Cross country trailering advice/tips

[jlh3rd]

it is great you are asking. A few times a year I take my 24' pontoon on the road, 2-3 hour trip one way, summer (hot). My tandem trailer is equipped with the dreaded 10" tires. However, I buy the highest load rated tires, use timken bearings, the best highest temp rated grease, wheels checked every year for looseness. My Karavan trailer has their grease axles, which get a shot before every trip and at the end of the season, super convenient.
You're asking what can you do in the middle of no where with a hot bearing?
ok.
When I was dialing in my used trailer for over the road. I did have some issues. My hitch is adjustable up and down using a jackscrew arraingement, 3/8'ths drive. On one run, a rear wheel was acting up. I use a temp gun. Because it's a tandem, I lowered the hitch down to reduce the load on the rear axle. That worked to get me home. Remember, I buy the highest rated tires, so I have that buffer. Heck, if I was really in a jam, lets say it had locked up, I would as a last resort, take that wheel off......

 

[gsbarry]

Thanks all for the pointers so far. What do y'all think of the necessity of an anti-sway bar for my load/setup? I haven't experienced any problems so far with swaying, but I also haven't trailered with high winds yet. This boat certainly won't catch as much wind as a camper trailer for example, and is fairly light relative to the tow vehicle (2000# vs 6000#). I'm going back and forth on whether this would be overkill.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thanks all for the pointers so far. What do y'all think of the necessity of an anti-sway bar for my load/setup? I haven't experienced any problems so far with swaying, but I also haven't trailered with high winds yet. This boat certainly won't catch as much wind as a camper trailer for example, and is fairly light relative to the tow vehicle (2000# vs 6000#). I'm going back and forth on whether this would be overkill.

No need. just keep the spare tires and a bunch of stuff in the bow of the boat to move the CG forward, however add tongue weight.

if tongue weight is less than 6% the trailer will sway

with a 2000# boat/trailer load, I would have no problem with a 400-500# tongue weight

 

[cyclops222]

A too low of a hitch weight. WILL cause a CONSTANT swaying left and right of the trailer. Which WILL WILL cause the tires to heat up. BOOM
For no apparent reason.
Some people only adjust the hitch weight to whatever they can lift onto the towing ball. Not good enough.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I do at least a couple 1600 mile round-trip journeys with the trailered boat every year, partly over highway and partly on fairly undeveloped roads.

I don't carry a hub, but I do have two sets of bearing/seals/etc. and the tools to replace them, along with two spares and a bottle jack. I also have a mini grease gun and a variety of heavy duty ratchet straps.

Preventative maintenance before a trip, and good observation during the trip, are the keys to trouble-free towing, as others have noted, but barring that, my goal is to be prepared for the most common problems so that I never have to leave my boat alone on the side of the road. I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of towing problems stem from (a) improper or absent maintenance and (b) no spare tire.

 

[dingbat]

Interesting enough, I’ve only had three roadside incidents in my 30+ years (~150k+ miles) of trailering.

Two out of the three were brake related. Smoked a brake drum late one night on the side of the interstate. The drum was glowing hot when we stopped on the side of the highway to inspect.

Limped a 1/2 mile up to a service station at the next exit. The attendant came out with a hose to cool off the brakes enough to work on. Removed the brake shoes and threw them in the back of the truck for the ride home.

The other was a sticky disc brake caliper. Locked out the coupler to resolve that issue.

The tire incident was early in my boating career and entirely my fault. Blew out a tire when I side swiped the curb pulling into the B&T shop leaving me stuck… sitting in the parking lot with no jack and no spare tire on a Sunday night.

Fortunately, I was able to use the bottle jack and lug wrench from the Jeep to remove the tire. And as luck would have it, the spare tire from the Jeep fit the trailer as well. A little funny looking, but it got us home.

Needless to say, I stopped and picked up a spare tire and mounting bracket the next day.
Knock on wood……

 

[gsbarry]

What do y'all think about bearing buddies? Good idea or waste of money?

 

[Scott Danforth]

good idea regardless, right up to the point you knock them off. however some hubs can not take bearing buddies.

 

[airshot]

I carry a scissors jack as it works well for both my boat trailer and my side x side enclosed trailer. If I find a questionable condition on one if my 2 hr stops, I can quickly slide the scissors jack under the axle and lift that tire/ wheel to get a better feel for what might be happening. If any roughness or excess play, that things get fixed ! Often times it might just be one wheel runs a little hotter than the others, but I now have piece of mind to continue on my journey. That quick check can be done in 15 min or less if you have you stuff ready to use. Can't be to cautious on long trips.

