Trailer bearings - in depth dive (trailer maintenance)

[TheDocAUS]

A very interesting and informative video on trailer bearings and brakes:

View: https://youtu.be/WzEyUPEGvPY

We cover:
• How wheel bearings actually work
• Why incorrect adjustment destroys bearings
• How much grease is enough (and why more isn’t better)
• Electric vs hydraulic trailer brakes — pros and cons
• Common mistakes that cause brake failure
• What to check before towing any trailer

 

[Tazzieman]

A farm trailer is one thing, your 2-3+ tonne home on wheels fanging along at 90-100km/ hr another.
I have 1.25T on each wheel ( single axle), so choice of wheel, tyre, bearing, bearing grease and pressure is critical. Let alone the brake system.
After each roadstop I place my hand on each hubcap as an easy temp check. Any significant differential I'd dig deeper.
Touch wood I haven't had an incident. Perish the thought.

 

[TheDocAUS]

I have also written a short guide on trailer checks in the field, although I now use an IR temp gun to check the hubs (or a Flir camera), Using the Flir thermal imager is like having Superman's x ray vision:

Off-road trailer guide

Off-road trailer guide Setting the correct tyre pressure and ongoing checks and maintenance are part of any trip. Identifying a developing issue is better than addressing a catastrophic failure in …

thedocaus.com

 

[Eric]

A farm trailer is one thing, your 2-3+ tonne home on wheels fanging along at 90-100km/ hr another.
I have 1.25T on each wheel ( single axle), so choice of wheel, tyre, bearing, bearing grease and pressure is critical. Let alone the brake system.
After each roadstop I place my hand on each hubcap as an easy temp check. Any significant differential I'd dig deeper.
Touch wood I haven't had an incident. Perish the thought.

Putting the hand on the hub is also a good check for a brake sticking on ( especially with wire cable overrun brakes)

 

[Tazzieman]

I have also written a short guide on trailer checks in the field, although I now use an IR temp gun to check the hubs

I have the IR gun tucked away with every other might need one day electronic testing tool in my Kings bag in the back, but the hand on hub seems to be pretty efficient - "pretty damn warm" ( OK) vs " "fark, that's too hot to get near, there's a problem" .
I live in a world of acronyms and the young hospital residents serve me up new ones each month it seems!
Anyway the old 7"P"s = "Proper planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance" always guides my approach. And the old 3"P'"s we used to describe crumbly patients - "piss poor protoplasm" - can be used to prevent problems caused by supposedly rated Chinese alloy wheels and bearings, etc.

 

[TheDocAUS]

The back of the hand works well, it is all about any material differences in temperatures between each side that matters. If both sides are really hot, time to give it a rest.

I was shown how to do it on the The Kimberley Trip back in 2015. I did the first check under Barry's supervision at Drysdale River Station up the Kalumburu Road, which is off the Gibb River Road. Our version of the School of the Air.

We have stayed in contact after that trip and both hope to meet up again in The Kimberley later in 2026. I will see Barry in Warragul in Victoria in about 10 days. When the car and van go to Melbourne for PPF film.

The hub lesson was all driven by the Kimberley Carnage he and I witnessed. We sat in the Drysdale River Station camp area watching the next wounded warrior to come in. Plus what we saw when we went up to Mitchell Falls ourselves. The Mitchell Plateau Track is arguably the worst road in Australia:

THE KIMBERLY CARVES UP EVEN PREPARED TRAVELLERS

Kimberley Carnage – dropping like flies – 22 May

When The Doc arrived at Drysdale River Station on 19 May the damaged trailers total was three. The tally started on 1 May. The bushfires had closed the road for a week, so the total was for 2 weeks…

thedocaus.com