1991 Sunline T-1550 wheel bearing numbers or sizes

Stefan · 07-30-2019, 07:12 PM

Hi, Does anyone know the numbers or sizes for the wheel bearings on a 1991 Sunline T-1550. Any info will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Steve

**JohnB** · 08-01-2019, 08:02 AM

Hi Steve,

I do not know 100% what your wheel bearings are but I can help on how to find out.

Since your camper has a 3,000# GVWR by the 91 brochure, odds are high you have a 3,500 lb axle which is a common size. But they use to offer a 3,000 lb axle too and the parts a slightly different so you need to make sure which it is you have.

Sunline used a lot of Dexter, Hayes and Alko axles over the years on the older campers. I'm not sure which you have.

However, you can match up what you have at a local auto parts store. If a NAPA auto parts store is in your area, they for sure have a bearing kit that also normally includes the seal. Other parts stores have them too. They are common trailer parts and not Sunline specific.

Measure the brake drum ID and the width of the brake shoe. Some were 1 1/2" wide, 1 3/4" wide, and others 2 1/4" wide. Take that info with you to the auto parts store so you have it along with the old bearings to the store and they will match them up. Take a brake drum with you with the grease seal pulled out so they can match the race of the inboard bearing. And take the old grease seal with it too.

This sheet from Dexter may help if by chance you have a Dexter axle
https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defa...4.pdf?sfvrsn=0

Here is the Alko / Hayes parts
http://www.al-ko.us/download/ALKO_2.5Kto3.5KHubDrum.pdf

If you need to get into needing brake parts, lets talk on that but we need more on what you have. And pics of what you have also really helps.

Hope this helps

John

mainah · 08-02-2019, 05:21 PM

Bearings are numbered there will be some sort of ID on both the bearing and the race. On a 1550 I'm guessing both are a 1" bearing inner and outer. There is no magic there, they are common bearings nothing special.

Stefan · 08-04-2019, 05:18 PM

Thanks so much for your help. I did get a number off one of the bearings and took the old ones and the seal up to my local NAPA parts store and we matched them up. Installed them and it's working great. As for the brakes it doesn't appear that this trailer ever had brakes. The way the backing plate looks there are no marks from where brakes would have been. Thanks again for all the knowledge you all share.
Have a blessed day!

Steve

**JohnB** · 08-04-2019, 09:58 PM

Hi Steve,

Glad you got the bearings all up and going. Great!!!

Your comment on the brakes. Something seems changed. A 1991 T1550 has a GVWR of 3,000#. The camper should of had brakes on it when Sunline shipped it. Sunline even put brakes on campers smaller then this. I know this is a small single axle camper, but it would still have brakes on it.

While there may not be a brake plate with shoes left now, is there a brake drum? Or just a 5 lug hub and no drum like on a standard utility trailer?

If you can take a few pics of the axle under the camper at the back side of the wheel so we can see the spring and wheel setup, that may help shed some light on this. It is possible a prior owner changed something. They may not have been able to find brake parts and just converted it to a standard axle non brake axle. And they most likely took the emergency breakaway switch off too up by the battery. Maybe even the 7 wire truck cable to a 4 wire

I see you may be from Ohio. I am too. While we do not have annual mandatory vehicle inspection, the state does on the fly spot inspections. For Ohio, the max trailer weight allowed to not have brakes is 2,000# GVWR.

Hope this helps

John

mainah · 08-05-2019, 06:30 AM

Wonder if the axle has been changed out? Any wiring that you can see that does not appear to do anything? My 1990 T1700 is a bit bigger but it does have brakes on both axles. I'm thinking it should has 10" brakes. The drum should have a flat machined surface on the face for the brake magnet to ride on.

Stefan · 08-05-2019, 06:14 PM

Actually there is some wiring on the axle itself but nothing that goes into the brake area. Thanks!

Steve

mainah · 08-06-2019, 05:29 AM

They did run wiring from side to side inside of the axle tube.

