What bearings?

[breezeblock]

bearings are cheap the whole replace the hubs thing after 7 times sounds like a crock of shit to sell parts some sealed trailer bearings have a bit of rock in the bearing from new anyway Xk59D you finished with my socket yet you've had it for weeks how long does it take to fit a hub

[Fender]

Originally Posted by nicksharpe

How on earth has an argument sprung up about something as boringly prosaic as trailer hub bearings?

Because whatever the subject matter, some members are always looking to pick holes, to criticize, start an argument and I dare you to go against their incontrovertible opinion!! - that unfortunately is just the way some people are

My glass is always half full

[Budgie1]

Also have Extreme unbraked trailer with sealed hubs and like OP skeptical how long they would last having had to changes bearing at least yearly sometimes more on previous trailers!

They have been brilliant!! trailer now three years old gets regular dunking (approx 50 a year) done close to 6k miles and never touched the bearings still as silent as the day I bought them

[Dry_Doc]

We have Alko waterproof bearings on our RIB's trailer, and I changed them last year for the first time. They were 13 years old and had just started to develop a little bit of play.
They get a six monthly inspection/lubrication as part of the brake service (brakes suffer far more than bearings IME!). You can't really get much grease into the bearings, just what you can press in through the gap between the inboard and outboard bearing outer races. I use Sapphire Aqua 2 waterproof grease, which seems to do the job very well indeed.
New nuts and caps is a must, they're cheap enough.

[nicksharpe]

Originally Posted by Dry_Doc

We have Alko waterproof bearings on our RIB's trailer, and I changed them last year for the first time. They were 13 years old and had just started to develop a little bit of play.
They get a six monthly inspection/lubrication as part of the brake service (brakes suffer far more than bearings IME!). You can't really get much grease into the bearings, just what you can press in through the gap between the inboard and outboard bearing outer races. I use Sapphire Aqua 2 waterproof grease, which seems to do the job very well indeed.
New nuts and caps is a must, they're cheap enough.

That's very heartening. Can you remember if you needed any special tools to fit the new ones? I've a fair few tools but I don't live in Halfords.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Yep one shot nuts and a good torque wrench with new caps as said for the alko bearings

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

Yep one shot nuts and a good torque wrench with new caps as said for the alko bearings

Not forgetting some very good circlip pliers, penetrating oil and heat to remove the pair that will most likely be well rusted into the groove by now

..... suitable mandrels to remove and replace the bearing

..... if you don't have access to a press >>>> a very big hammer and patience.

Alko recommend not to reuse the hubs more than 3 times - the principle being that the interference fit between the outer race and hub casting lessens I guess. This effect is probably made worse by knocking out as opposed to pressing. I replace mine every 2 years as a precaution but disregard the above. A spot of loctite or similar ?

If the boss doesn't object, a slow bake in the oven can help bearing replacement they say

https://www.westerntowing.co.uk/blog...aled-bearings/

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by breezeblock

bearings are cheap the whole replace the hubs thing after 7 times sounds like a crock of shit to sell parts some sealed trailer bearings have a bit of rock in the bearing from new anyway Xk59D you finished with my socket yet you've had it for weeks how long does it take to fit a hub

If ,,,, and only if, the outer race isn't tight with the bore of the hub, you don't actually have a fully working bearing . ;-)

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by nicksharpe

I've just bought a 4.5m RIB on an Extreme trailer. The bearing say waterproof, but obviously they can't be, so will need maintenance.



Having had a set of (non-waterproof) bearings fail on the motorway recently (different trailer) I'd appreciate some advice, namely:

1. How often do I need to replace these bearings?
   
2. Is it easy to do so?
   
3. What parts do I need
   
4. Where do I get them from?
   

All help appreciated.



Best,



Nick

I’ve had 2 trailers with the AlKo water proof bearings & I never had one fail. Like you I was skeptical in the beginning & changed them after 2 years & they were like new. I did try & save some money by buying some pattern replacements but these showed signs of water ingress when I did the annual inspection, so I swapped them for OEMs. I sold the last one with 5 yr old bearings & they were fine. The number of times you can re-use the hub is a red herring, the trailer will have rotted away before you wear the hub bores. I used to clean the crap off annually & smear copperslip on the in/outside of the bearings to keep crap away from the seals. I used a press to change the bearings, much kinder to the hubs & bearings. I have also been known to re-use the “one shot” nuts & nothing fell off[emoji6].

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I’ve had 2 trailers with the AlKo water proof bearings & I never had one fail. Like you I was skeptical in the beginning & changed them after 2 years & they were like new. I did try & save some money by buying some pattern replacements but these showed signs of water ingress when I did the annual inspection, so I swapped them for OEMs. I sold the last one with 5 yr old bearings & they were fine. The number of times you can re-use the hub is a red herring, the trailer will have rotted away before you wear the hub bores. I used to clean the crap off annually & smear copperslip on the in/outside of the bearings to keep crap away from the seals. I used a press to change the bearings, much kinder to the hubs & bearings. I have also been known to re-use the “one shot” nuts & nothing fell off[emoji6].

Spot on as usual Dave,,, SKF... others are pants
I might push out to 3 OCD years now [emoji4]

[jeffstevens763@g]

personally i wouldn't re-use the one shot nuts because they are elliptical when new and stretch to form the lock nut onced used they stay stretched so not as effective im sure alko recommend single use and for the price of them piece of mind IMO

https://www.tauntontrailers.co.uk/ge...-nut-244-p.asp

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

personally i wouldn't re-use the one shot nuts because they are elliptical when new and stretch to form the lock nut onced used they stay stretched so not as effective im sure alko recommend single use and for the price of them piece of mind IMO

https://www.tauntontrailers.co.uk/ge...-nut-244-p.asp

It was when I used the pattern bearings. After that I used the genuine kits that came with a new nut.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

It was when I used the pattern bearings. After that I used the genuine kits that came with a new nut.

yep not condemning anyone dave bit old school me if it ain't got a split pin i'm cautious even had to buy a torque wrench that went up to the required torque just thought i'd mention it just in case someone not familiar wasn't aware
thats why i mentioned non waterproof bearings mine sometimes rumble after 3 months not what the OP asked but it's there for comparison ive found the back seals let them down more that the caps.

[Last Tango]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

<<<<<<<<< ive found the back seals let them down more that the caps.>>>>>>

I found grease nipples were the culprit with this.
Once they've been "topped up" a few times there's no compressible air space left and the next squeeze on the grease gun pops the seal out of the back of the hub.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by Last Tango

I found grease nipples were the culprit with this.
Once they've been "topped up" a few times there's no compressible air space left and the next squeeze on the grease gun pops the seal out of the back of the hub.

yep agree i thought of sticking something at the back to stop that but not looked into it

[Dry suit diver]

Run 2 trailers with Al-Ko waterproof braked hubs on the one with the 7m RIB and Knott waterproof braked on the trailer with the 6.5m RIB . Guess which one has had the most bearing failures .. the last one being on M5 at Easter ...

No play at last check a week before trip. Hubs not warm after 100 miles ... just a major bearing collapse

[jeffstevens763@g]

how old were the bearings out of interest

[Dry suit diver]

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

how old were the bearings out of interest

A shade under 12 months . They had done over 3000 miles and were running smooth with no play at all.

[jeffstevens763@g]

wow thats crap i changed mine at 6 years and didnt need to just i got paranoid