Boat trailer loses a wheel...


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Old 06-15-18, 01:05 PM
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Boat trailer loses a wheel...

While leaving my laneway this afternoon one of the wheels on my boat trailer decided to self-destruct, and went for a ride across my neighbors lawn.

The pictures show the aftermath.

I assume this will be a relatively easy fix, but how do I know what parts to get? The brakes have not been functional for years, so I guess I can do without anything brake related.

If there had been all the parts showing in the parts diagram below, they are nowhere to be found.
 
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Old 06-15-18, 01:16 PM
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You need the hub assembly with bearings and seal. The races will come off the spindle when you remove the nut/washer/cotter pin.

When you pack the bearings for reinstallation, force a good grade of paste grease into the bearing cage from the larger end until fully packed. The lip on the seal goes on the bearing side. Then fill the hub with the bearing buddy grease zerk in the dust cap.

When you get that done do all the other wheels on the trailer with cleaning the bearings and new seals.
 
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Old 06-15-18, 03:31 PM
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You need to look at your trailer and see how the spindle is attached. If it is welded to a square plate and held with four bolts then you can replace the spindle. If your spindle is welded to the axle then you need an axle.

At the minimum I would also replace the spindle on the other side. If you look at the mounting end of the spindle there is rust on the spindle face where it was welded to something so it had cracked a long time ago. Then you can see the fresh steel where the remaining steel let loose. Since this wheel had cracked a long time ago I question the condition of the other side. If it were me I'd replace the entire axle which would give you the opportunity to get the brakes working. I would also clean and carefully inspect your leaf springs looking for cracked or broken ones.
 
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Old 06-16-18, 04:19 AM
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IMO the overall condition of the hubs would make trying to repair them a bad idea.
It's hard to make out but your pic makes it look like the drum has been cut off the hub that has failed.
It looks like you have torsion axles with hydraulic brakes........is this so?

You really need to replace the whole axle.
Whether you replace what you have with a braking axles would be determined by local regulations.
Here we need brakes on 3500 lb capacity trailers.

Some pics of the the trailer showing the axle set up may give us some different ideas.
 
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Old 06-16-18, 04:35 AM
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That's a rubber torsion axle (probably Henschen, Northland, or Dexter) and appears to be a 3500 lb cap axle. There are some variations of that capacity. If he wants to put it back on the road without brakes all he needs is the hub assembly with bearings. The seal seat has been ruined with the hub coming off the spindle. As Greg said the drum is missing.

If he wants to have brakes on the repair, he needs the hydraulic brake and the hub and drum assembly with bearings. Those are typically unicast hub/drums.

There's no need to replace the entire axle just from what he is showing on this side. Since his bearing went out on this hub, though, he needs to service the entire undercarriage. He probably can't service the rubber inserts that serve as the springs, though. They require burning out and reassembly with nitrogen or some other freezing equipment.
 
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Old 06-16-18, 05:00 AM
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Hard to tell from the pics, but the place on the spindle where the grease seal "seals" looks pretty rough. That's where water gets in if the axle ever gets under water. Ask me how I know!
Good luck, Steve
 
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Old 06-16-18, 05:48 AM
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The main reason boat trailers lose bearings is from water intrusion during loading/unloading boats. That is why it's important to use bearing buddies and pump the hub up with grease right before it goes into the water. Otherwise the inside hub temperature drops when submerged. That creates a vacuum, pulling in water. The bearing buddy is spring loaded which compensates.
 
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Old 06-17-18, 03:30 AM
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Do the Canadian Provinces require that Trailers be Registered and Inspected periodically ?

Here in Vermont, if the Trailer was equipped with Brakes, then the Brakes would have to be in such a condition that they would work. Wheels can't be falling off and the wiring and hitches have to work too.
 
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Old 06-17-18, 03:48 AM
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I would guess the races are welded on to spindle after the wear I see. Almost impossible to get off. Even if they come off spindle is ruined.
 
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Old 06-17-18, 04:38 AM
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The rules regarding trailers in Canadian Provinces vary somewhat but in Manitoba non-commercial trailers with a GVW of 10,000 lbs or more require an annual safety.
Also, trailers of over 2000 lbs GVW are required to have brakes but this regulation is not enforced.
Based on the "junk" small trailers I see on the road highway officials seem to be blind to any non-commercial trailers that appear to be under 10,000 lbs.
 
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Old 06-17-18, 07:31 AM
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The point Pugl is making about the races having turned and damaged the spindle is a good point. Some of the machining on those things are a little liberal and the race can turn with a dry bearing. Whether it has fused to the spindle would depend on a lot of things. You will just have to take the races off to check for damage.

We sold and serviced that type of undercarriage for a number of years. Probably we saw about one in ten with ruined spindles when the bearings went out. But the chances of that happening goes up significantly when you have the hub coming off like this one has.
 
 

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