Trailer Hubs/Axle

So my coworker and I were discussing trailers a couple of weeks ago. He was looking for a single axle utility for his side business, and said he had found a few close by that seemed like good deals. He ended up getting a used Big Tex, I think it is. The sticker said it was built last October. One wheel had grease all over it, and I mentioned that the bearings may already be shot. He said the previous owner owned a restaurant and hauled his old grease to the recycle center, and that was what was on the wheel. I bent down and smelled and yes, it was cooking grease. Now, for the heck of it, I reached down and wiggled the tire, and it had about 1/8' - 1/4" of play, same on the other side. I happen to have my trailer hooked up today to move a gun safe tonight, and it does the exact same thing. We just checked 2 more trailers here at work, and they do it as well. All 4 trailers were built within the last 4 years. Is this the norm now for trailers, or could all 4 trailers have worn the bearings enough to cause this problem? Mine only has maybe 100 miles on it since I got it. One of the companies trailers gets used a good bit, the other maybe twice a month during the summer and has maybe 300 - 400 miles on it. I do plan to check mine out during lunch today.

Seems to me they are a little loose. Is it a conventional wheel bearing and can you pop the cap and tighten nut a couple notches?

There was quite a discussion about this a few years ago. Royse bought a new one and the bearings went out real quick. Somebody had said that they're assembled and shipped with only about enough grease in them to keep them from rusting.

When I install new bearings I set the races good then grease the bearings and install the hub. I then tighten it down tight til I can't turn it to make sure it is all set. Then back off the nut til it spins easily. There may or may not be a slight click when you wiggle the tire but it shouldn't move. I would tighten them some. They don't need a lot of grease, just enough to cover the bearing.

I tighten them up firm and spin the tire some then back off about a 1/4 to a 1/2 turn. I currently have seven trailers and can't remember ever having a bearing problem. Your tire should have very little side movement if any.

Jon, this is called loading the bearings,setting them in tight and then turning off until they spin. THose new trailers did not have the bearings loaded properly and they are now junk, there is no way you should be able to wiggle a wheel on a spindle and get movement, if you do you will take the bearing assembly out in about fifty miles. When I do bearings I put a wad of bearing grease in the palm of my hand and I press the bearing cage over it and over it until I see grease coming out from around the bearings,spin them and do it some more, the grease needs to be in the bearing cage , not inside the hub and this is where a lot of people go wrong. I used to maintain a fleet of work trailers for a friend, 21 of them, some single axle, some double. On schedule the bearings were pulled, washed out and inspected, repacked and reinstalled with new seal and in the four years I did that job we never lost a bearing and those trailers went thousands of miles. You are correct about tightening the bearing and then loosening it off..Loading the bearing, the only way to do it right !

As mentioned earlier, a lot of discussion on this issue. I work on Class 8 trucks/semi trailers for a living and there are two schools of thought on this. If your bearings run in an oil bath, a bit of pre-load (no slack) is preferred. A grease packed packed bearing needs to be at ZERO pre-load new, or a bit of slack. Too tight will wear them out faster. Just my $.02 worth. I've been doing these for 40 years plus and had maybe one or two come back with issues, so I've been lucky!!

I have one of those outfits that you put a bearing in and push down on the plunger to push the grease in to the rollers,but absent of that,put some grease in a zip lock bag,put the bearing in there and work the grease in. It's a whole lot cleaner than doing it with your bare hands.

they'll run a lot longer loose then to tight, but I've got a couple that the notches in the lock nut either makes them to tight or a little loose, I've been running them loose and the trailer is a 2003.

I was just checking our sons cargo trailer recently, and there is a little slop to it, I will be adjusting them. It is the type with the zerk in the end of the axle, when you pump grease in the old grease comes out. I like to be spinning the wheel when doing this, then the old grease looks consistent. This system is very popular on boat trailers too. I always clean out as much old grease as I can to make room for expansion.

If grease type they are to be repacked at least once a year. The axles coming from the factory have hardly any grease in them and don't make it a year.

I have had the same problem with my utility trailers. There doesn't seem to be the adjustment to get the pre-load correct. It is either to loose or to tight. The threads on the axle stub are usually too course and there aren't enough choices for the cotter pin on the castle nut. As stated it better to be a little loose than too tight.

OTJ

I spin the tire and tighten the nut until the load makes the tire stop spinning. Then I back the nut off until I can turn it with my fingers and line up the castle nut with the hole in the axle and insert the cotter pin. I then spin the tire again and then shake it to check how much give it has - with no weight on it the top usually moves back and forth 1/8 inch or less. I've never had a problem with a greased bearing failing. I've had a few long days cause by dry bearings.

We pulled both of our caps off. None of the 4 nuts will tighten anymore than they already are and still get the cotter pins back in, so we just left them alone.

Sounds like the washers that are supposed to be between the bearing and the nut were left out, I would try to find some and install as there should be no movement in the wheel, just be able to turn it with your finger. About 60 years since I first greased a wheel bearing. And they are still the same bearings on that wagon.

Trailer manufacturers, even "good" brand names like Big Tex, hire the cheapest labor they can find to do assembly work. New trailer, old trailer, if you don't know who/when the bearings were packed, tear it down and redo it. Even if you get your hands greasy. And especially if it's one with a grease zerk on the axle; I usually find big bearing pieces eating little bearing pieces in these, 'cos nobody ever took them apart and cleaned them or inspected them. If you've the equipment, or a really good eye and steady hand, drill another cotter-pin hole 90 degrees off from the existing one, then you always have a hole that's near perfectly right for zero-clearance.

On a typical axle (with the tapered bearing cones facing each other),
do they get tighter or looser when the hotter temperature of the tire/wheel migrates inward
toward the innate temp of the bearing friction?

John,
I have a 2011 10k dump trailer with dexter axles. They have a rubber plug on hub so you can remove the plug and grease the bearings.

Recently I was having a short signal show up on my brake controller. To trouble shoot the issue, I just removed the ground wire to the front electric brakes. I got home using just the rear brakes. Then I removed wheels on front axle to inspect the brakes, which I found nothing wrong.

However I did find one rubber plug was damaged, dirt got in the grease around the outer bearing. I cleaned the dirt off and bearing was good.

There was no play in my (German) wheel bearings, they were good-N-tight.

I have no way of knowing how many miles I have on trailer. I will say, I put enough miles on it, I had to replace the tires.
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