Dear trailer manufacturers

[LoneCowboy]

It's 2007, almost 2008
Cars have had sealed bearings for almost 30 years
It's time to get a clue
There's only one part on a trailer that needs regular maintenance.
It shouldn't take hours to do it.

Minimum all trailer should come from the factory with bearing buddy style things, but really it's time to have sealed bearings.

Seriously, get a clue

I, your customer, shouldn't have to get down and dirty for hours to grease bearings every 3000 to 5000 miles because YOU are too lazy/cheap to put real axles on.

Fix it

 

[john_bud]

So, why didn't you buy the oil bath axles?


But seriously, I agree! Even putting a drilled hole thru the axle shaft and a grease zerk accessable under the cap would be a time saver. The bearing buddies have been known to grease the brakes up good if you go to town pumping and blow out the seal. For that reason many don't use them on axles with brakes.

 

[Mahana79]

So, why didn't you buy the oil bath axles?


But seriously, I agree! Even putting a drilled hole thru the axle shaft and a grease zerk accessable under the cap would be a time saver. The bearing buddies have been known to grease the brakes up good if you go to town pumping and blow out the seal. For that reason many don't use them on axles with brakes.

X2 i would rather clean and repack bearings than have inoperative brakes when i need them.

 

[Skyco]

So LoneCowboy- you been hiding under a rock somewhere?

Dexter- the largest axle manufacturer, has had sealed bearings for years now- you just have to spec them if you want them.

http://dexteraxle.com/nev_r_lube_bearings

Believe me you DON'T want "bearing buddy" type things on ANY trailer with brakes....the EZ-Lube deal, again a Dexter innovation, with the internally drilled hole with the nipple under the rubber axle cap is a good alternative. Some report trouble with them but I've never had any, I love them. The Bearing Buddy things have a spring and keep pressure on the grease, an ok idea if its a boat trailer without brakes being dunked in the water. Not so good with brakes because they can leak a little grease out the back...the EZ-Lube method does not keep any pressure on the grease.

http://dexteraxle.com/e_z_lube_system

 

[Renze]

We use German Knott axles, with automotive style, sealed double row angular contact bearings.
I think sealed automotive bearings is pretty much standard on the axles up to 1500 kg, just the 1800 kg ones have kept the conical bearings. These axles have 2 grease seals to separate dirt from outside, and grease inside. A grease seal failure is very unlikely, most brake problems occur from leaking hydraulic brakes that soak the brake pads.


When i look at the Dexter nevRlube bearings, i have my doubts how these will hold up on tandem or tridem trailers when used on hard surfaces with a lot of cornering.

the EZ lube axle have the bearings at a wide stand, which will deal a lot better with tandem friction.

 

[Skyco]

I wonderd the same thing too about the close spacing on the Nev-R-Lubes, but then they come with a 5 year 100,000 mile warranty so Dexter must be pretty confident

 

[Ductape]

While we're at it, could we also get the trailer manufacturers to STOP using scotch-lock connectors on most of their electrical connections, ESPECIALLY on the brake wiring down on the axle where it constantly gets sprayed by water and road salt????!!! Really.... on a manufacturing level, how much could it possibly cost them to solder and heat shrink..... OR pre-made wiring harnesses with sealed ( GASP !!!) electrical connectors like the automotive manufacturers use ????!!!!

 

[atgreene]

And do away with spring ride alltogether. I hate changing spring hangers, shackles, spring bolts and those absolutely useless plastic insert bushings that last all of a week or so.

The closest I have come to perfect is the Dexter torsion ride axles. Now if they would do the sealed wiring harness, we'd be golden.

BTW, why the heck don't trailers come standard with back-up lights? What's up with that? You wouldn't own a vehicle without them.

 

[Skyco]

Lets also do away with the 1 7/8" trailer ball- it has absolutely no purpose on earth yet small trailers STILL come with them...over the years I've swapped out many couplers for 2" to hold down the variety of drawbars needed. The latest was my log splitter trailer that I bought just a few months ago....

BTW my Featherlite enclosed aluminum trailer actually has a pre-made weathertight wiring harness...of course it is a high end trailer costing twice what some similar trailers with steel frames do..

 

[wvpolekat]

Why on earth are you down there greasing them every 3-5k miles? Seems more than a bit excessive. There has been more than one occasion that 3k wouldn't even make it through a trip.

On both of my trailers the bearings are identical to the ones on the front of my truck; tapered roller with a grease seal. I do them once a year just to be through, but I suspect they could go longer without issue.

 

[john_bud]

Why on earth are you down there greasing them every 3-5k miles? Seems more than a bit excessive. There has been more than one occasion that 3k wouldn't even make it through a trip.

On both of my trailers the bearings are identical to the ones on the front of my truck; tapered roller with a grease seal. I do them once a year just to be through, but I suspect they could go longer without issue.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I checked my records this spring and found that I had skipped bearing greasing on my big trailer - twice. OOPS! That made 3 years with out doing more than grabbing the hubs at each stop to check for heat. When I did them, they were still nice but needed to be repacked. That was about 15-18k miles. Not a lot for some, but still...


And I agree - the inventor of scotch-locks should have to crawl under every trailer with a corroded connection in the winter, in the snow, at night when it's -20f and the wind is howling to fix them!! All of the electrical connections I do are inside the lamp housings and straight run wires. I don't have to worry about lights not working that way.


jb

 

[madpogue]

The previous owner of my wife's truck trailered with it. All the old Scotchlocks were still there, gradually cutting thru the wiring on the TRUCK side. We couldn't figure out why she kept randomly blowing fuses, etc. I spent a coupla evenings in the rain under the back bumper, eventually rebuilding EVERY wire under there.

Best option on the tow vehicle side is a "T" connector. It's a sealed, three-way harness with one male and one female connector that mates to the car's rear-end wiring, and a standard trailer connector on the "third" end.

Oh, and a P.S. to the trailer mfrs: while you're at it, come up with a standard lighting system and connector pinout for separate turn signals, since most cars nowadays have them, so we don't have to rig in one of those silly converters.