Check you trailer's wheel bearings. How to easily check & adjust them. Avoid huge problems

Trailer wheel bearings are a very important component to the safety of a trailer, yet they are often overlooked.
In this video I show a couple of fast and easy ways to check the condition of a trailers wheel bearings and how to adjust them.

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[thangknowa]

A few years ago, I bought a used boat and trailer from an older man. He had it serviced regularly by a dealer. All seemed well, no problems. One day I jacked up the trailer and spun the wheels. One wheel had a small rumble while spinning, I broke it down and found one roller in a bearing had broke in half, and was just tumbling around in there. I installed new hub kits, all is great now, and I have a reference base line. No substitute for a good in depth inspection.

[snort]

great info. I dont want to break down. I always prefer routine maintenance.

[SEM]

Castle nuts do not allow for precise lateral adjustment. Seat the hub on the axle by firmly tightening down the nut, then back off the nut completely. Finger-tighten the nut. Make sure that the hub spins freely. If the nut is not lining up with the cotter pin hole, you want to back off from finger-tight to expose the hole for the cotter pin. There are plenty of sources stating that a very small amount of play at the outside edge (tread) of the tire (perhaps 1/16 inch) is acceptable. Snugging the castle nut tighter with a wrench to expose the cotter pin hole may lead to cooked bearings. If you are really looking for a perfect tolerance you may need to use a thin washer under the castle nut to get it to line up perfectly with the cotter pin hole when it is just finger-tight.

[DO]

The only way to achieve consistent results is to measure axial play via a dial indicator. Timken suggests 1 to 5 thou end play. The difference between castellations on a 1" -14 axle nut is 0.0119" which makes achieving the 1-5 thou very difficult. You are either too tight or too loose. I did an experiment with several techs that go by feel and nearly everyone of them ended up well over 5 thou. I have used axle nuts with 12 notches to provide better resolution. Other methods I have used is arbor shims to dial in endplay to within range. Either way, if you are not measuring, you are guessing.

[kennethlevan]

Please tell us about those needle nose pliers.

[challeis]

Curious my caravan wheels never spins that easy, is that normal?

[fortnitetrolling]

Why would a rubber cap fall off while driving? This just happened to me on a peterbuilt. Never seen it happen in my 4 yrs driving semi

[VANCR]

About to do mine!
Thanks for sharing!
Is it good idea to put grease in before putting cap back on?
Cheers

[jimfeagins]

That bearing looked like it could have used a little more grease as well as the tightening you gave it.