MDSmitty

With all the people on this forum who have towed their boats long distances I figured this is the best place to ask people who have experienced this problem.

I'm making a long distance trip to look at a boat and if I buy it I'll be towing it home. The owner says he's not sure about one wheel bearing. I have AAA Plus RV, but I'm not sure how they would help get a bearing fixed.

Where/how would AAA take a trailer with a boat sitting on it ... I have no idea. But I'm going to ask on some travel forums.


So my first question is ...

- What do you do if you're away from home and a bearing lets go?


I would imagine transporters run into this problem all the time.

I watched a video on YouTube of how to replace bearings, and I could bring a bearing kit with me, but there are two problems with that idea.

1. I've never replaced trailer bearings and can't see myself on the side of the road going through that process. ... and what if a spindle is bad?

2. The owner isn't at the boat's location, so he can't tell me what size spindle.


Another idea I had was to bring a pre-assembled hub with me. Something like this.

http://www.dyersonline.com/Products/...Hub__UW-2.aspx

But again, I don't know what size spindle.

The only information I have is this picture of the trailer.

http://kijiji.ebayimg.com/i23/06/k/0...?set_id=1C4000

So, is there any way to tell what size hub to get, or is there a standard for 5-lug boat trailers?

Could a regular car repair shop replace the bearings if I removed the hub from the trailer?

Is there some kind of roadside assistance service that will take care of this kind of problem? Has anyone here with AAA had a trailer mishap that was taken care of?


Thanks for any help.

rv

If you have a hub in question have it inspected/repaired BEFORE you start out on your trip. It will be alot less expensive to do that before than once something lets go.

In fact, if that one is in question, maybe the previous owner did not keep up on maintance for those and all should be checked out.

Make several phone calls to businesses in the area of the owner and make an appointment before you leave so you when you arrive you can take it directly to the shop and not wait too long.

Rick

27daytona

I totally agree with rv. Have the seller service the trailer with the agreement that if you buy the boat you will pick up the bill on the trailer mainenence. I carry spare parts for almost any trailer repair and so that I can limit the chances of a roadside repair, I carry a pyrometer and shoot every hub and tire on both my Kodiak and boat trailer at every fuel stop. If they are not close in temp. , this could indicate a problem. Pyrometer costs less than $100.00. Good luck. Doug

c_deezy

iTrader: (1)

Look like 5-lug wheels so I would guess they are 3500 lb axles, which for the most part are usually 1 3/8 to 1 1/16 tapered spindle, I said usually. How far are you towing the boat? If there is any doubt at all pull the hubs before you go and inspect, you know the whole ounce of prevention thing...

You can pick up spare bearing sets at West Marine but there are a few different sizes and without knowing exactly what size you need its a little difficult. And I'm sure they aren't the highest quality stuff but they should work to get you home if need be.

Anymore I'm so paranoid when I take the boat out I have a couple hundred lbs of tools and spare parts on board, but I'd rather have it than not have it and many a boater has been helped by my onboard stash/tool selection. I don't tow very often but when I do I have a bin that has all my trailer tools/parts in it that I throw in the truck, goes something like this:

2 ton jack with two jack stands
Extra set of bearings, races and seals and extra Bearing Buddy, extra cotter pins.
Ball peen hammer and brass drift - for driving races if need be
File - To take the 'mushroom' out of the brass drift if need be
Grease - two or three extra tubes
12 volt tire inflator
Ratchet straps - to strap an axle up and limp off the highway if need be
Two rolls of blue paper towels
Two full cans of brake cleaner - to clean old grease off brakes/hubs

Stuff I need to put in my bin -
Extra spindle nut
Extra hub

I also have a bag that weighs about 60 lbs that I call my 'O sh!t bag', that has all my pliers, breaker bars, cutters, screwdrivers, lugnut sockets, etc that pretty much any time I'm in something with an engine I carry it with me. And I have a pretty decent sized set of ratchets/sockets that stay in each one of my vehicles (it should be obvious at this point that I love tools ).

You can't be prepared for everything but I at least try to be prepared for some things. Changing bearings/races is pretty easy to do and can be done on the side of the road if need be, but you have to have to the parts/tools to be able to do it.

US1 Fountain

iTrader: (1)

Seen a boat trailer on the side of the road with flames coming out of the wheel because of hub failure. Breakes, bearings, or lack of grease????

Food for thought

c_deezy

iTrader: (1)

All of the above??

It reminds me of back when I was just out of high school and we used to take my dad's boat to the lake, about 50 miles each way. For two years it had bad tires and we would just stop about every 20 miles and put air in them, then one night coming back about 10 pm and I looked in the mirror to see the passenger tire laying down a James Bond smoke screen, we finally ran out of places to get air! We were about 5 miles from the golf course I used to work at so we just limped it down there with that wheel in the ditch, bouncing and slamming the whole way until we got to the course and tucked it back behind one of the barns. I left my old boss a note I would be out first thing in the morning to get it, of course we got hammered and I didn't make it out there until around noon on a Sunday.

Ahh the stupid **** you do when you are young...

MDSmitty

Thanks for the info.

Unfortunately this has to happen on a Sunday, so no repair shop is open. And the owner is not near the boat and has no way to arrange maintenance.

I was planning on taking my 3-ton floor jack. And I always carry a toolkit, and a manual and 12-volt air pump, as well as a tire repair kit. I'll add a jack stand, chain, fire extinguisher and a couple of small pieces of 2x4.

I think what Ill do (besides grease the hubs before I leave) is buy one straight and one tapered pre-assembled hub before I leave. Then I'll return the one that doesn't fit and keep the other for future needs.

In lieu of a pyrometer, I've been told to hand check (put my hand close but don't touch) each hub. And if I feel excessive heat take a spray bottle of water and shoot it on the hub. If it steams or sizzles I've got problems. Of course, that might not work so well if it's raining.

After some research it looks like AAA Plus RV will get the trailer to a repair shop if I can't fix it.

Heck, I might just be overly paranoid. The owner didn't say the 4th bearing was bad. Just that the other three were good. Maybe those were replaced and the 4th was deemed not in need of replacing.

Thanks again.

MarkSmith

I disagree. I would call a trailer repair place and have them check it out to see how they look. Pull the bearing out to check for grease and see what needs to be done. Spare this and spare that - the only thing that you need is the part you don't have. If the trailer was in salt water, then I would have new bearings installed automatically.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

I carry enough spare parts and tools to fix just about anything on the road. I even have a spare spindle at home, but your not going to replace that on the side of the road with hand tools.

I have a AAA RV+ membership. They will take care of trailers if they break down. If your truck breaks down while towing, they send two trucks to tow you in.

MDSmitty

I've watched enough video and read enough articles this weekend that I think I could probably change bearings in my sleep. It doesn't seem as intimidating as I first thought.

So I ordered some bearing kits. The toolkit that I always carry has almost everything I need, except a brass punch set and channel locks, which I'll buy this week.

Good to know AAA Plus RV gets you out of tight spots.


BTW, a pre-trip inspection by a trailer repair place is out of the question, as the trailer is on a military base and no one is there at the moment to approve it.