Boat Trailer Bearing – How warm is to warm.

When I bought my boat used last spring, The guy who I purchased it from said he had the trailer bearings Replaced and packed the year Prior. In the last year I’ve taken the boat on a few trips of maybe 2-3 Hr’s – Not any real long trips. I have always stopped a few times each trip to feel the hub to make sure it did not feel hot. My question is how hot is to Hot and how warm/hot is normal. I have always been able to hold my hand on it without feeling any pain. A few times They have felt what I would call real warm. With a long trip ( 800 or so miles each way ) coming up next week I decided to have the bearings serviced. The shop said they would replace the seals and repack the bearings and inspect and replace the bearings if they thought needed. I just wanted to know how warm they should get on a trip before being concerned.

If you can’t touch the wheel then I would consider them too hot…warm to the touch is OK.

I don’t mess around with the bearings so I’d suggest just replacing the whole hub assembly and then having a spare hub with you. If they are going to have them apart and have labor then replace them. Losing a bearing can ruin a whole trip. Hubs are relatively cheap and easier to replace roadside then repacking and replacing the bearings imho.

Matt Moen wrote:

If you can’t touch the wheel then I would consider them too hot…warm to the touch is OK.

I don’t mess around with the bearings so I’d suggest just replacing the whole hub assembly and then having a spare hub with you. If they are going to have them apart and have labor then replace them. Losing a bearing can ruin a whole trip. Hubs are relatively cheap and easier to replace roadside then repacking and replacing the bearings imho.

How universal are Trailer Hubs? There are a group of Guys with 3 boats going on the trip together. I was thinking about getting a spare hub assembly along to have as a backup for all of the party but was not sure if one hub style would fit all trailers.

Nice Pike in your picture – How big and where was it caught? I’m looking forward to catching a few of those next week. I think on last years trip one of the boats caught 40 fish over 40″ with the largest being 48″

I bought complete hub assemblies from Northern at about the 15 year mark. I kept one of the originals as a spare. Peace of mind and I hate rebuilding them piece by piece.

I can’t recall ever feeling mine were even that warm. Checked several times last year after redoing but stopped. Might check on em next year

I am in the habit of checking my hubs when I’m on a trip but got a surprise last week when I went locally and the bearings exploded on me…the bummer was that they never really felt hot or even warm..weird..I have also decided that I need to but an extra hub to have along..second time this has happened..you’d think I’d learn after the first time right? hahaha

One thing you may want to check. Make sure the spindle nut was not tightened up to much. Jack up the tire and check to make sure it spins freely. If there is any drag on the spin, pop off the hub cover and loosen the spindle nut slightly to the point the tire spins freely.

Also make sure the total weight of the boat and gear does not exceed the max trailer rating. If it does, there will always be issues with the hubs and tires.

In my opinion, the hub should never be hotter than the tire tread. (Temp of the road.)

Good Luck.

-J.

Every time I stop I check mine. Warm to slightly above warm is were mine sit on moderate drives of around 2 hrs. I’ve ALWAYS been able to completely grab my hub for 5-10 seconds. I’d personally have a spare with any trailer that I routinely use…but make sure you have all the right tools as well!

I agree with the rest on temp. I’d say I’ve never felt mine above about 110 degrees. About 130-140 is too hot to touch and anything above that probably too hot for a wheel bearing. Compare it to your hot water temp at home.

fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Matt Moen wrote:</div>
If you can’t touch the wheel then I would consider them too hot…warm to the touch is OK.

I don’t mess around with the bearings so I’d suggest just replacing the whole hub assembly and then having a spare hub with you. If they are going to have them apart and have labor then replace them. Losing a bearing can ruin a whole trip. Hubs are relatively cheap and easier to replace roadside then repacking and replacing the bearings imho.

How universal are Trailer Hubs? There are a group of Guys with 3 boats going on the trip together. I was thinking about getting a spare hub assembly along to have as a backup for all of the party but was not sure if one hub style would fit all trailers.

