Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I seem to have an issue with the front road side outside wheel bearing on my Renegade triple axle trailer.
I pack the bearings each January and the last two years that same bearing has gone out before years end. The same one none of the others. This year it gave up in July at mid year. Alignment seems ok it does not wear the tire different than normal and I have not abused it against curbs etc so I am at a loss for what is wrong.
This last failure I found many of the sticks from the bearing in the fresh looking grease inside the hub. Plenty of grease so it was not dry. From research on the internet of pictures of different failures the closest to what mine looked like called it a cage failure. I had never heard of such a failure however, I guess you learn something new every day if you just try.
The axles came with bearings marked Made in China. The trailer place I usually buy bearings told me that was where all their bearings came from and I have replaced them with the China made until now.
I found a bearing supplier that sold me Timken Made in USA bearings as a direct replacement. I am going to try them and in fact have bought a full set to change out all the China made as I pack them in January.
I am going to replace both sides of the front axle this next week and see how the Made in the USA bearings hold up.
Anyone with similar issues?
Any tips would be appreciated.
Thanks
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I`m no expert on this, if it was my trailer I would put a new hub on the axle with the problem, I have a 2008 Cottrell 7 car semi trailer and they had problem with the sealed bearing, they had bearing go bad & catch the trailer`s on fire, burn the trailer & all the cars on the trailer, They replaced all my hubs & bearing on warranty with sealed bearing, Then they recalled that fix & put oil bath bearing and new hubs on trailer. Tom

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Possibly too tight?? Makes heat and fails?

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,
I'm not familiar with these, is there an inner and outer bearing?
If so, when you replaced the outer did you replace the inner bearing assembly as well? IIRC if the inner one is somewhat loose might it cause the outer one to move and have cage failure?
I hate roadside repairs!

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Not to tight.
The other 5 would also fail if that were true.
I check them regularly for heat and the last failure came within a few miles less than 5 from a rest stop where I checked for a hot bearing.

Right now it has its second new replaced hub on it.


I just can not find a reason for the same one and only one to fail.
That is why I asked the question on here.
There is a lot of experience on this forum.

Thanks
Rick

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

It is a 8,000 Dexter axle with a larger inner bearing and a smaller outer bearing.
Both bearings and hub replaced each time.

One thing Dexter recommends is to torque the bearings to 125 ft lbs before backing them out and setting them with only finger tight and backed off to get the nut lock in place.
Basically zero slack in the bearings cold.
I have not seen this in black and white just the recommendation from one of the reps.
I have always set mine close to a flat on the nut loose once snugged up with a pair of channel locks for the last 40 to 50 years.
Yes I am old.
Thanks for the input.
Rick

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I had a problem with a different trailer than what we have now a few years ago, the rear axle bearing on the same side would run really hot so hot it would burn you if you held your hand on it. I repacked the bearings and it would still run hot. I knew it would be just a matter of time until it would fail. I pulled the hub removed the bearings even the seal and back bearings completely washed all the grease out and repacked the bearings with a good high temp grease rated the highest I could find and from then on the hubs run cool I could hold my hand on it after several hundred miles.

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

You know the problem.....CHINA.....you will be fine with the new bearings and a new hub....

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,
I installed a TPMS on my trailer a few years ago. Highly recommend them. Mine monitors pressure and has a temp sensor that monitors the temp around the wheel. These just screw onto the valve stems. I have noticed that the right side of my trailer seems to build more heat (not too hot) that I see by the fact that the tire pressures on the right side are approx 3# higher that the left. With that being said, I think mine is an issue with how my trailer is loaded. My dragster and related items favor the right side of my trailer. Not sure, but something like this may be part of your issue. Maybe the attitude of the trailer as it goes down the highway could be a problem. Does the trail tilt slightly downward in the front causing more weight to be put on that axle? The roads we travel on are not flat, maybe adding to your issues. This seems to be more of an issue with triple-axle trailers. It would be interesting if we could scale our trailers like we do our race cars. That would definitely tell something.
Dan

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Loading is an interesting thought. When towing the front of the trailer is about an inch or a little more taller in the front than the rear on level ground.
The trailer has a five foot lower and upper cabinet on the road side and is loaded with tools etc. I then pull a golf cart alongside the cabinet all the way to the front.
I would think the golf cart weight would offset the tool box however, the tools may outweigh the cart.
I will try to redistribute some of the weight along with the new USA made bearings.

