Brake drum and bearing cap questions

[KD4UPL]

I have a 2004 Tennessee tandem axle galvanized boat trailer with 3,500 pound axles and drum surge brakes on the rear axle. Under normal conditions there is about 6,000 pounds on the axles. Round trip from the house to the lake and back is 200 miles. I probably do that about 10 to 12 times a year. My axles have the caps with the grease zirk in the end, Bearing Buddies I think they are called. I give them a couple pumps of grease whenever the little blue plastic cap isn't sticking out a bit.
2 weeks ago when I got home the left rear hub (braking axle) was completely destroyed. I only saw it when I got out to open the garage door and back in. When I jacked up the trailer the hub just came off in my hands, nothing holding it on at all.
A local shop just replaced the spindle for me. The new hub/brake drum they installed is not galvanized like the other one. Also, the old drum has a 3/4" hole in the face of it and the new one does not. The mechanic said the hole was to let water out and that he was going to drill a hole in the new one. It seemed to me that any water would just run out between the drum and the backing plate so I didn't have him drill the hole. Any truth to his statement? Do I need the hole?

Also, the new spindle has a grease zirk in the end of it. The bearing cap is just solid metal so I need to remove it to access the zirk. Is this the right cap or do I need one with the rubber plug in the end of it?

I hadn't had my bearings serviced in several years. I just kept pumping them with grease when the cap wasn't sticking out. Should I be having the hubs taken apart and repacked every year? This trailer never goes in salt water and is normally stored under roof.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Lou C]

The hole is probably to adjust the drum brake shoes not to let water out. The seals could have been leaking a long time & you wouldn’t know unless you pulled the drum to inspect. With drum brakes you can’t see if the seals are leaking like on disc brakes.

 

[airshot]

I have a 2004 Tennessee tandem axle galvanized boat trailer with 3,500 pound axles and drum surge brakes on the rear axle. Under normal conditions there is about 6,000 pounds on the axles. Round trip from the house to the lake and back is 200 miles. I probably do that about 10 to 12 times a year. My axles have the caps with the grease zirk in the end, Bearing Buddies I think they are called. I give them a couple pumps of grease whenever the little blue plastic cap isn't sticking out a bit.
2 weeks ago when I got home the left rear hub (braking axle) was completely destroyed. I only saw it when I got out to open the garage door and back in. When I jacked up the trailer the hub just came off in my hands, nothing holding it on at all.
A local shop just replaced the spindle for me. The new hub/brake drum they installed is not galvanized like the other one. Also, the old drum has a 3/4" hole in the face of it and the new one does not. The mechanic said the hole was to let water out and that he was going to drill a hole in the new one. It seemed to me that any water would just run out between the drum and the backing plate so I didn't have him drill the hole. Any truth to his statement? Do I need the hole?

Also, the new spindle has a grease zirk in the end of it. The bearing cap is just solid metal so I need to remove it to access the zirk. Is this the right cap or do I need one with the rubber plug in the end of it?

I hadn't had my bearings serviced in several years. I just kept pumping them with grease when the cap wasn't sticking out. Should I be having the hubs taken apart and repacked every year? This trailer never goes in salt water and is normally stored under roof.

Thanks for your help.

Lesson learned !!! Hubs need regular maintenence even with bearing buddies !! On my trailer, I have always rebuilt the hubs every other year. At the beginning of each season I jack up the axle and feel for free play, spin the wheel and check for smoothness. If all looks and feels right, I add grease while spinning the wheel and check seals !! Then the next year I do a take apart and repack with a good visual inspection, then put it back together and do the spin and lube procedure. Another thing is to use the same grease each time, do NOT mix wheel bearing greases...some types don't play well together and can actually turn into thin watery lube that runs out and cause serious damage. That is how I lost a spindle some years back... I now have a dedicated grease gun for wheel bearings that always uses the same grease. My hubs have overflow holes so you cant over fill them and blow out the rear seals. It takes maintenence to keep those wheels on your trailer !!

 

[BillWilliams]

The new spindle sounds like a sure-lube or e-z lube style spindle which I have on my trailer. My dust caps have a rubber plug in them that is removable which allow you access to the zerk fitting so you can grease the hub.

 

[Lou C]

I have those too (super lube) one thing I added is a bearing buddy cap which is an extra barrier to keep out water.

 

[KD4UPL]

The new spindle sounds like a sure-lube or e-z lube style spindle which I have on my trailer. My dust caps have a rubber plug in them that is removable which allow you access to the zerk fitting so you can grease the hub.

So it sounds like the shop guy was wrong again and that the cap with the rubber plug would work just fine. I'll try and pick one up.

 

[KD4UPL]

I have those too (super lube) one thing I added is a bearing buddy cap which is an extra barrier to keep out water.

Did you retain the zirk in the spindle or take it out? If you retained it which zirk to you grease or do you do both of them?

 

[bruceb58]

Start doing annual maintenance on your bearings which means pull the hubs every hear and hand pack.

Consider adding brakes to your other axle. Brakes on one axle of 6000# load is asking for a disaster. Boat dealers that order these trailers with brakes on one axle because they meet the minimum requirements with an empty trailer deserve to go out of business. One of the first things I did was add brakes to a second axle on a 24' boat I had.

 

[Lou C]

If a trailer has 2 3500 lb axles and only one had brakes that’s only rated at being able to stop 3500 lbs. yet the trailer in total could weigh as much as 7,000 lbs. A pair of 10” brakes on a trailer that size & potential weight is frightening.