Nice Pike in your picture – How big and where was it caught? I’m looking forward to catching a few of those next week. I think on last years trip one of the boats caught 40 fish over 40″ with the largest being 48″

Seems to me that you have spare boats coming up….that’s the way to do it! They are fairly universal but could be differences across boat sizes and trailer types. Your mechanic should know…I’d suggest you all have spares.

I caught that pike in a Canada a couple of summers ago – 43.5″ if I remember correctly. You guys will get on some big ones I’m sure of it.

Agreed on the tools – we had an issue with my buddies trailer a couple months ago and he had all the parts but not the right tools. I always keep a big crescent wrench with me along with assorted tools. It’s good for you but also nice to have them in case you come upon someone else that’s been stranded.

When loaded correctly, the hubs should feel warm to the touch, not hot. If you cannot keep your hand on the hub comfortably, the bearings are loaded to tight or in need of maintenance.
Tighten the spindle nut finger tight (until snug) and then tighten the spindle nut another 1/4 turn or about 15 to 20 ft pounds of torque. Turn the hub ten revolutions, this will fully seat the races.
Loosen the spindle nut very loose, then re-snug to finger tight, and engage the nut retaining device. It is better to back the nut off to lock it versus making it tighter to do so. Loaded bearings run hot, the goal is for zero load. I normally back off from touch a half to one flat of the nut and lock the nut.
If you have trailer breaks, some of the heat generated when breaking, finds it way into the hub as well. The challenge is determining why the hub is hot.

I got one of these a year ago, great to check and I usually compare it to the truck wheels (no clue what to hot would be, but usually slightly hotter than the wheels is what I see) The only issue I have is to actually use it as I leaned my lesson this spring! Funny how I will check all summer on long trips and totally disregard them in the spring for short local trips.

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Johnie Birkel wrote:

I got one of these a year ago, great to check and I usually compare it to the truck wheels (no clue what to hot would be, but usually slightly hotter than the wheels is what I see) The only issue I have is to actually use it as I leaned my lesson this spring! Funny how I will check all summer on long trips and totally disregard them in the spring for short local trips.

I didn’t think it was very funny….

My hubs have gotten hot enough you could barely touch them, a few hours later they were barely warm to the touch and the only stopping was for fuel for an 11 hour 1 way trip. The only difference was that the sun went down and the road cooled. The grease will be ok up to around 350 degrees and the bearings shouldn’t spall from that temp. It would be interesting to do some failure tests and wheel bearings.

I’ll toss in my thoughts,as mentioned road heat plays a factor but I missed or hasnt been thought of is this,does the trailer have brakes???
if so,what kind,shoe type or disc??

shoe type brakes should run cool as there is very little if any drag from the brake shoes in the drum.
if they are the disc type,they will run much warmer due to the design of that style of brakes,why??

the pads will always have a tiny bit of friction on the rotor generating the extra heat.
they will also run warmer when a lot of stop and go driving in town or cities is encountered.

if no brakes of any kind,they will run warm with a long trip,but not so warm you cant put your hand on them for any length of time.

lots of good stuff already mentioned so I wont repeat whats already been said.

On trip of 2-3 hours they would be warm to the touch maybe 90-100 degrees.That of course is dependent on time of year.I never checked with a temp. gun but they should feel warm not hot.I would just do the bearings every year.I do mine every year and and a dozen more at work,no issues.

Well the Bearing job is now done. They replaced the seals and repacked the bearings. They said the Bearing in there looked real good. The Prior Owner must have been honest when he said he had just replaced them the fall before I purchased the boat. It ended up being a Great Idea to have them serviced for a 2nd and probably Bigger reason. While they were replacing the Bearings they noticed one of the Hanger Brackets for the Springs was Broken and hanging down. They said had I caught it on ramp edge or someplace else it most likely ripped the axle right off. They welded it back into place and say it now as good as new. I think I know when I may have had it happen. A few weeks ago one of the landings I used had some rather severe damage over the winter and spring and had some major pothole in the road leading down to the landing. I missed seeing one of them and hit it rater hard. I guess it was my lucky day that they noticed it while they were under there.