Wobbly Trailer Wheel at East Canyon

Utah Fishing Reports & Discussion Utah Fishing General
1

Well, last week I almost sank my boat at Willard Bay, so this week I decided to see what I could break at East Canyon. I was not disappointed..

My boat leak was just the 2 screw holes from my fish finder that hadn’t been corked.. I have since re-installed my fish finder and am happy to say that I didn’t take on a drop of water (as far as I can tell anyway). I did get my bilge pump installed and attached to the Bilge switch, so I won’t sink anytime soon.

But I digress.. I drove from Midvale to East Canyon and as you guys know, the highway from I-80 to East Canyon ( I think it’s hwy 65) isn’t open up yet, so I decided to live dangerously and drive up Jeremy Ranch Road.

Now whoever named it was very liberal in their use of the word ‘Road’. I would call it Jeremy Ranch Cheeze Grater.. The road wasn’t smooth by any stretch of the imagination. My guess is that my trailer was ready to break anyway, but Jeremy Ranch ‘Road’ finished it off..

I was about half way up the road northbound to East Canyon reservior when a little voice told me I should inspect my trailer for damage.. I did, and noticed that one of the trailer wheels seemed to be leaning a bit. It looked like some of the guts were coming out of the middle of the wheel assembly. Those guts, I later realized were the last remaining remnants of the wheel bearings.

It’s amazing how much we take wheel bearings for granted… Without them the tire wobbles quite freely. I really didn’t have any desire to leave my boat in the middle of Jeremy Ranch ‘Road’, so I decided to baby it all the way up to East Canyon Reservior.. Besides, who cares if the trailer blows up, as long as you can get out fishin’…

Anyway, I was almost to East Canyon Reservior when I noticed the tire wobbling quite severely. I pulled over and saw smoke coming out of the bearing assembly. By guess is friction had something to do with that. The grease was actually bubbling. So I reached down to grab it (just kidding.. I’m not quite THAT dumb.. Close though)..

Anyway, I drove the rest of the way to the Reservior and put the boat in the water and parked the trailer so that I could assess the damage.

I think if I pulled hard enough, I could probably pull of the wheel without removing the lugnuts..

I need to get me a new bearing, and whatever the heck else I broke in the process. Looks like the axle is in alright condition, and the big screw at the end with the cotter pin is in good shape, but the bearing basically just came apart All that’s left is the inner ring, and the outer housing.. The bearings are somewhere on Jeremy Ranch Road…

If anybody has any advice on how to fix this I would greatly appreciate it.

I left my boat at the Reservior (put it back on the trailer and parked it (hoping all the time that the wheel wouldn’t fall off). I’m hoping the Park Ranger will be nice enough to give me a couple days to get back when he notices the tire is almost falling off. I put a little note in the windshield of the boat.

So as for fishing, I caught 1 little Rainbow using a brass colored mepps spoon. My 11 yr old daughter got a strike on a black wally bugger, and my 9 year old didn’t get a nibble on power bait or the white tube jig.

We didn’t bring any live bait, and I’m guessing that was the missing piece..

Oh well.. Let me know if you have any ideas about how to CHEAPLY repair the wheel. The trailer must be about 30+ years old…

See ya all later,
Curtis

PS: I don’t post this for any sympathy.. I just do it because I’m sure some of you need a giggle and need to sometimes be reminded that this stuff happens to others too..

PPS: If I wasn’t insane about fishing, this might make me a bit weary of fishing, but alas, I am insane, and so no level of negative experiences will ever squelch the desire I have to feel that fish on the other end of the line..

PPPS: Definition of Fishing:

A Jerk at one end of the line waiting for a Jerk at the other end of the line.. :slight_smile:

2

Two words: Auto Zone!:laughing:

3

go to henderson wheels they will get you taken care of with better parts for cheaper then anyone in town

4

You will either need a 1" or a 1 3/8" bearing kit. Probably 1 3/8. If you were closer, I could just give you a set of each. I keep spares. They don’t cost much.
Take a pair of channel locks,a small pair of pliers,a hammer,a handful of rags, a tube of grease,leather gloves,an 8" punch or a long screwdriver you can beat on, a hydraulic jack and a small flashlight. A can of brake cleaner,one band aid and some hand cleaner would be a good idea too. And something with a flat end to pound the new seal in. You might want to get an extra washer while you are at Hendersons, in case the threads are messed up and you can’t get the new bearings to tighten up. The old bearing races might be welded in from the heat. They may require some hard beating to get out.
When you put it all back together, tighten the axle nut as tight as it will go, then use the hammer and punch to tighten it some more. When it won’t turn any more, loosen it back to where you can get the cotter pin in.
Oh, and take a sandwich bag. When you get ready to install each bearing, but some grease in the bag with the bearing and smash it around to pack grease into the bearing. Makes for a great roadside bearing packer.
Be careful to beat the seal in evenly. Flat side facing you.

