How to Improve Your Auto

You may be an avid boating enthusiast and love to take to the water as often as possible. As you're lucky enough to have a great waterway nearby, you take your rig down to the loading dock most weekends for some well-earned rest and relaxation. You may have an all-purpose towing vehicle that you also use for your daily commute and you may take good care of it, as you know that it has to deal with a lot of wear and tear. However, do you pay as much attention to your trailer, or do you tend to take this for granted? If it's been some time since you last looked at your trailer, where should you start?

Bearing Down

Certainly, a boat trailer is a lot easier to maintain than a towing vehicle and there is a lot less to "go wrong." However, you do need to pay attention to its suspension and braking system and, in particular, the wheel bearings.

Three Tests

Before you go any further, check to see if the bearings are still in good condition or if you need to change them urgently. There are several different ways to determine their condition, and you should perform one or more of the following checks on a regular basis:

1. Using a trolley jack, elevate one side of the trailer so that its wheel is clearly off the ground. Grasp the tyre as if you were holding a steering wheel and try to move it back and forth gently but firmly. If everything is okay then it should resist, but if there is free play then the bearings may need to be replaced.
2. Next, with the trailer still elevated, remove the wheel and tyre. Have a look at the hub to see if it is covered in excess bearing grease. Once again, this is a sign that the bearings are damaged and need to be replaced.
3. You can also check the security of the bearings without lifting the trailer up; this is an easy test that you should perform once per month. As somebody moves the loaded rig forward slowly, have a look at the trailer wheels. If they are moving smoothly and in line then all is well; if not then once again the bearings may need to be replaced.

Taking Action Now

Don't delay this task any longer, as you don't want to deal with the consequences should a bearing disintegrate altogether. If you're travelling along at speed then you may lose a wheel, and this could result in a catastrophic accident with associated costs. In order to get your bearings changed, take the vehicle into a trailer repair professional for their help.