Check yer bearings

[fishinfool]

Was headed to the Berry last Sat. morning when BAM we lost a wheel and dropped an axle end on the freeway.
Looking out the mirror it looked like someone had lit off a 4th of July commercial fireworks fountain.  Got the rig pulled over and immediately started checking for fires on the side of the road.  We were lucky in that it was early enough so that things were still cool and things a bit damp from rains the week before.
The end of the spindle was glowing cherry red.  U-bolts were ground off and leaf spring was skidding on the mounting plate.
We were in luck as I was able to call a friend and he brought up a trailer with misc. tools etc and we were able to load the thing.
Left home at 5:15 and got back home with the boat and trailer loaded on his trailer at 1:30pm.  

Not quite the fishing day that we had planned.
New axle that I ordered is $600 with all new components. 10 days to get it here then the install so no boating for a bit around here.

I must have had water in the bearings and that was the end of it.

I am definitely going to be more diligent in my bearing duties from now on.
Yesterday I started repacking another trailers bearings.  Only have 2 more trailers to do after it.

I check the bearing on the boat trailer twice a year. Once in the spring while I am getting things ready for the season. I jack it up check for slop and rotate it check to see if it is grinding at all, And check the rear seal to see if it is loosing grease out the back. That is the sign you're going to have some troubles. The second time I check is mid season or close to the fall it is a simple seal check and pump a little more grease in them. 

One thing I see over and over is folks over filling the bearing buddies with grease. They blow the rear seal out letting water in. Second is not using marine bearing grease. Regular grease will fail instantly if water gets in. Marine will not.