5

[left]You sure know how to have fun. Excitement and adventure anyway… [;)]
[/left]

6

+1 I am loving these spring stories!!!

7

Thanks for the helpful advice.. I’m kicking myself for not removing the part holding the bearing, to make sure I get the right size, but it was pretty much shredded anyway.. I’ll buy both kits and just return the one that isn’t the right size.

Again, thanks much for the advise.

Curtis
–LuvThemCuts

8

I’d of blocked the trailer up, removed the bad hub and brought it back with you. You could of rebuilt the hub at home and installed it at the ramp IF your axle spindle is not trashed.

Once you remove the hub assembly from the axle make sure that the axle spindle has no raised metal. I’m surprised you didn’t cook the axle as well with your discription of how bad the bearings were. Better to be lucky than good a wise man once told me. Along with that list of tools, take a file and some sandpaper to remove any raised metal from the axle spindle.

Inspect the area where the seal comes in contact with the spindle. It usually wears a groove in it when the bearings are totally destroyed as you have described. That groove will leak grease and allow water back into your bearings, ruining your bearings in short order.

Also when you tighten the castle nut down to preset your bearings, check the play WITH the tire on the hub. Grab the top of and bottom of the tire (not the sides) and see if you can feel any play. If you can, tighten the castle nut until you have no play. If you need to tighten the nut a little more to get the cotter pin in, do it because you can back the nut off a little after the pin is in. Don’t over tighten the castle nut putting undo presure on your bearings. this can cause excessive wear and heat on the bearing.

Once you think you’re ready to hit the road and you’ve towed the trailer for a while, recheck the bearing play by jacking the trailer up and grabbing the tire and checking for play as you did during installation. If it’s loose, tighten it up. You should be good to go.

I’d suggest bearing buddies. not only can you add grease to your hub assemblies periodically but it also provides positive pressure in the hub helping to keep water out but be careful you don’t put too much grease in your hubs that you blow out the back seal and grease squeezes out. Not only will you have to replace the seal again, you’ll have that wheel throwing grease all over everything while going down the road.

The first thing I do every year before going out in the spring is check the trailer wheel bearings and grease. It’s the #1 point of failure on your trailer that can have a BIG impact on a trip. It takes an hour or so to check them in your driveway and verify thy’re ready to go.

9

Yup. I would have brought back the wheel, but I had 2 problems:

  1. I didn’t bring any tools with me.
  2. I did bring my 2 little girls with me (11 and 9 yrs old)

I figured I’d better get them home. And come back on another day to get the thing fixed.

I actually got the ranger station on the phone today and they told me they’ll just charge me $5.00 per night for dry storage…

So for future trips, I will start bringing along a few more tools. As I have these little accidents, I will add to my tool pile on the boat and eventually, I’ll probaby have all that is required to run a full boat shop :slight_smile: It’s a bummer that all our fun lakes are so far from civilization and boat repair shops, but that’s what makes them so fun.

I think I did have a bearing buddy on the old one. If that is the doohicky thingy that has the zirk on it to allow you to pump grease into the bearing. I may have over filled it because the back of the wheel is covered with a layer of grease, and I had noticed some grease covering about a 1/8 pie shaped wedge on the front of the wheel for the past 1/2 year.

Come to think of it, I have noticed black grease dots on that side of my boat and have been wondering what they were. So seems like I overfilled the bearing and broke the seal.

Anyway, I’ll go fix it tomorrow after work, or maybe work a 1/2 day and then I can do some evening fishin’ when I’m done :slight_smile:

Thanks again for all the helpful advice. I REALLY do appreciate it. You guys are life savers..

Curtis
–LuvThemCuts

10

You are not alone. I am sure that a lot of people on this forum have had a bearing go in awkward places. My boat and trailer have been on a wrecker transport twice. Now I carry a grease gun and check my hubs for heat every time I have a chance.

And I carry extra “buddies” and tools.

I hope your luck changes…for the better! :sunglasses:

11

Thanks a bunch !!

I got it all fixed and drove it home and the wheel is still attached !!! WAHOO!!!

Those Guys at Hendersons knew exactly what I needed. Even recommended that I get the big metal thingy with the 5 lug nuts built in. I needed it. The one I had was missing part of the front. It had ground down about 1/8 inch off the front and was just not in good shape.

But I’m all up and running now. I’m going to re-pack the bearings on the other side tire as well, might even replace them if they look bad.

One thing the guy at Henderson’s told me was to use the Marine Grease for the wheel bearings. I had been pumping that black grease you get at Home Depot into the bearing buddies. The guy at Henderson’s says that the two types of grease don’t mix well. They cause each other to break down and that’s probably why my wheel bearing fried..

Oh well, lesson learned. At the beginning of each season, I’m repacking all the bearings, and checking all the seals. Takes about an hour and removes the need to leave your boat stranded in the middle of nowhere…

See ya later,
Curtis
–LuvThemCuts