I appreciate all the comments some of which I had not considered.
Thanks again,
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

The axle is out of alignment and putting pressure on that bearing or the tire has a weird wear pattern putting pressure on the bearing.

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I would think if the axle was out of alignment it would happen on both sides of the axle not just one side.

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I have looked at the axle pretty close and can find nothing.
The tire has no unusual wear pattern and looks no different than the other tires.
I may try to move the tire to another axle or move it to the spare.
The tires are almost 3 years old and will be changed out over the winter.
I always balance the tires so that should not be an issue either.
I have checked and looked and I am still at a loss to figure it out.
Same bearing twice now, it just makes no sense to me.
The loading on the road side with the tool cabinet and a generator has been the only thing I had not considered.
The trailer does have about 1500 lbs in tongue weight so the front axle is probably loaded heavier than the other two.
I hope the China bearing change to the USA made makes the difference.
Thanks for every ones suggestions.
I appreciate the help.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

The tire would show some sort of abnormal wear if the axle was out of alignment. If the tire is wearing the tread fairly even and not featheredged across the tread it's good. Trailer loading definitely might be a factor. More weight on one wheel is possible....

The type and quality of grease made a huge difference for me years ago on a trailer I had. It was eating bearings and only had 3500lb axles on a 22' box trailer. It would routinely trash a bearing and I was not towing long distances. It got to the point that every trip I made to the track I jacked the trailer up with car unloaded to feel the bearings. I carried complete new sets with seals.

I started using synthetic waterproof grease and never had a failure again.
That was a fairly new product at the time and was far better than the usual stuff.

My present trailer has Nev-r-lube sealed bearing cartridges......I've replaced them once for no other reason than I felt better with new. I kept the old ones for spares......

Blown tires and burned up bearings on the road makes for a rough trip.....been there....

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

From looking on the internet at pictures of the bearing race I removed the last time it seems to look like one posted from a bearing cage failure.
I am not sure what would make a cage fail but the softer material the cage is made out of is imbedded and stuck to the outer race like was shown in the photo's.

I have been using Mobil 1 Synthetic wheel bearing grease.
Even after the failure the grease was still clean looking and still red except in the bearing are where it was hot and it was discolored there but did not smell burnt even though it was hot and smoking when I noticed the failure.

I am going to rebuild both hubs on the axle with new USA made Timken bearings, install new hubs on both sides, and new brake assemblies. I am also going to move the rear axle tires to the front axle and replace the one that has failed twice now with the spare tire.
I am at a loss on anything else to do.
Anyone else have other suggestions.
I will try most anything once.
Thanks
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,
As far as the American-made and off-shore-made bearings, one may be better and stronger but all of the bearings on your trailer were the same and only one failed.
Just saying.
Dan

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Yes, you brought up an interesting point I had not considered about the loading inside the trailer. I had not considered that.
The tool cabinets are on the road side like the failure along with the generator.
It is a 24 ft trailer so space is limited by the length. I had it custom made at 24 ft to stay within the total length laws with the 40 ft tow vehicle.
I am looking to rearrange some of the load to the rear and reduce the tongue weight and maybe take some load off the front axle but that is going to be difficult with the lift.
The loading inside of the trailer may be the key.
This is a 24 ft stacker trailer with 3 7000-8000 lb axles with a gross weight of under 16,000 lbs. It weighs just under 9,300 lbs empty.

The reason I am changing the bearings to USA made is the friend I help with a Top Sportsman car has his bearings packed yearly at a trailer place in Phoenix AZ. They told him anytime they find a China made wheel bearing they throw it away and replace it with a USA made. They told him the China made bearings are good for only one year of use.
Of course they sell bearings so they have an incentive to do that also.

