Trailer Servicing

[ukminch]

Got tomorrow afternoon set aside to service my twin axle trailer tomorrow.

Including the fitting of a new (to me) hitch.

 

I've got a job in the morning that will involve going past a decent trailer place a few miles away.

 

Would you generally reckon to replace bearings at a service, or would you just check and re-grease?

 

Is there anyway I can check on the condition of the brakes beforehand without taking the wheels off?

 

Just writing this I'm more and more thinking that maybe I should go and look at it now to work out what I need. May save a trip in the afternoon.

 

R

[mixedangased]

strip and inspect,wash out bearings repack with grease if ok and re fit,check b/shoes tonight to save time and jack up spin wheels to check for rough bearings,but id repack them anyway

[treequip]

Bearings don’t need replacing as a precautionary.

 

Jack the wheel up and spin the wheel, if the bearing is on it’s way out you will hear a rumbling. Then, with the handbrake off grasp the top and bottom of the wheel and push/pull it, if the bearing needs tightening you will feel the “play” in it.

 

Take the bearing cap off and inspect the interior, if the grease is old and caked looking re pack the cover, if it looks particularly bad you might want to take the hub off and pack the back bearing as well. To do this first chock the vehicle on level ground, jack and support the axle and remove the road wheel. Wind off the slack adjuster, it’s usually a 19ish nut near the top of the backplate, wind it out a few turns and then give it a tap to send the wedge forward. With a soft hammer (lump of wood) give the brake drum a little light “therapy” to encourage the shoes to drop away from the drum. Now, under the hub cap release the tab washer and remove the locking nut, take the tab washer out and remove the inner nut, the hub should now come off. Grease and re fit the hub.

Some axles have sealed for life bearings, if it only has one nut and no grease you are good to go.

 

Inspecting the condition of the brake linings without removing the road wheel or hub is simple. At the bottom of the backplate is a hole just for this job, when new it has a rubber bung in it but many older trailers are missing these. Stick your head round the back of the road wheel and shine a torch at the bottom of the back plate.

 

 

Andy

[ukminch]

Well I couldn't resist having a mess. A couple of the bearings are a bit iffy so I'll probably get a set soon as they're not expensive. The brake shoes were completely shot, drums are ok though.

 

Hadn't realised how expensive shoes are for trailers though. £60ish quid a set. Cheaper on the van..................

 

R

 

ps Cheers for the advice guys

[treequip]

Beware spurious “no name” bearings from the Far East. Look for SKF for quality.

 

You can often find bargain prices on a certain internet auction site. Last set of knott shoes cost me £40.00 per axle

[mpb]

Check the condition of your bowden brake cables, they have a habbit of the inners rusting to the outters. Mine did this, so I couldn't set the brakes up untill i changed them.

 

Martin

[ukminch]

Beware spurious “no name” bearings from the Far East. Look for SKF for quality.

 

You can often find bargain prices on a certain internet auction site. Last set of knott shoes cost me £40.00 per axle

 

Thanks for that. I do use decent bearings. I learnt that ages ago with mowers, having to change them all the time. Had to use a set of expensive bearings, then all of a sudden decent bearings didn't need changing as often.

 

I'll use the trailer shop for the shoes and bearings as I do quite like the service that I get there, and don't mind paying a bit extra for decent service

 

R