Trailer Bearings

[nU7OuxIx]

I have a trailer that I ended up changing the bearings on. One side there was a lot of play in the tire. The other side there was no play but yet I figured why not change both.

For what it's worth, I used Timken's set 12 and set 13 for the bearings. I watched tons of youtube videos on how to preload. Once installed, I tightened down that castle nut until there was no wheel spin. Loosened and spun the wheel. Tightened and repeated this process a handful of times. When finished I put the castle nut on tightly by hand. After putting the wheel on and taking for a test drive, there's an extremely small amount of play when I shake the tire.

Should there be zero play when the trailer is jacked up and I shake the tire? You can feel the play but not see it.

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[gsbrockman]

Bearing play is much better loose than tight.

 

[nU7OuxIx]

Bearing play is much better loose than tight.

That is what I've heard. I ended up tightening it to the next castle slot and the wheel play is no longer there.

I've had the trailer for about two years. I changed the one side because there was play in the tire. Since I did the one I did the other as well, where there was no play in the tire. I figured that if it lasted this long without play then it should be OK.

I didn't torque the nut down and the wheel still spins freely in today's installation. I took it for a drive and temps were low. For others that are doing this, after much research, it looks like you can use a dial indicator to measure play and what's acceptable. I know it's a bit excessive, but for somebody new that's learning how to do this, it may get a good feel for what is acceptable.

I also discovered Timken and Dexter manuals that talk about how to change the bearings. They say to torque them to 25 ft/lbs (or 50, depending on the manual). Then back the nut off a quarter turn. All the youtube videos I watched use a different procedure.

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