Taking cool down breaks while trailering?

J

jhortonvt

New Member
May 23, 2007
48
Northern Lake Champlain, VT
In 2 weeks I'll be driving about 430 miles to pick up a new to me '02 245WE. As part of the deal the present owner is going to have the brakes on the trailer redone, along with bearings checked etc.

While we were discussing the long drive he said that every 90 min or so I would have to stop and let the bearings cool down for about 20 min. I'm no long haul trucker but I have never heard of having to do this.

It's a galvanized LoadRite tandem axle trailer.

Is this true? If so our 8hr drive home will be even longer, and I will just want to get home and launch for a local water christening.
 
Stop? Nope, no need to as long as the bearings are greased and in good shape. If his were overheating, 90 minutes would be too late anyway. Once they are repacked, drive a bit, check them by hand or thermometer to make sure they have grease distributed and continue on. If you find one that is warm, hit it with some grease.

We drove 8 hours to the San Juans and the only stops were for fuel or food (inbound or outbound!). I always check the temps on all six wheels by hand to make sure everything is good.

Take a grease gun, tire irons and jack that will work on that trailer. Hopefully he has a spare too.
 
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You should not have to stop to let the brgs cool down. They shouldn't get that warm. I don't know what he means by check the brgs. You should make sure the condition of brgs, races and spindles are checked, replaced if needed and properly greased before your trip. Also what condition/age are the tires and is there a spare. Do you have a jack if you need it?
 
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As the others have said, there should be no reason to have to stop and cool the bearings. This would be akin to having to stop and let your bearings on your vehicle cool down. If they warm up, they're more than likely toast. If they're packed properly with grease, it should be no different than any other bearing set. I drove my boat on it's trailer for about 400 miles last february, the only stops we did were bathroom/gas stops.

-VtSeaRay
 
Just a side note too....I am pretty sure if there is brakes on one axle and not the other the axle with the brakes will be slightly warmer if you do some stop and go. But at no point should they be hot
 
I have trailered several long hauls in June or July, 90 plus temps, my tires and hubs were just slightly warm every time I checked them. Should you check them, sure, unknown trailer I would pull a short distance, 25 maybe 30 miles stop and check, just slightly warm keep on going. Make sure the tires are inflated to the proper pressure also.
 
When you stop for food and or fuel, use an infrared gun to check the temps of all your wheels. That will be a good indication as to the bearing status. Iuse one from harbor freight but they are available at auto stores too...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96451

96451.gif
 
Thanks guys, it seemed a little odd to have to do such a thing, (and I agree with you Sundancer if heating up were a problem then I'd have to stop every 10 minutes not 90), but I just wanted to scout some opinions before the time came.

I will definately take 'er easy and check every now and then, especially early in the trip.

Thanks again
 
No need to stop, but I would add something regarding bearing temps. I ran from Connecticut to St. Pete, Florida last March with only gas stops - 1200 miles in 24 hours on-stop. At each gas stop (every 300 miles) I checked the bearings and they were warm to the touch. This summer I brought the boat home from my office on back roads for about 20 miles. I checked the first hub and I could not touch it. Checked a second and could not touch it. Grabbed a temp gun and found all four hubs were 180 degrees!!!!!!! I called LoadRite (I have a new 2 axle - four disk brake, alum I-beam trailer). I explained my situation and they said those temps were WITHIN their spec. given the four wheel disk brake set-up. The diskes heat up the bearings.

Second guessing their statement, I've checked since. On the highway with little braking, the hubs are warm after 100-200 miles. During heavy braking or back road driving in as little as 10 miles, the hubs are around 180. Even the local LoadRite dealer states this is the norm.

So check your brake set-up => disk or drum and know that disk heat will factor into the equation. Drive carefully.

tginz
 
Also: make sure the trailer has a good spare tire.

And... I would also check the condition of the trailer tires.
Since it is a 2002, I would think the tires have been changed by now, but you never know.
 
Woody said:
You should not have to stop to let the brgs cool down. They shouldn't get that warm. I don't know what he means by check the brgs. You should make sure the condition of brgs, races and spindles are checked, replaced if needed and properly greased before your trip. Also what condition/age are the tires and is there a spare. Do you have a jack if you need it?
Click to expand...

One spare per axle: if a tire on one side blows out, the other on that side will not be far behind. Get two spares.

-B
 
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