it'll be like new in no time.

[Scooter G]

bturner, spacers look superb! Did you have to run longer bolts, I'm assuming?

[lfadam]

If you're getting grease on the backs it's time to replace them. Make sure you're getting the right seals, it's easy to get the wrong ones if you order online and can't compare. Keep at it, it'll be like new in no time.

That's the next challenge—finding parts. Apparently Trail-Rite went out of business a long time ago so it's going to be a real challenge.

[SilentSeven]

Wheel bearing inner seals are 99.9% of the time off the shelf standard parts. You may need to pull a hub and remove the existing seal to ID the part. There will be number on the rubber portion of the seal that just about any auto parts store can look up and order. Or, in the chance there is no number, measure with a caliper the diameter of the hub where the seal rides and the OD of seal. A good parts guy can find the right part based on these numbers.

Good tip:

Keep a OneNote or something similar with a catalog of all of your trailer part numbers - wheel bearings, races, seals, brake pad, hub and axle manufacturer. If (when?) you have a roadside breakdown and need to hustle parts, this list is a lifesaver - you call the autoparts store and say you need standard part X part. Bang...solved. If you call the parts store add say you need a wheel bearing for 2004 model year DHM dual axle trailer...you get a whole lot of nowhere.

Here's what my cheat sheet looks like.... (for my 2004 DHM dual axle trailer!)

[MN Ryan]

Good advice from SilentSeven. Agreed, you may have to do some digging and cross referencing, but it'd be rare that your trailer has a bearing, seal, etc. that isn't common. I have an Eagle trailer, and they have a parts list online (for my '07!) that lists part numbers for bearings and seals which was very helpful. (here's a link for anyone with an Eagle http://hltlimitedtrailers.com/wp-con...-size-only.pdf)

I got my order of seals, bearings, races, tab washers, and grease caps from eTrailer last week. I need to grab a new tub of grease (Lucas Red & Tacky is what I normally use), and I'll be reluctantly ready to tear into them. It's getting cool here in MN.

[gary s]

When I'm towing a tandem many times it's between 500 and 1500 miles. I don't bother to carry a jack for reasons above they either are too short or unstable. Took a tip from travel trailer guys and built a small ramp out of 2x6's. Use it around the garage when working on the hubs as well. Throw it on the ground either pull forward or back up depending on which wheel needs to come off and it's done