lateral play in trailer bearings

[lannvouivre]

dlb, that is a pretty awesome trailer.

[dlb]

dlb, that is a pretty awesome trailer.

thanks, lannvouivre. i was pretty disheartened with it yesterday after second-guessing my bearing packing abilities and then digging in to find all sort of incredibly stupid DIY wiring, plumbing, and cabinetry inside it. i'm feeling much better now after taking it for a test drive and finding the hub of the new bearing side to be just warm to the touch -- no excessive heat, which is a good sign. i also picked up some 'bearing buddies' and talked to the old timer at the local parts place. after hearing me explain my trepidations, he said he wouldn't bother with the bearing buddy. he said it sounded like i did a thorough packing job, and bearing buddies are more for boat trailers that need to keep water out of the hub. so i'm going to leave it be for now but will jack up the new bearings side and check for a change in bearing preload, see if anything moved while driving around.

i packed the bearings for the other drum/hub and installed the rear seal so it is ready to go if we need it on this trip. also packed the grease, grease fun, and bearing buddies...just in case. this was a great video on how to pack roller bearings by hand (the hand part is in the second half of the vid):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXlK0ihVu60

i also sorted out some plumbing and wiring today so i'm feeling better about the trailer in general. we'll see how we feel after driving and camping with it this next week.

that's my long-winded way of say a simple 'thanks for the compliment.'

[ARCHINSTL]

dlb - I liked the video, esp. the part where he drops the bearing on the floor among detritus, just like some of us might do...
Been there, done that - but in the bike shop, not on Goldie.

Incidentally, your trailer is pretty cool. While not pictured, I presume it has a commode & shower?
Tom M.

[rer233]

Hey dlb- If you haven't already thrown the bad bearings out, you might want to get a pair of side cutters out and cut the cages that hold the rollers so you can see the inner races. Just a thought.

BTY- nice lookin' rig!

[keith]

You might check the race height on the bearings on both sides. It is possible that someone got a bearing that had the right inside and outside diameters but not the correct height. You could also check the drums for the same height dimensions and the race depth is correct, that that one outside race isn't being pushed in too far.

[dlb]

i do still have the old bearings so i will give them a look when we get back, rich. and thanks!

tom, i also loved the dropped bearing part. i like that he left it in, since that's what generally happens in real life anyway.

this trailer has a crapper but no shower. sucks because we hate crappers in campers and both refuse to use them (who wants to have someone take a dump just a few feet from their head with only cardboard walls for privacy?) but fell in love with the heated shower in our other camper. oh well, we only used the shower once anyway so it was just a 'nice to have' and not a 'need to have.'

i jacked up the new bearing side and checked for increased play in the bearings. no change, status quo. phew.

thanks again for all the compliments, gang. i'll try to post pics of camping with this thing when we get back. if it doesn't flip us at highway speeds and kill us, of course.

[lannvouivre]

thanks again for all the compliments, gang. i'll try to post pics of camping with this thing when we get back. if it doesn't flip us at highway speeds and kill us, of course.

At least it will be pretty when it ends your life, if it flips you.

[dlb]

You might check the race height on the bearings on both sides. It is possible that someone got a bearing that had the right inside and outside diameters but not the correct height. You could also check the drums for the same height dimensions and the race depth is correct, that that one outside race isn't being pushed in too far.

i had wondered about the race depth installation too, keith. when we get back, i will make a note of the depth on the old hub and compare it to the others.

[dlb]

back from the trip, no problems. i kept checking the hubs for warmth after long drives and they were pretty even but i did notice the side i worked on was a little warmer. never hot, just a nice 'mug of coffee' warm. still, the other side was cooler and i had picked up some 'bearing buddies' for $12 and brought my grease gun, so i installed one and pumped it with grease. after that, it stays the same temp as the other side. so i don't know that it was necessary but i feel better erring on the side of caution.

the only issues we learned of are a cupboard at face level that i bashed my head on not once, not twice, but three times within a 20 minute period. it was a good laceration the first time, got worse the second time, and after the third the blood was running down my face. you can imagine my frustration. so i will be cutting and fastening some swimming pool noodles.

also, the 3 way fridge doesn't work well on 12V or propane, barely cools at all. works great on 110V though so i'm not sure where the problem is. other 3 way rv fridges i've owned have mentioned that the thermostat function does not apply to 110V, that 110V only works at max cooling, so i wonder if the thermostat is faulty and giving a constant 'minimum' signal. i will have to do some reading and figure it out.

not a lot of great pics from the trip but we did see some cool stuff. 'devils bath,' canada's largest cenote, some cool karst formations, huge trees, beautiful remote lakes and forests, and telegraph cove, to name a few.

[larry mcgrath]

Dave I'v got a trailer with a 3 way fridge, it worked great on 120v ac and 12v dc ,propane cooling was rather weak. The chimney that the propane exhasts through was dirty- full of carbon- cleaned it with a shot gun 12ga cleaning brush run through the chimney ,you should check the orfice that the propane flame comes through ,i'tsa real small opening. Larry

[dlb]

ha, i thought you were saying you cleaned the thing out with a 12 gauge shotgun. that would open things up really nicely too. i will pull the fridge apart soon and do some cleaning and investigating in the next few days. i did the same with the 3-way fridge in our westfalia a few years back, was way easier than i thought it was going to be.

[dlb]

the fridge turned out to be a super easy fix. i was right that the thermostat was the problem but i didn't even need to take anything apart to fix it. i noticed the knob felt gritty and rough and difficult to turn so i just worked it back and forth a bunch until it felt smoother and easier. lit the propane, set the stat to max, let it go overnight, went out this morning and it's ice cold. previous owners must have left it at the same setting all the time, allowing corrosion to build up on the contacts in there. will test it on 12V today but i'm confident it should be also work well now.

[marlinh]

Great looking trailer David. Are you heading out this way with it?

Loved the video, but usually if you are going to drop something like that on the floor it happens AFTER you fill it with grease!

[dlb]

yes, everything went smoothly with the trailer (except for my head wound) so it looks like we will be bringing the trailer on the road trip. very excited for fishing with you! jenn is convinced she still won't catch anything with her terrible luck but i'm hopeful.

[marlinh]

Looking forward to your visit! Set down dates yet?