recomendations for first long haul

[Andy in NY]

Okay, so at the end of the month I am going to be bringing my boat to my buddies house. he is rebuilding the carbs for me, and im bring the boat to him so we can water test it after putting them back on. the farthest ive towed this boat is 20 miles, so im a little nervous.

im planning on changing the bearings before i go since its been a while. i need to pick up a spare tire as well. anything else i should do?

its a smaller boat (14') so it has pretty small tires. what speeds will they be okay up to? what speed is recommended overall? this will be 300 miles, 90% interstate.


Oh, one more thing, could i swap out the tires for a bigger size? i have a 4x6 landscape trailer with brand new tires plus a spare... can i swap them out or the weekend?

 

[APPALOOSA2]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

600 miles is not much round trip. I would grease the wheel bearings unless they are bad and watch your speed. Those litlle tires are going to be doing 130mph at 65 mph.
Bring a spare wheel/ tire set up, a jack and a lug wrench.

It looks like you don't have clearance from this pic for larger wheels, but that would be a big improvement.

 

[clarkbre]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

...Those litlle tires are going to be doing 130mph at 65 mph....

WOW!...quite the assumption. I think your statement is 90%, half right! The tires will be doing 65mph if the tow vehicle is doing 65mph. Make sense?

The circumference of those small tires is about 4.21 feet. At 65mph, or any speed, those 4.80-8 tires you have will be doing about 1254 Rotations Per Mile (rpm's). That equates to the bearings doing the same 1254 rpm's. Speaking in terms of wheel bearings that is a fairly fast pace. The fast pace creates heat which makes the bearings wear out faster.

4.80-8 diameter = 1.34' x Pi = Circumference 4.21'
1 Mile = 5280'/4.21' = 1254.15 rpm's



If your other trailer has 4.80-12's then you will slow your rpm's down and make for less movement of the wheel bearings.

4.80-12 diameter = 1.71' x Pi = Circumference 5.37'
1 Mile = 5280'/5.37' = 983.24 rpm's

So, the 4.80-12's will have a decreased rpm by 270.91 rpm's. This equates to about a 22% reduction in rpm's. The 22% also equates to that much less heat and wear and tear on your bearings and hubs.

In all, if you can fit the taller wheels and tires on, do it. It will be a lot less stress on your bearings and should give you a better piece of mind for hauling long distances.

 

[woosterken]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

Andy,
if you check and pack you bearings to know their good,get a set of bearing buddys.every couple hours stop and give them a check put your hand on them if the heat is to much to keep your hand there wait and give them a chance to cool down and give them a shot of grease.

I pull mine no faster than 55 or 60 (ohio law) mine are 20.5 x 8.0-10 90psi
loaded ready to go is approx. 3,000 lbs my truck has 31" tirex15"wheels
here is a picture of trailer set up

sorry about the white letters and painted studs we have long winters here !!

woosterken

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

Agreed that 600 round trip isn't that big of a deal. I would go ahead and put new bearings in the trailer just so you know they are good and packed full of fresh grease, then use bearing buddies to keep them in good shape. I would also see if you have the ability to upgrade tires to something a bit larger in diameter, it would help with the wear and heat as well as likely be easier to find at a walmart when in a bind. Definitely have a jack and a spare tire for it!

 

[nlain]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

My first road trip was a little over 3 hours on the interstate 70 mph in July, I went the first 30 miles at 65 and pulled into a rest area, the hubs were cool, back on the road and eased up to 70 and all was good, next stop I made, about an hour later, I checked the hubs, just barely warm, another hour and a half, fuel stop, hubs just barely warm. I do have 14 in wheels with about 300 lb load. If you do fresh bearings and fresh grease you should be fine. The bearing buddy idea is a good one also, I have them and pump them up about half the travel on the spring loaded cap.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

The bearings do not rotate at the same speed as the wheel. They actually run about 1/2 that speed so heat is not an issue unless they are short on lubricant.

Nobody has mentioned airing up the tires to the maximum pressure indicated on the sidewall. The main cause of tire failure is under inflation. That causes extreme heat build up and cord separation followed by a blow out.

As for tires, you can put on any size you want as long as your have clearance for them. you can't have too big a tire -- just too small.

You also need a spare whether you are on a 600 mile trip or going to the local boat ramp. It is foolhardy to run without one (and the means to change it on the road).

 

[bruceb58]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

As long as the tires are rated for the load and they aren't older than 5 or 6 years you should be fine.

Do you know how old the tires are? There is a date code molded into the tire.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

 

[Jeff-in-PA]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

We tow from just south of Allentown,PA to Lansdowne, ONT Canada three or four trips a year. 334 miles one way.

