Man, how MANY times do I have to see posts like this on social media?

 

 

When it takes only 4 mins to watch this:

 

 

Here in Florida I see boats on trailers on the side of the road all the time especially near saltwater.

 

Most boat owners do not properly maintain their bearings. So its not the tires a lot of the time around here. Its the "ignored" bearings putting them on the side of the road.

 

And bearings are quick and easy to maintain too. I keep a bearing kit with me on the road so I can repair and replace bearings and even hubs in minutes on side of road if I ever need to, but fortunately I never need to because I am one of the few who repacks bearings once or twice a year sometimes. And because of this I never have bearing issues. (Use full synthetic grease too and NOT petroleum grease)

 

Another good idea I do to my trailers is to drill out the hubs and install grease gun nozzles right in between the bearings so when I pump grease into my hubs it pushes old grease outwards in both directions through the bearings and makes sure new grease is getting to the bearings.

 

I recently replaced my old trailer and the first thing I swapped out was the hubs to put my custom modified hubs onto the new trailer and the new trailer's hubs are now on the old trailer.

 

I have to thank my old neighbor - now deceased- but H. Boyette was an old engineer who worked for SeaBoard Coastline. He worked on and maintained train cars and locomotives. He was an amazing mechanic who could use a tape measure and no notes at all and cut old cars in half and rebuild them like no other. He was an amazing neighbor to grow up around learning from and this hub trick came from him.

 

Won't see me on the side of the road! Not if I can help it!

 

 

I am a fanatic about keeping my trailer in top shape. I check tire pressure every month and I make sure the trailer lights are always working.

 

Also, I change the bearings and racers in both tires every year. And I still carry a spare hub packed and ready just in the event that something happens along with spare set of bearing buddys. 

 

I had a hub failure many years ago and ever since I don't take any chances. 

 

 

IMO the best thing to check the trailer is jack up each wheel and spin the tire.  Any deviation from dead smooth is a problem in the future.