Just because a trailer is new or isn’t used frequently, doesn’t mean the wheel bearings are in good working order. Understanding the state of your wheel bearings before or while you are on the road, can help to avoid serious towing accidents. Without this, a bad wheel bearing is often only discovered when it fails. Murphy’s Law says this will happen while you are driving down the highway at a full speed, dreaming of the trip ahead.
But why are trailer bearings so important?
A bearing is located on each wheel of your trailer and it’s essential for the hub, tyre and wheel to work properly. Bearings allow friction-free movement and rotation of the around the axle, enabling smooth tyre and wheel rotation.
When a bearing fails, it is usually caused by excessive heat created from not enough lubrication or faulty installation. There are factors that can make this situation worse:
Temperature is the leading indicator to determine if your bearing is working efficiently. If you are travelling on the road and your bearing overheats, it can cause complete wheel failure while driving. In addition, the changing temperatures of your wheel bearings can also impact it’s efficiency.
How does this happen?
After travelling on the road your wheel bearings will be hot. As the bearing cools down, the contracting metal, air and lubricants creates a vacuum within the bearing.
Your wheel bearing seal holds this vacuum to prevent any materials from entering or escaping. If the bearing seal cannot hold the vacuum, contaminants such as air, water and other debris can creating rust, friction and pitting in the bearing.
All of which significantly reduce the way your bearing works, and eventually lead to complete bearing failure.
Traditionally, drivers relied on manual inspections to pre-empt a problem, or wait until the following tell-tale signs emerged while on the road:
