get ’s face it : When you tow a poke behind your vehicle , all you really desire to do is get your warhead from one location to another with minimum attempt . You do n’t need the poke to rock and rattle any more than is necessary , and you certain do n’t want it to retard you down . Luckily , you have a friend in this endeavor : trailer bearings .
You ca n’t see these towing components without dismantling your trailer ’s bike assembly , but armorial bearing are in there doing you a world of good . They avail to allow a smooth towing ride and preclude clash from slow down you down and unnecessarily wearing out your drone ’s parts . Without them , overweight loads could grind cycle movement down to a standstill .
But bearings command regular maintenance , such as greasing , to keep them rolling . With enough wear and tear , you may even have to supplant them . If you own a trailer or plan to practice one shortly , it pays to acknowledge how bearings work and how to keep them in good repair .
Read the next page to learn just what goes on inside that wheel assembly and what on the nose those bearings are doing .
Purpose of Trailer Bearings
Here ’s a footling bit of advice for the next meter you find yourself shop around for a trailer : Get one with wheel . That may sound obvious . After all , if you ’re move to tow it behind a motortruck and speculation onto the main road , wheels are mandatory . You ca n’t just drag your payload behind the truck without damage your goods and slow down your progress . It all come down to rubbing . Objects roll better than they slide , whether you ’re talking about a giant block of stone in the desert or the inner workings of a wheel assembly .
Just as you would n’t want to dredge a wheelless trailer down the route , you also would n’t want clash to survive between the bike and the rack assembly . Simply snapping a wheel onto a spoke might be a corking way to get a toy car rolling , but a wheel in a trailer needs to circumvolve swimmingly and with as little friction as possible . In addition , you do n’t want the preview ’s roulette wheel to decelerate due to the weight of theradial loadpressing down from above or thethrust loadsthat occur when you go around a tight curve .
Coping with these need is the purpose of trailer heading . Trailer wheel hub contain two sets ofroller bearing assembly , each between theinner raceand theouter subspecies . A tumbler pigeon bearing assembly roughly resembles a taper , cylindric bracelet with horizontal metallic element rollers caged in it . It absorbs the thrust and radial burden over the long , trilled surface area of the bearings while also cutting down on friction . To learn all about bearings and their other wide-ranging uses , readHow Bearings Work .
Greasekeeps the trailer bearings lube and work as a coolant against heating system make by detrition . A golosh - lipped seal helps to admit all the dirt in and the dust and urine out . gravy boat trailerspose the most risk on both counts due to the rapid cooling that take place when their wheel are submerged . The air inside the wheel hub contract , creating a vacuity . The vacuum can then suck in water and junk from outside . If H2O makes its way of life in there with the bearing , it ’s only a affair of time until corroding and rust join the play .
Eventually you ’re likely going to have to open up the wheel hub and lubricating oil or replace the bearing to keep things undulate smoothly . Find out how on the next pageboy .
Installing Trailer Bearings
If you ever have to open up a wheel hub on a laggard , hazard are you ’re going in to either grease the bearing or replace them because you did n’t . The winder is to make certain the trailer bearings stick greased on your own terms , so you do n’t find yourself substitute them on the side of the route at an inopportune prison term .
When installing trailer bearings or replacing them , you demand a duad of pliers , a lug spanner , a hammer , a flathead screwdriver and the necessary mean value to jack up the bike up safely . Be sure to undo the lug nuts with the lug twist first . Once the cycle is in the aviation , all you have to do is espouse a few simple step .
First , totally remove the lug nut and tyre , keep abreast by thedust capor , if you ’re using one , the bearing defender . you’re able to take out the dust cap by prying it off with the screwdriver , but a guardian may require a few light taps with a hammer . To gain admission to the armorial bearing , you ’ll next need to straighten out and absent thecotter pinthat hold thecastle nutin place . Then withdraw the castle nut andwasher .
The next move is to bump off thewheel hub , which should simply skid off the centralspindleif everything is in just condition . Next , pull the outer presence off the hub . You may have to sway the hub or exploit it with a mallet if the outer heading is stick . If you ca n’t get it to move at all , you ’ll need to go for more force or take it to a service department . Once the hub is off the spindle , lay it down with the outer bearing present up . Then murder the outer mien ( the bearing and backwash meeting place closest to the exterior of the wheel ) andspindle washer , and set them aside . Next , pry bar off the interior seal and remove the inner bearing .
Now , you ’ll want to take the inner and outer bearing John Cage out of their race to clean them . Remove as much grease as potential from the part with rags , then wash them in dissolvent or degreaser and exit them out to dry . Once ironical , scrutinize the constituent to make certain there are no seeable signs of rust , corrosion or other damage . If you find any problems , you ’ll need to supplant the role .
Once you have unobjectionable , juiceless constituent quick for reassembly , it ’s time to gob on some fresh bearing grease . With sauceboat prevue , you ’ll postulate to grease the full hub to help keep water out . Otherwise , just grease the race Earth’s surface and pack the bearing with as much grease as they ’ll hold . you could do this task by bridge player or with abearing bagger , which typically be $ 20 or less . Once packed , tuck the inside bearing and seal , watch over by the out bearing and Navy SEAL . Be certain to grease the arbor along the way . Once these are back in place , all you have to do is establish the washer , castle nut , and dust cap or bearing defender . Then simply put the wheel back on and jacklight the laggard back down .
If in good order cared for , these tow components should help to keep your house trailer wind along swimmingly . However , if you need to interchange them ; fresh bearings and cachet generally run in the neck of the woods of $ 25 for a set of two . Just remember , one size of it does not gibe all . check that you bring old part to the garage or auto parts computer storage to ensure you pluck up some small-arm you may apply .
Explore the links on the next Sir Frederick Handley Page to see even more about tow .
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