I have all the parts now to rework the front axle and will get that done next week.
Then it is off on a 1200 mile round trip racing trip on which I hope there are no bearing problems.
Thanks for the info and I will post upon return from the racing trip on how the bearings hold up.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

The Chinese look-alike stuff is almost all junk. They make something that looks like the good stuff, but it ain't. I go through this on a daily basis in my auto repair shop. The Timkens may not totally solve your problem but it's a darn good place to start. Thats why Mark Williams, Strange etc use only Timken. Good Luck!

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Could the axle be bent slightly? Someone mentioned load distribution. With a few minutes at a truck scale could you get left/right and axle load numbers?

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Being a retired UPS mechanic and seeing my fair share of trl bearings ....going to Timken is a great move.
Then get you a temp gun... and after an hour or so of towing pull over , in a safe area of course .... shoot the temp of all tire tread surface and side wall and then shoot the hubs ... record all info and then analyze .... This can tell you a lot about your load placement and maybe where to move the load around to equalize temps and weight on each tire.
you can also test with an empty trailer to see the big picture !

Hope this helps !

Rick

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

I have a temp gun just never did shoot the bearings.
We stop every few hours of travel and I always just feel the tires and bearings caps with my hands. In the summer the tires are pretty hot to the touch but that was what I expected in the hot summer days running on the hot pavement.
When we go out next time I will have the temp gun in the cab with me and do just as you suggested.
It may be interesting when I look at the results as the high temps on our next trip should be close to 100 degrees in the afternoon.
This has to be one of the best places to ask questions as you get some very good suggestions and answers to issues with all the experience on the site.
Thanks to all.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick, Hope this helps !

Party On !!!

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

First update on the issue.
I have the front axle completely rebuilt. New hubs, new brakes, new Timken USA made bearings.
I relocated the storage in the attic so the weight would be in the center of the trailer.
One thing I noticed after rebuilding the axle I had the trailer up in the front about 2 inches to get some weight off the front axle when working on it. When putting up tools and all I noticed that the trailer was more stable when walking into and out of it with the front up just that 2 inches.
I visited the trailer sales place today and asked about that or if I was just reaching. The owner told me there if the front is up it should balance the load a little more to the back end of the trailer with a spring type triple axle.
I have always pulled the trailer with it very level on my driveway which is also very level.
The trailer sales owner suggested I try pulling it this next time with the 2 inches up in the front and see what happens. My next step on the hitch is 2 1/4 inches so that is what I am going to try.
I am also going to check the tire and bearing temps ever couple of hours while traveling next week on a 550 mile trip. I am hoping that the temps tell me something about the balance on the trailer.
I will be posting more updates as we take our trip.
Thanks again for everyone that posted suggestions.
All were thoughtful and I appreciate them.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Typically trailers do not like being higher in the front than the rear. It usually makes them more unstable and sway more. Level would be best. I had one bearing on my trailer that kept failing. Never really figured out what the issue was. New tires have helped with that issue. Its always the outer bearing that fails due to it being the smaller one. None of the other positions have given me any problem. 40 ft goose w 3 axles. Mine is the road side center that gives me grief.

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,
I saw that you were in Topeka. How did the trailer toe? How were the temps? I would think that getting a little weight off the front (problem) axle could be good.
Dan

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Dan I did make it to Topeka and back home now and did not have any problems.
Trailer towed just fine with it about 3 inches up front to back. I had it basically level in the past.
Being retired we do not have to hurry back home so we traveled on Monday.
On the way home we traveled in rain off and on all day so I did not get to take the temps on the bearings and tires. I did not think they would tell me much anyway with the rain and cooling it provided.

I did take temps going to Topeka on Tuesday with the ambient temps running from 88 degrees on my first stop to 99 degrees on my last stop before arriving at Topeka.
One thing I did note is the tire temps are 20 to 30 degrees higher if the tires are running on the sunny side of the trailer versus the shade side of the trailer. That is something I did not expect.

The curb side bearings run 10 to 20 degrees higher than the road side and if the tire is hotter in the sun it seems to transfer to the bearings also and then the curb side bearings can be as much as 30 to 40 degrees higher than the road side. The temps seemed to balance side to side a little if the road side tires ran in the sun.

The highest bearing temp I recorded was 145 degrees and the highest tire temp I recorded was 154 degrees.
The highest bearing temp was from the center axle curb side and the highest tire temp
was the front axle curb side running in the sun for several hours.

