Hi CdnCamper,
Uneven tire wear on a trailer can come from several places. And there are ways to check many of them home in your yard with some simple tools. It sounds like you are handy with auto mechanics and the tools to go with it. That is a perfect background to have dealing with a camper/trailer suspension and running gear.
Let's put the uneven tire wear on a new tire to the side for a moment as there is another bigger issue in your description. You said this,
Quote:
Originally Posted by CdnCamper
I twisted the wheel around and there is some noticeable movement even with the wheel on the ground. Two other wheels also have minor play.
Does anyone know what size bearings I need or what type of axle this is? Any other points on what to look out for when replacing the bearings, hubs, inspecting, etc? I plan on doing all four wheels just to be safe.
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Before we jump to conclusions, lets confirm how you did the test to see the notable movement of the wheel. Tell us how you did the test and where you saw the movement? Try and give some level of either inches or millimeters of the amount of play and where you saw it. Also was the wheel loaded on the ground, or off the ground free?
If you pull out a dial indicator against the wheel or brake drum, you can get some very minor movement. But if by eye, you can see the wheel wobbling around, that's a problem.
The brake drum hubs use tapered roller bearings. And like on an auto that used to use them, if the bearing preload was not set right, the bearing can get damaged early from too tight to too loose. When it comes to trailer wheels, there is an industry standard way to set the bearing running clearance that is simple and effective and done right, there is no by eye wobble of the wheel. The wheel being a larger diameter will magnify the bearing play, but still you should not be seeing it by eye. Not sure what you have to work with, if you have an indicator, lift the tire off the ground so it will spin free. Put the indicator on the OD of the wheel/rim. Zero it out and wiggle the wheel. Tell us what that number is and the tire size on the camper.
If you do not have an indicator handy, then there are 2 simple things to tell if the play is too much. Both of these are with the wheel off the ground.
1. Grab the OD of the tire and rock the tire back and forth, can you feel play between the end of stroke back and forth? Try and guesstimate the play you are seeing and where that number is taken from. The OD of the wheel, the OD of the steel rim, the brake drum hub.
2. If you have a carpenters square, like a 24" rafter square, on a hard surface base, put the square down on the floor and have the L (leg) of the square up and against the tire sidewall. The side wall may not be square to the ground and really is not supposed to be so do not worry about that. But, pick a spot on the tire, I'll pick the OD of the wheel, rock the tire and try with a scale/tape measure etc. measure the play. Since you have a hard reference point, the square, you can see easily the play.
Tell us what you find. By your description the wheel bearings may have been neglected with lack of a routine bearing grease pack or they set the bearing play wrong or both.
Any used camper one buys, should have the brakes checked for broken parts, froze up adjusters, worn magnets, heavily scored brake drums, the whole brake cleaned up, set the adjuster for pad clearance, clean out the bearings, inspect, repack the bearings with high quality wheel bearing grease, a new double lip grease seal and the bearing play set. Then you start with a fresh setup and in your case, you know what you have. Trailer brakes and suspension is a very neglected part of a camper.
When you get into having the wheels off, there is also a suspension check to do as trailer suspension, the bushings, the equalizer, spring pins etc. get worn rather fast in miles and these area even more neglected part of a camper. More on this later if wanted. Just ask.
As to the size of the bearings and seal, not sure what year camper your have. Try and always tell us that when you tell us the model number. Sunline changed brands over the years and some brands went out of business. This much I can say, if you have a local NAPA store, they will have rebuild kits for the bearings and seals. Or they have the parts individual. You will have to bring the old parts in to match up, or bring the bearing race and bearing cones and seal numbers/sizes with you. These are all standard parts. No rocket science here. Or we can help you find the parts on line. Your choice, we just need to know what you have.
Here is a picture post I did a number of years ago, never made it to posting it here yet, but it will show you what is behind the brake drum. Again not knowing the year of your camper, you may have a slightly different brand/setup, but electric trailer brakes have not changed much since the 50's. If you remember drum brakes on a car, these are the same just a lot lighter duty, just there is no hydraulic wheel cylinder and no back up to adjust brake shoe adjustment system. FYI, don't be expecting a thick heavy brake shoe lining. They are thin to start with. The wear spec is 1/16" is the max wear limit. And heat cracks in the lining is common and OK in most cases. If the pads are shot, some fall off, then replacing the entire brake plate is cheaper then just new shoes. More on that when the time comes.
https://forums.trailerlife.com/index...d/17173784.cfm
Hope this helps
John
Linear Mode
