Periodic Trailer Maintenance

[Hollada]

I’ve looked on the owner’s board and can’t find anything. I’ve got a 2019 dual axle trailer. Is there a checklist anywhere of things I should do to maintain it? Nuts to tighten (other than lug nuts) and their torque specs. Areas to lube? Etc. I believe the bearings are sealed and require no maintenance, but I have heard folks referencing tightening bolts. Just not sure which ones and how tight?

[lpugh]

This is about what I do:
Tire pressure monthly (use the correct presure for the weight carried, not the maximum on the side wall of the tire)
On a tandem axel 30 to 35 is about right) this helps In not beating your trailor and motor mounts to death on the outboard
Single axle will probably need 45 to 60 depending on the weight and tire design
most tire shops have weight charts to help determine the correct amount of pressure for the tire and weight combination. Most guys get this all wrong with to much pressure on tandem axels

about 2 pump of grease on the zerts for the hubs about ever 6 monthes
Repack and inspect bearings every 15 thousand miles, Tandem axel, more often for single

Annually: Check all fasteners, inspect brake wear,

flush brake fluid by bleeding until all fluid is replaced

Lube the ball receiver and friction areas on the sliding hitch assy
inspect welds for cracks
Check brake lines and wiring for chaffing or cracking
Seal the paint at least yearly (not wax) Suggest the newer Nano sealers

You should have received a trailer maintenance guide for your specific trailer when you purchased it, being a 19 I am sure there will be some things different than what I suggested

[catdude28]

Depends on your hubs. At some time this year BCB switched back to grease hubs from the hybrid of the Vault. The hybrid lubricant requires no inspection or replenishment for five years.

[lpugh]

Depends on your hubs. At some time this year BCB switched back to grease hubs from the hybrid of the Vault. The hybrid lubricant requires no inspection or replenishment for five years.

Glad to hear that, I had a very low opinion of the vault hub system.

[Scottw]

Your opinion is correct,me and my tourney buddies have been fighting the pos vault hubs for years,we never leave home without a spare hub/bearings.have yet to make it past three years on a vault system

[n2ratfishin]

I just passed three years on my Vaults, no issues. I have a different brand trailer. On both my Cats I pulled the wheels and cleaned and repacked the bearings every three years. My Cougar needed new bunks at the seven year point. Of course I put new tires on them every three years. I do that no matter what brand I own. I checked the brake fluid every few months. I checked the lights before every trip, air pressure in the tires...especially with cool weather coming. The Cat trailers were the best I’ve owned to date with the Ranger trailers being right there with them. Knock on wood my Vault hubs stay good. I May have added grease to my Cat bearings once a year? The 07/08 trailers just didn’t selling much grease. If cleaned and packed correctly they lasted a lot of miles.

[basshole51]

for torsion axle trailers - Tighten to 150 FT lbs the big bolt/nut holding the end unit assembly to the axle...while jacked up do a "wiggle" test to ensure bearings are good (any slop means replace in my book). While under there I also inspect trailer bunk lugs, brackets, braces, bunks, etc for anything unusual. Give brake fluid a look as well.

[lostone]

Don't add extra grease shots between bearing packings. I believe that is BCB's stance as well.

[lpugh]

Don't add extra grease shots between bearing packings. I believe that is BCB's stance as well.

Do what you want to do, just telling you what over fifty years of experience has taught me. In six months grease will dry out just a little and a small amount will leak out in the real world, Two shots is very small amount of grease, not enough to blow out the seals but helps assure water does not get in. I don't have a excessive amount grease shown around the outside of the seals doing this and have never had a bearing failure

[Eyra1]

Glad to hear that, I had a very low opinion of the vault hub system.

You sir are not alone...……...……….

[Hollada]

Thanks all. Good info! Will be winterizing soon and will add a little trailer lovin’ to the routine.

[OldTimer57]

Here's my take:

Every trip, when you arrive at ramp and when you arrive back home, put your hand on each wheel near the hub. Get used to how it feels. Will be warmer in the heat of summer, cooler in the winter. Do this EVERY time you go out. If you begin to notice higher than normal temps, time to check the seals on the axles. If you check every time, you get PLENTY of warning. If it gets too hot to touch, time to take quick action. Note that if you tow a ways downhill, saying going from Guntersville (town) out to the state park, where there are twisty roads with a long downhill grade, the hubs can get hotter than normal since each pump of the brakes on the tow vehicle will engage the surge brakes on the trailer and produce heat.

Every month, at least, find a place between where you leave and arrive that has a significant downhill slope. For me this is the end of my driveway. Have a helper pull down to the bottom of that slope and stop and hold the brakes. Go back to the tongue of the trailer and look at the actuator. That big roller pin that sits in a slot (normally positioned all the way forward toward the tow vehicle) will now be shifted to the rear a bit. ⅓ of the max travel or less means all is good. If the roller pin goes all the way back, you have no surge brakes. Note that a helper is best. You can NOT put the truck in park. Park requires going through reverse, which will blip the reverse bleed solenoid and give a false "pin too far back I have a problem." This is also a good time to check the air pressure in the tires. Or, as I do, check your TPMS (if you put sensors on your trailer wheels) to make sure tire pressures are up to snuff.

Every time we hook up when it is dark, I do a walk around making sure all the lights are on as expected. I then test both turn signals.

So now you have handled the big three - bearings, brakes and lights.

Every 6 months or so I check the brake fluid but hardly ever need to add any fluid. It will drop a bit as the pads wear, which is OK, just so it does't drop low enough to allow air into the system.