 

[JASinIL2006]

What do y'all think about bearing buddies? Good idea or waste of money?

I like 'em. I have them on my trailer and I've not had problems with them at all. I still do maintenance on the bearings regularly, but I like the idea of the grease being somewhat under pressure to reduce the chance of water infiltration.

 

[airshot]

I like 'em. I have them on my trailer and I've not had problems with them at all. I still do maintenance on the bearings regularly, but I like the idea of the grease being somewhat under pressure to reduce the chance of water infiltration.

I have used them for years as well. No issues, but I do buy the good ones not the cheap versions, and as mentioned, still do routine maintenance and a full repack every other year.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I would add that I’ve always used the stainless model, not the chrome-plated one.

 

[cyclops222]

Never a bearing failure. And I back right in at the ramp. No cool off time is required.

I do not think most people or mechanics KNOW HOW to correctly adjust the tightness of any wheel bearing.

 

[airshot]

Never a bearing failure. And I back right in at the ramp. No cool off time is required.

I do not think most people or mechanics KNOW HOW to correctly adjust the tightness of any wheel bearing.

If properly lubed and adjusted they won't need much cool off time. By the time I transfer my gear from vehicle to boat and remove the straps and ready to back into the water should be plenty. I often check hub temps while getting boat ready to back in, if any are hot, then I have a problem that needs addressed ! Have never had hubs to hot to put my hand on and keep it there. If someone has hubs warmer than what they can hold onto, then you have a problem that needs addressed !

 

[ratdude747]

I have plastic "off brand" bearing buddies on my trailer. Installed by the previous owner a long time ago. Top them off every season, no issues. But when I add drum brakes, I'll probably swap to name brand metal ones since I don't think the plastic will agree with brake heat.

 

[Lou C]

Never a bearing failure. And I back right in at the ramp. No cool off time is required.

I do not think most people or mechanics KNOW HOW to correctly adjust the tightness of any wheel bearing.

it's a bit of a lost art. Remember when all our rear drive cars had adjustable front bearings? It was a normal part of a brake job, do the brakes, re-pack the bearings, adjust bearings. Except back in the '70s we had that nasty smelling fibrous yellow wheel bearing grease, yuk!

 

[gsbarry]

it's a bit of a lost art. Remember when all our rear drive cars had adjustable front bearings? It was a normal part of a brake job, do the brakes, re-pack the bearings, adjust bearings. Except back in the '70s we had that nasty smelling fibrous yellow wheel bearing grease, yuk!

So what is the right amount of torque, if any at all, for a standard conical trailer bearing? When I pulled mine a few days ago the castle nut was pinned on the first groove where the nut was moveable by hand (ie. slightly sloppy) Should you hand tighten and then advance one notch on the castle nut instead? i.e. a very slight amount of torque while spinning the hub/wheel checking for any binding

 

[jlh3rd]

eh...from what I learned in the 70's...
tighten the castle nut while spinning the wheel forward. 25 lb/ft torque....
but who walks around with a torque wrench, right? So the castle nut gets snugged as I rotate the wheel. I kinda remember what 25lb/ft feels like, so there's that.
Loosen the castle nut to where you can just turn it by hand, don't turn the wheel. Hand tighten back, don't turn the wheel. Now hand tighten again while just slowly rotating the forward. Now, Back the nut off to the first slot that allows the cotter pin in. Check for loose bearing by trying to wiggle the wheel. If it has play, do the process all over again. If there is still play, but it's hardly noticeable, let it go.......or do everything again.
I can't remember ever having to repeat though.

this long explanation is more for newbies....It doesn't take me long now, kinda have a feel for it.

 

[dingbat]

Don’t forget to check /retorque the bearings after first use of the trailer.

https://www.timken.com/resources/md11-nut-torquing-and-back-off-to-set-wheel-bearings/

 

[cyclops222]

Bearings will last forever. IF They are slightly loose when cold. Just remember. ONLY 2 balls or 2 rollers are taking all the downward weight at a time.
Tight bearings WILL push out the grease. Loose bearings allow the grease to be pulled onto the top loose balls and rollers. That logic has always worked for me. The wheel hubs are always cool after 5 hours of interstates every year. I test the looseness by wheel off the ground and yanking the top of the wheel in and out direction.