In addition to proper tow vehicle and trailer maintenance, we have phone numbers of friends who live along our travel route.

Stacy lives in Wilkes-Barre, Jim S in upstate PA, Jim T outside of Binghamton,NY and in the Syracuse area Bill W.

Cell phones are great

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

I went through the same anxiety as you when we towed our rig 225 miles up north last year for the first time.

All I can add to the great comments above is to make sure you have everything you need to change a tire. I actually practiced the exercise before leaving and learned a lot! Take along some cribbing to help support your jack in case your wheel ends up on gravel or sandy soil. Also, some GoJo and paper towels.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

If it were mine, I'd look into larger wheels/tires...can't tell from your pix, but they look like the smaller 8-inch wheels. I always check, repack bearings on any trailer I acquire and then do a road test...load it up just like you are going to the target destination and take it down the road a ways...stopping occasionally to check the hubs. If you can hold your hand on the hub...slightly warm, you're okay. Any hotter and you better beat it home and check the bearings, etc. Another plus for bigger/taller tires is more road/ground clearance. Would also consider adding fenders to your trailer to keep road crap off the bottom/sides of your boat.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

The bearings do not rotate at the same speed as the wheel. They actually run about 1/2 that speed so heat is not an issue unless they are short on lubricant.

Nobody has mentioned airing up the tires to the maximum pressure indicated on the sidewall. The main cause of tire failure is under inflation. That causes extreme heat build up and cord separation followed by a blow out.

As for tires, you can put on any size you want as long as your have clearance for them. you can't have too big a tire -- just too small.

You also need a spare whether you are on a 600 mile trip or going to the local boat ramp. It is foolhardy to run without one (and the means to change it on the road).

They rotate at the same speed, you're trying to alter the space/time continium, stop that, it hurts my brain.

If your bearings, grease, shafts, tires are in good shape you will be fine. The trailer is no spring chicken and probably has done that type of trip many many times.

Ian

 

[Jeff-in-PA]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

They rotate at the same speed, you're trying to alter the space/time continium, stop that, it hurts my brain.

If your bearings, grease, shafts, tires are in good shape you will be fine. The trailer is no spring chicken and probably has done that type of trip many many times.

Ian

Only the inner and outer races rotate at the same speed as the wheel. The roller bearing are spinning a "million miles a hour" due to their small diameter in a much larger race.

That's why they are made to such a high tolerance with a perfect surface finish.

 

[clarkbre]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

Only the inner and outer races rotate at the same speed as the wheel. The roller bearing are spinning a "million miles a hour" due to their small diameter in a much larger race.

That's why they are made to such a high tolerance with a perfect surface finish.

All in all, if you switch to a larger wheel/tire diameter, the same bearings will have much less stress on them. If you can not do that, check and recheck your hubs during the journey. Make sure you pack the correct gear to change a flat or hub. Let us know how that long haul goes for you.

 

[APPALOOSA2]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

Didn't realize I need to write a paragragh on physics of a trailer wheel ! I just thought a simple question and a simple answer. Tough crowd.

 

[SS Flasher]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

Okay, so at the end of the month I am going to be bringing my boat to my buddies house. he is rebuilding the carbs for me, and im bring the boat to him so we can water test it after putting them back on. the farthest ive towed this boat is 20 miles, so im a little nervous.

im planning on changing the bearings before i go since its been a while. i need to pick up a spare tire as well. anything else i should do?

its a smaller boat (14') so it has pretty small tires. what speeds will they be okay up to? what speed is recommended overall? this will be 300 miles, 90% interstate.


Oh, one more thing, could i swap out the tires for a bigger size? i have a 4x6 landscape trailer with brand new tires plus a spare... can i swap them out or the weekend?

[/QUOT
You should be OK, slow down, stop once and awhile to check and feel it the hubs are hot. Cool to warm is normal because the grease will create some heat. Too hot to touch means trouble. There is no need to keep giving another shot of grease into the bearing buddies. By doing this you would create more pressure in the hub which would create more heat. This would just force grease out of the rear seal. Bearing RPM isn't a concern here, these bearing are rated for much higher, just make sure you leave clearance when setting the bearings after you pack them. My concern would be the tires - they look like the weak point. I am not an expert in tires.

 

[This_lil_fishy]

Re: recomendations for first long haul

Only the inner and outer races rotate at the same speed as the wheel. The roller bearing are spinning a "million miles a hour" due to their small diameter in a much larger race.

That's why they are made to such a high tolerance with a perfect surface finish.

That makes sense, but still, that is their purpose in life. Either way, I was just trying to inject some humor to the situation. As many have stated, check the temp of the rims on occasion..oh..and don't load all your luggage and stuff in the boat. That'll add a lot of weight to those little tires.

Ian