I believe the balance of the load and lowering the tongue weight and the raising the trailer on the front is the key.

One other thing I did find when rebuilding the front axle I found the curb side which I had packed annually but it had its original bearings the outer bearing race was smooth but it was discolored. It did not look like it had been hot it just had a grey color only where the bearing rollers ran. It just looked strange to me and something I had not seen before.

I plan on taking the temps again on the next trip. I am just not sure when that will be.
Thanks to everyone who commented and made suggestions.
I appreciate all the knowledge on this site and hope I can contribute to others issues in the future as some of you have done for me.
Thanks again,
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,

This has been a very interesting thread.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

Bill

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

This has been my pleasure and I received much more than I put into the thread.
I hope this helps everyone who pulls a trailer as everyone will have a bearing issue at some point.
I will follow up when I take my next trip with more info.
I really believe the key is balancing the load over the axles without to much tongue weight and having the front up just a little.
Those things seemed to keep the temps balanced when I checked.
I just wish I had done that earlier to know what they were when I was having issues.
More to come in November after the Finals in Pomona.
Thanks to everyone.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

A quick update on the trailer bearing issue.
The son was found to have a brain tumor the first of October with two surgeries to follow that my racing was done after the trip to Topeka for 2017.
I have now pulled all the China bearings out of the 2 remaining axles and all axles now have fresh grease and new USA Timkin bearings.
There were a couple of the China bearings I pulled that looked discolored. Not rough in any way just like they were etched in a few places. They are now trash anyway.
The next racing trip will now be in February or March 2018 and I will take the temps and post again how it goes for everyone to view.
I really believe with a better balance front to back and side to side in the trailer and the bearings change will take care of my issues.
My personal idea is that the balance of a trailer weight over all the axles is more important than I had previously thought. I thought in the past the three axles balanced the weight themselves better than I do at this point.
Again thanks to everyone for the input.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick,

Thanks for the update.

That is a disadvantage to the torsion axles, they don't equalize like the leaf springs on most of our old open trailers.

I hope your son is doing well.

Thanks,
Bill

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

My trailer is a leaf spring and shackle system and I also thought that would balance the load however, I believe balancing the load is the key.
I will watch it again on the next trip and report back to everyone.
Bill, thanks for the concern for the son. He is doing better every day.
Rick Cates

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Update to the trailer bearings. All new Made in USA bearings.
We made the pull to Las Vegas about 1,000 miles.
I took temps at each stop and when we arrived in Vegas.
The ambient temps ranged from the 30's to the 80's.
One thing I noticed is the one bearing I had been having problems with (front road side) was 6 to 8 degrees hotter on both the bearing and tire.
This being the case I believe the load inside the trailer may have been the key to the bearing issue.
I did rebalance the load after the last bearing failure, which I believe has helped.
I probably still have to much weight to that side as my rather large tool box and generator are both on that side and to the front of the trailer.
After we return home I plan to take more weight off that side and from the front.
I carry to much stuff and a lot more than I actually need.
Thanks to everyone for the input and suggestions. I really had not thought of the balance of the load as I thought the triple axle would balance it out. That is what I get for thinking.
Thanks again and any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Rick, I think that the 6-8 degrees is more than tolerable for towing. What were the actual temps of the bearings? Like you I carry more stuff than I need. That's why I like having the TPMS for my trailer tires. You can watch the tire and ambient temps around each wheel to see how things are changing. Safe travels and good luck in Vegas.
Dan

Re: Trailer Wheel Bearing Issue
 

Thanks, this is our first race since Topeka the end of July 2017.
The bearing temps ranged from a low of 60 degrees F with a ambient of 34 degrees to a high of 118 degrees F with a ambient of 83 degrees when we made it into Las Vegas.
The tires on the front axle were both at 129 degrees F and on the rear axle they were 120 and 119 when we made it into the traffic nightmare they call Vegas, so I think I may still be a little nose/hitch heavy in the front. The stacker has a attic up front and I have it full. I plan on doing a little house cleaning when we get home and take some of that weight out of the very front.
Thanks for all the input.
Rick Cates
Canyon, TX