Stefan · 08-06-2019, 10:30 AM

Thanks again. Did they make some of these trailers without brakes? I think I read somewhere where certain states did not require trailer brakes for vehicles under a certain weight. Just wondering if that was true. I'd like to put brakes on this one though, I've already got a trailer brake system hooked up on my van.

Thanks again!
Steve

mainah · 08-06-2019, 10:57 AM

Varies state to state 1,000 to 2,000 but I would think the manufacturer would fit them with brakes just for simplicity. It far as installing brakes a lot of smaller units had welded backing plates meaning you would have to buy everything separately the bolton's came complete with everything already assembled. I'm guessing but I would think the GVW on your camper is probably around 3K. It really needs brakes unless your towing it with a 1 ton dually Dodge Diesel. Mine is a bit over 3K I tow it with a Tacoma rated 6500 I can tell you without trailer brakes it is a hand full read dangerous at any real speed.

**JohnB** · 08-07-2019, 12:47 PM

From what I know, Sunline put brakes on all campers they built. Even the little early 1979 Sunspot that was towed with a VW rabbit had brakes on it. It had a GVWR of 1,500# and brakes where standard. Since they sold to all states and Canada, they just met all the requirements.

Adding brakes is either not that bad or can be that bad... It all depends on the axle flange.

See this one from Sunline Fan. His 79 camper sort of broke the myth that all old campers had welded on brake backing plates. He lucked out and his bolted on. You can buy the entire new backing plate with all the parts in it cheaper then just the brake shoes.

http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f6...tml#post147791

If you have the welded on back plate, this gets more complex. What about brake drums, do you have them still? Any pics of the back side of your axle will help us see what you have to make this easier.

An entire brake axle, drums and all is not that out of this world. It does cost though. Since you just repacked your own bearings, you seem to have the tools and skills, we can help with the how to and what to get if needed.

Hope this helps

John

Stefan · 08-07-2019, 01:41 PM

Thanks for your input. I'll take the drums off and have a look at the backing plate to see what I have. Do you know where i can get the parts for this brake job? Is it something NAPA would have or an RV store? Thanks!

Steve

mainah · 08-07-2019, 04:04 PM

I would try some one like etrailer etc. NAPA does not have that much just the standard stuff.

**JohnB** · 08-07-2019, 07:01 PM

Hi Steve,

First you are going to need to measure the inside diameter of your brake drum, and the width of the machined surface where the shoes would touch to get the right size. Odds are high yours would be a 10" diameter, but they made 3 different widths over the years. 1 1/2", 1 3/4" and the more modern, 2 1/4".

Then you need to sort out the brake plate if it bolts on or not. Hoping it does.

For buying, I buy Dexter parts from these 2 places most times. I will compare them also to Amazon and maybe E bay, but I'm going after the genuine Dexter parts. There are a lot knock off brands out there in the trailer parts world. Some generic parts are OK and some are not.

Eastern Marine. Here you do pay the freight, but most times even paying freight beats many other places. I have always had a positive experience with them.
https://www.easternmarine.com/trailer-brakes-electric

Is is often cheaper to get the entire brake plate verses the parts
https://www.easternmarine.com/electr...ake-assemblies

Etrailer. Here shipping is free over $99 I have has positive buying experiences here. https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=dexter+brakes

And sometimes I mix the order up. Buy brakes drums from Etrailer and the brakes assemblies from Eastern Marine as the pricing works out better.

There are other retailers too. So shop around, key is know what you're looking for.

Also heads up, while different brands can work with the same 10" brake drum, those parts are not always interchangeable within the brake plate. Meaning, Dexter brake shoes will not fit on an Alko brake plate as well as a Lippert brake plate etc.

Hope this helps

John

Stefan · 08-07-2019, 08:38 PM

Thanks for all the information. I'll get into this project soon and let you all know how it went. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Steve

mainah · 08-08-2019, 05:11 AM

Starting from scratch is going to be a bit hard. Each manufacture had their own ideal so magnets shoes hardware will all be a bit different. If you can ID the axle that would be a good thing. If all else fails it maybe even cheaper to replace the axle with a used one that has all the brake stuff all ready. In my neighborhood there are 3 neglected campers that last years heavy snow flattened probably free for the hauling.