Every 3 months or so I check the trailer coupler. The locking tab will occasionally need a drop or two of oil to keep it operating smoothly and not sticking. I also use this time to wipe out the coupler to ball interface, as well as clean the ball. I coat with a very thin film of 2-4-C to lube the coupler to ball interface and reduce wear.

Every 3-6 months (depending on how far you tow on average) give the tires a look-see. I usually have my son slowly pull the boat down the driveway as I walk beside it and examine the tread pattern for any unusual wear. You can do this with the recommended brake test if you want.

BTW, on the grease issue. My take has always been "too much is much worse than too little." I've always packed the bearings as full as I can, BEFORE knocking the bearing buddy back on. I then leave it alone until either (a) I notice a hub getting warmer than usual or (b) 3 years go by. When either of those happens, I do the usual. Remove the wheels, knock the bearing buddies off (often takes a bit of cursing...) and then pull the calipers and take the hubs off. Clean everything, examine the bearings carefully for any unusual wear, scoring, color change (blue -> overheating) and such. If there is any doubt, I replace 'em. I always replace the seals. I have tried places like NAPA, but I have better luck Calling Allan in parts and having him ship me the correct bearings and seals. Last time I did this, I bought the exactly correct bearings from Napa. and could NEVER get the race into the wheel hub. I heated the hub. super-cooled the race. Beat it using a heavy dead blow hammer + block of wood. Called Allan, had him ship me what he said would work and the races went in just like I expected. Never easy, but not impossible. Once I grease and replace the seals, the axles remain untouched until either (a) or (b) comes up again. I will add that I have been towing a boat for 40+ years and I have never, not one single time, been stranded with a bearing failure. They give you plenty of advance warning. You just have to listen to them when they try to tell you something is not right.

NOTE: I have a leaf spring trailer. I think that BassCat recommends tightening the torque axles with some regularity, I left that out since I don't have to deal with that.

I've noticed that as I walk through the parking lot to go retrieve my boat, MANY of the trailers are simply neglected. Carpet ripped on the bunks (you can see this when the boat is off the trailer, but you have to look), brake lines obviously broken (rubber lines in particular where the metal transitions to rubber at the calipers), lights missing. Wires hanging down and obviously broken. Not sure why someone would take the time to wipe their boat down before heading home, and totally ignore the thing that the boat has to ride on. Trailer seems to be the "invisible helper" that gets ignored until you see one on the side of the road with a missing wheel or such.

[Louie]

Dan, I know you and I chat often (Matt). I just did brakes on my 17 puma trailer. From my experience with it... It would be a must once a year to hand torque all wheel lugs. Not sure the spec on them but most things I tighten of that sort are around 100 ft lbs. The torsion axle nut as s.omeone talked about above, is 150 ft lbs. I checked all of mine and got a good turn out of the right rear. If your slim enough you can slide under the trailer and inspect for signs of grease at the backs of your hubs and inspect inside brake pad thickness which could also probably be done with a mirror. I bled my brakes as well. I did not know that the hoses are run in series and the left front wheel is where the only bleeder screw is. I bled mine with a mighty vac/ air hose.

I checked all my bearings twice this year zero play on 3 of them. The left front has a tiny smidge. Ill monitor it. The vault hubs say they are service free for 5 years? I doubt Ill go that long without tearing mine down. I want to say I recall BCB said something about being able to repack these with their favorite red and tacky grease? Please chime in on that, I believe it got discussed at the last dealer meeting?

Dan also If I had one that new I would craw under it and inspect all the welds along the rear cross arms. The penetration and over lap on my look pretty good for the most part. I know they are in unseen areas, but could of been welded a little better. I'm tempted to apply a type of cavity sealant on some of the fine rust areas Ive seen on my trailer. Might be a mineral oil type spray up north you could find for that?

[RazorCat]

This is about what I do:
Tire pressure monthly (use the correct presure for the weight carried, not the maximum on the side wall of the tire)
On a tandem axel 30 to 35 is about right) this helps In not beating your trailor and motor mounts to death on the outboard
Single axle will probably need 45 to 60 depending on the weight and tire design
most tire shops have weight charts to help determine the correct amount of pressure for the tire and weight combination. Most guys get this all wrong with to much pressure on tandem axels

about 2 pump of grease on the zerts for the hubs about ever 6 monthes
Repack and inspect bearings every 15 thousand miles, Tandem axel, more often for single

Annually: Check all fasteners, inspect brake wear,

flush brake fluid by bleeding until all fluid is replaced

Lube the ball receiver and friction areas on the sliding hitch assy
inspect welds for cracks
Check brake lines and wiring for chaffing or cracking
Seal the paint at least yearly (not wax) Suggest the newer Nano sealers

You should have received a trailer maintenance guide for your specific trailer when you purchased it, being a 19 I am sure there will be some things different than what I suggested

One point I have to respectfully disagree on. Otherwise, I agree.
Never, ever use a grease gun to add grease if you don’t have any visible leaks on the seal or other parts of the hub. I repack my hubs and change seals about every three years. Once they’re reassembled I’ll give the Bearing Buddy a couple of squirts until I see the indicator. After that, I add no grease with a gun. If I see it slinging grease, it time for a new seal and repack.
I run 42 PSI on my tandem trailer with Cooper Cobra Radial GT tires. Just below the 44 recommended. Seems like the sweet spot for the Arkansas roads I travel.