LUCKY MAINTANCE

[Yarraone]

I just thought I would mention my weekend..Well why I was away, I had my trailer in getting some running repairs which i think may help me with loading and unloading when I am on my own..

The rear cross member was completely rusted out, So I had a friend replace it woth a few changes

Instead of going all the way accross, I got him to continue it forward to the cross member in front of it, and in doing so making a V shape with slide rails to guide the boat to the first roller..

I hope this works..(the trailer will be getting a full rebuild this year)

NOW. On to the bearings........

I thought while the boat was of off the trailer, and my next trip while be in April.. I thought why not check and repack the bearings..

Now, the bearings were making NO NOISE at all, and didnt wobble or show any signs that they needed attention.. THIS WAS JUST TO CHECK THEM!!!!

So I started to pull the hubs off

SIGN 1. even though there was grease it did need topping up at least

SIGN 2. The hubs on one side needed a gental tap or 2,3,4,5 with a hammer to get it off

SIGN 3. when I did get the hubs off I saw the problem....

On one side the inside bearing(back bearing) had completely colapsed

On the other side both bearings were worn and had play in them ..

As I live at Bathurst , all my fishing trips are a trip of around 600km to 1000km always to the salt water..The last time i weent fishing was about8 months ago..So with the salt water and the Km's and sitting for so long I am glad I took the time to check them..I am sure that if I had not had a look I would of done a wheel bearing for sure..

I check mine now about every 6 months at least..

HAVE YOU CHECKED YOURS...

[oz_brett]

Trailer is looking good, if all works as expected will make a good modification for next trailer. Just watch that the corners dont damage the front of your boat when retrieving if you drive on.

I always replaced mine each year with bearings not being that expansive and the risk of damaging the seal to check the inner bearing. Only now that Ive upgraded to a dual axle trailer I tend to replace less often (2 years or 3 if really stretching it). I couldn't imagine leaving my boat on the side of the road like you see others.

Edited February 19, 2011 by oz_brett

[Noodles]

I paid a trailer business over $800.00 to rebuild mine and so far I've had to redo nearly everything they did. I've had to re-weld the mud guard rails to the bogie. They had welded (if you could call it that) one to the bogie and one to the trailer body which meant you couldn't move the bogie. Dumb or what? I also had to take the "Waterproof" LED lights back after 3 dips in at the ramp.

On Saturday I put in and steam came from the drivers side bearing / hub which had disintegrated after only 6 months of use. Lucky it was drivers side otherwise I may not have noticed. I had to replace the whole hub. Checked the other side as well and the outer bearing cone (with races) was broken and hub had water ingress so I replaced the bearings and grease on that side.

I know what your thinking. Why not take it back and demand satisfaction? I had the work done over 2 years ago but only started using the boat 6 months ago as it was a rebuild project. I was very busy at the time and couldn't do the work myself and required it done quickly as we were moving. They didn't want to swap the lights but I could show them the boat rego renewal to prove it had only been a couple of weeks in use.

Check your bearings regularly. I'd do it every trip over those distances.

[Yarraone]

i normaly do check them every trip.. but the last time I checked them I didnt end up going at all...So I wasnt going to worry about them... As I said LUCKY I did