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A question for the technical members;
I am looking at replacing the wheel bearing on the trailer before going to France this year, are the wheel bearing a standard size, ie a 1 inch shaft diameter or are there different sizes?
I could strip the bearings down and measure them, just wondered if there was a quick answer.
On my return from Datchet as I arrived back at Oxford the weld to my mast crook broke. As it is reaching that time of year when trailors start to be used more it is worth giving the welds and bearings a good looking at !!
There's probably a small plate on your trailer that shows the manufacturer, loading limits, and with a bit of luck the trailer name/type under which is was sold. All useful to have to hand when you phone the manufacturer to see if they can advise you as to the bearing that was fitted originally; beware that a previous owner may have made changes - eg to fit Mini size wheels in place of the tiny wheels sometimes used, it may well have been necessary to replace the sub-axles, bearings etc to provide a hub on which the new bigger wheels could be fitted - so it may be as well to check the wheels and the hubs on which they are mounted so you know what is fitted now. What you really want to know is the bearing manufacturer, bearing type and part number - you may be able to source them locally or cheaper over the web than the manufacturer wants to charge you.....
If the manufacturer can't/won't help, you should know that different sorts of axles and bearings have been used in trailers over the years. If you strip them down you will probably find the manufacturer's "part number", and with a bit of luck you'll also find the manufacturer's name so you can find out where you can get replacements from.
Some bearings are tapered roller bearings, which can be "tightened up" to allow for wear and tear - to a specified amount of play in the assembled bearing..... Others are either ball or roller bearings that would need replacing if they are suffering from too much wear. Lots of grease is advisable - but where it is needed.......
I hope this gives you a bit of knowledge so that you can ask sensible questions or provide sensible answers when whoever you try asks for just that bit more information.
But there are other Sprinters who are more knowledgeable than me on this sort of matter.
It is often cheaper to change the whole hub - see Autow warehouse website - very fast delivery. They do complete hubs with new bearings, seals and wheel nuts at a fraction of the price of 2 sets of bearings. I now replace complete hubs on the SSC patrol boat trailers rather than bearings.
The main issue is whether it is 1" or 25mm shaft and what the spacing of the wheel nuts is ( this is called PCD and is likely to be either 100mm or 4 inches for example) if you look at the Autow website they explain it all.
Agree with Steve Willis. Replaced my own tapered roller bearings recently. Still had to pay the local garage to press out the old cups from the hubs and press in the new ones. Buying new hubs wouldn't have been much more expensive and would have been much more convenient. If your trailer is like mine it will have rubber mounted suspension arms bolted on and parts are available from indespension and the hub will probably be like this: http://www.indespension.co.uk/bestselli ... -axle.html
I also replaced the tyres with 8 ply ones and run them at 40 psi. Used to have my old 4 ply ones at 30 psi but one died on the M5 coming back from Instow . (Trying to follow George Love . . .)
Happy to use my trailer for Carnac, but your box is a bit bigger than mine .
. (Trying to follow George Love . . .)
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