Bearings re and re needed soonish

Earl Ledge

Earl Ledge

Member
I find myself suddenly needing a bearing repack on my older EZ Loader trailer, tandem axel. My mistake not booking early, but have been busy with other things. Can anyone recommended a quality shop to call who might have an opening nowish?? Range nanaimo to Duncan. Thanks.
 
Corey_lax said:
Are you not able to do it yourself? It’s a pretty simple process and good knowledge to have because you never know when you might need to replace a bearing on the side of the road
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I COULD do it but I have other things on my plate. I have done before. It’s one of those things I do as little as possible of and yes I carry bearings etc in the road!
 
Nice to have it done however 2 hours shop time and marked up products will likely cost about $250.
You could do it yourself for about $50
 
Earl Ledge said:
I find myself suddenly needing a bearing repack on my older EZ Loader trailer, tandem axel. My mistake not booking early, but have been busy with other things. Can anyone recommended a quality shop to call who might have an opening nowish?? Range nanaimo to Duncan. Thanks.
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I got a booking! All good. Cheerio.
 
Earl Ledge said:
I COULD do it but I have other things on my plate. I have done before. It’s one of those things I do as little as possible of and yes I carry bearings etc in the road!
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Just an observation but doing some things is not about money, it's about being self-reliant. Your proficiency and confidence at doing these tasks builds with experience. When I do maintenance and repair jobs on my boat and trailer #1) I know what has been done and #2) I know it's done with quality components and I know it's been done right. It's just me but I enjoy doing the work, too.

Stuff happens but if you keep up with preventative maintenance you will not need many tools or spare parts.
 
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I change mine all the time, and everybody should know how. That being said it isn't my favorite thing to do honestly. You should always ask yourself what is your time worth? If someone can do it for few hundred to me thats good deal if you ask me.

I think I paid like 30 dollars a set recently on bearings.

BTW where did you take yours?
 
I always do my bearings in the fall. So then the water, that’s always in there, doesn’t sit for the winter. Boat shops are dead in the fall, if you need them.
 
Coyote Spooner said:
I always do my bearings in the fall. So then the water, that’s always in there, doesn’t sit for the winter. Boat shops are dead in the fall, if you need them.
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Or install bearing buddies to keep the water out. Check annually but bearings should be good for years with a little maintenance (grease). I changed my trailer wheel bearings after 7 years only because I was bored that day.
 
Foxsea said:
Or install bearing buddies to keep the water out. Check annually but bearings should be good for years with a little maintenance (grease). I changed my trailer wheel bearings after 7 years only because I was bored that day.
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I do mine every year. I have bearing buddies. We’re dunking the trailer into salt water. That way the brakes, wheel lugs, etc. come apart when needed. Only cost is the grease seals ($7 each) and the grease. Saves a giant tow bill and being stuck on the side of the road.
To each their own though….
 
Coyote Spooner said:
I do mine every year. I have bearing buddies. We’re dunking the trailer into salt water. That way the brakes, wheel lugs, etc. come apart when needed. Only cost is the grease seals ($7 each) and the grease. Saves a giant tow bill and being stuck on the side of the road.
To each their own though….
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True that but this will shock you: never had failed bearings or giant tow bills in 50 years. Oh, and always in salt-water. Now brakes? That's a different issue.
 
SpringVelocity said:
I change mine all the time, and everybody should know how. That being said it isn't my favorite thing to do honestly. You should always ask yourself what is your time worth? If someone can do it for few hundred to me thats good deal if you ask me.

I think I paid like 30 dollars a set recently on bearings.

BTW where did you take yours?
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Taking to my car mechanic in Ladysmith, Laird.
 
Just did my 3 year old trailer with salt water intrusion on one side.
After looking at the corrosion present I opted for the hub kit with bearings included.
Made the job way easier and a lot less mess.
 
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If you haven’t put it back together yet? Inspect where the seal ride. Not all boat trailer axles are created equally. Newer ones don’t have stainless spindles. Older ones used to be, as I was told. So the spindle rusts where the seal rides. The fix is to use the circled stainless sleeve. I think they’re about $30-40 each. But worth the effort, as it keeps the new seal from being chewed up immediately on the rusty spindle.
 
Speedy sleaves (spelling?) they are great,make sure you buy the right size,their a tight fit.
 
So if you're sleeving a 1-1/16" spindle, can you still use same size bearing ?
In other words, are the speedy sleeve's thin enough that you don't
need to go to a different size bearing ?
 
scott craven said:
So if you're sleeving a 1-1/16" spindle, can you still use same size bearing ?
In other words, are the speedy sleeve's thin enough that you don't
need to go to a different size bearing ?
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I did not know you could sleeve the bearing area. I was of the understanding that only the area that the seal ran was subject to a speedie-sleeve.
 
When I did mine YES it did cover the bearing area as well, I had a buddy that made a special tool to slam them on to the spindle as they are very thin FYI , back when I did i was also able to got a double lipped seal as mine was just a single .
 
scott craven said:
Okay , may have misunderstood
the sleeve only covers the seal area I guess ?
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Yes it only covers the seal area. They are thin and tricky to install. It’s sort of a stretch fit. My trailer guy lent me his install tool. But if you measure your spindle, with a caliper, and buy a piece of pipe, in the same I.D. to bang it on. You tap it on slow, to make sure it’s lined up, then hammer it home. Then trim off the excess to your spindle.
 
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