They aren't modern designed sealed bearings like on new cars. Don't forget old cars like my 'lac the front wheel bearings were a scheduled maintenance item. Every 10,000 miles I believe.
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Mostly I think trailer bearings fail because of several factors.
Extreme torsional and side loads caused by the trailer swaying from side to side. This is aggravated by a short tongue length.
Poor or no service. New bearings should be tightened after a hundred mile break in.
High RPMs caused by small diameter wheels.
Long periods of disuse. The bearings get hot and then cool suddenly and draw humidity, water in as they cool. Driving in the rain or dunking the hubs in water (boat trlr) aggravate this. Corrosion and hardened grease are the result.
Sealed bearings are a solution and many trailers come with them or oil bath bearings. Just not $200 utility trailers.
Keeping the hubs pressurized (bearing buddy) will greatly lengthen bearing life. Still, annual service is required even if the trailer is not used at all. A waterproof wheel bearing grease is a must. http://shop.easternmarine.com/index....categoryID=191
My 1,000,000 mile 2 cents worth.
What creek said. Also on the torsional loads think that if you have a multi-axle trailer the wheels don't turn when going around a corner. You can see when a trailer with more than one axle is being backed up or turned sharply that there are very high side loads being placed on it. Look at the sidewall of a tire on one of those trailers while it is moving in tight confines and you will see what I'm talkinga bout.
POS, can you source me some sealed bearings for my AX trailer? I am curious about the cost.
I have the 8" wheels and have towed over 5000 miles at 70-80mph. I replaced the wheel bearing this past winter and they all looked great!
Those are the correct bearings but you will also want some new hub seals as well. To get those you can call HF and order them over the phone.
In case anyone wanted something with sides....that tilts also....just for fun...
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trai..._Trailers.aspx
Hmmm a Miatacamino...........
http://www.paul-davis.com/vehicles/miata/camino2.jpg
Been done . . . don't know why.
I broke down and bought the HF trailer this past weekend. I've been searching 'autocross trailer' looking for ideas to build up my trailer. One thing I noticed is most Miata trailers I've seen use this tire configuration -
http://www.topdownmx5.com/images/Trailer/DSCF0002.JPG
But this looks more straight forward to me. Any ideas why most Miata trailers use the other?
http://www.topdownmx5.com/trailer2.jpg
This came up before in an OZMDD discussion IIRC. If I remember the result its that you want the weight on the tongue more than tipping back.
Really depends on the width of the tires. Can you get 4 to fit across the trailer upright. On mine I couldn't so I went with the posts.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/220596/2
Stacking vertically you can fit 6 Miata sized wheels/tires or 4 in Z06 sizes.
Standing side-by-side you can only fit 4 Miata sized wheels/tires or 3 in Z06 sizes.
Stacking vertically is much more versatile.
The stack of (4) 15" Kumho's are around 32" tall. The RE-11's are around 36" tall. Should fit across, but my trailer is still in its boxes. ;)
That makes sense, but I'd have to plan ahead with extra tall posts, and I'm not planning on
buying another Z06 anytime soon. ;)