Upgrade hubs?

[DoctahDeane]

The trailer I was building was on a Northern Tools trailer, the one I just bought and am now finishing, is on a HF trailer (pretty sure about that). As I think about safety, convenience, potential weak links, etc., it seems that a lot of attention is paid to hubs. I do know that regular maintenance is required and not trying to avoid that but wondering if, in the big picture, there's a top of the line hub out there that would make sense to upgrade to? Considering that I'm planning to put some miles on this year - possibly a cross-country trip, I'd like the basic infrastructure to be as sound as possible and I don't mind spending a little extra $ in the interest of a better ride, peace of mind, etc. Any thoughts from the experts?

[les45]

Many folks on this forum have put thousands of miles on their stock HF and NT trailers without any issues. The main thing is to make sure that a brand new axle has the original grease (or whatever it is) removed, cleaned and packed with a good quality grease. Some people prefer to replace the Chinese bearings with better quality American made bearings. I've built on HF and NT trailers and, even though I don't have thousands of miles of experience, I've never had a problem as long as I keep them properly maintained. The main issue I've had is that I don't trust the stock Chinese 12" trailer tires so I always upgrade to a better brand of 13" passenger car tires. Not only more dependable but really smooths out the ride.

[DoctahDeane]

Many folks on this forum have put thousands of miles on their stock HF and NT trailers without any issues. The main thing is to make sure that a brand new axle has the original grease (or whatever it is) removed, cleaned and packed with a good quality grease. Some people prefer to replace the Chinese bearings with better quality American made bearings. I've built on HF and NT trailers and, even though I don't have thousands of miles of experience, I've never had a problem as long as I keep them properly maintained. The main issue I've had is that I don't trust the stock Chinese 12" trailer tires so I always upgrade to a better brand of 13" passenger car tires. Not only more dependable but really smooths out the ride.

Thanks a lot, I really wanted to move to 13' tires for exactly that reason but the guy who built this built on top of the fenders and two bolts are dead center over the tire. There's 2.25" of clearance with the stock 12s but if I got to 13s there's not enough room. So, I just ordered radials, at least that will help a bit. Also, I ordered a set of Bearing Buddies. These seem to be a way to maintain the hubs without taking them apart often. Top them off with a grease gun and good to go, supposedly. We'll see. Thanks for the reply.

[Pmullen503]

I just replaced the bearings on my 30 year old HF trailer. Mostly because the seals wore out and I was spraying grease all over. I have always been fastidious about re-greasing every couple years, making sure the preload is correct and checking the hub temperature every gas fill up when I'm towing.

Proper set up and maintenance is the key. I just got a new HF trailer and immediately ordered an extra set of seals. You'll most likely damage the originals when you have to disassemble the hubs to clean them. Do remove that crappy blue stuff when new (it's hard to get off) and regrease with good grease. (I'd rather they would have given me a bag of unassembled parts.) Check the preload after the first couple hundred miles when the new bearings set.

I had good luck on the 30 Y.O. original tires and eventually replaced them with American made trailer tires. Bigger, better tires and rims is a good idea if you are anywhere near the weight rating of the trailer. I'm only running around 600 lbs on a 1700 lb rated trailer so I'm still on 12" tires.

[DoctahDeane]

I just replaced the bearings on my 30 year old HF trailer. Mostly because the seals wore out and I was spraying grease all over. I have always been fastidious about re-greasing every couple years, making sure the preload is correct and checking the hub temperature every gas fill up when I'm towing.

Proper set up and maintenance is the key. I just got a new HF trailer and immediately ordered an extra set of seals. You'll most likely damage the originals when you have to disassemble the hubs to clean them. Do remove that crappy blue stuff when new (it's hard to get off) and regrease with good grease. (I'd rather they would have given me a bag of unassembled parts.) Check the preload after the first couple hundred miles when the new bearings set.

I had good luck on the 30 Y.O. original tires and eventually replaced them with American made trailer tires. Bigger, better tires and rims is a good idea if you are anywhere near the weight rating of the trailer. I'm only running around 600 lbs on a 1700 lb rated trailer so I'm still on 12" tires.

It's a process right? Never complete - thanks a lot for the feedback.

[Vtec44]

I have a Harbor Freight trailer and upgraded the hubs and bearings with these , https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools ... 707-_-CONF . it's a simple bolt on and it comes with everything you need. The main reason why I upgraded is because of the bolt pattern. It's 5 on 4.5 pattern which is more common than the HF bolt pattern. So it's easier to find wheels/tires replacement.

[working on it]

* I started out with a very small 50" x 60" frame, with bent & broken tongue, spindly axle of unknown weight capacity, and 8" wheels & tires.

twin-bed frame laying on trailer for size comparison

original frame with 8 inch wheels.jpg (90.34 KiB) Viewed 4078 times

I knew that I had to upgrade everything, but gradually, as my budget might increase (it was started with no budget at all). So, I added only what was needed to get it operable, and the wheel size was first to get attention. My wife's business trailer had 14" wheels, and a brand new spare, so that's what I chose (I carried that spare for 6 years, until I upgraded to LT tires). Like Vtec44, I used a hub/bearing kit from Northern Tool (probably the same one as shown), and added two discarded ST tires I was given. After the frame was enlarged to 50" x 97.5", I added spacer/adapters to gain some side clearance for the 14" tires. That was the way it was for the first few years: using a sketchy axle, old/repaired tires, and definitely taking chances with the absolutely overloaded set-up.

* After a spring hanger tore loose, I decided it was time to upgrade the suspension, so I reinforced the frame, and added all new axle, springs, & associated hardware.

old & new axles.jpg (131.7 KiB) Viewed 4078 times

It was quite a relief knowing that the axle wouldn't snap in half, or the modified spindles would let go, but I still used the aged tires for another 3 years. Now, with practically bulletproof (as opposed to 12 year old may-pop ST tires) LT tires, the trailer can handle its' weight growth to 2200 lbs, and rough roads (or trails?), without constant worry about the rolling stock giving out. I wish I had made the upgrades at the very beginning!

[Sparksalot]

Like Burt mentions above, upgrading your hubs completely will mean an axle change, to get bigger bearings. Otherwise, buy the best utility trailer bearings you can find.

For Rose, I'm about to pull the trigger on changing to 14" ford Ranger wheels with matching appropriate tires. That'll get rid of the trailer rated tires and the 65 MPH speed rating. My last big decision will then be when/if to change the axle as well. If I do that, I may as well add brakes too.

[DoctahDeane]

Like Burt mentions above, upgrading your hubs completely will mean an axle change, to get bigger bearings. Otherwise, buy the best utility trailer bearings you can find.

For Rose, I'm about to pull the trigger on changing to 14" ford Ranger wheels with matching appropriate tires. That'll get rid of the trailer rated tires and the 65 MPH speed rating. My last big decision will then be when/if to change the axle as well. If I do that, I may as well add brakes too.

Thank you, Elwood. I'm jealous about those big tires. It's funny, I bought this one because my build was never ending and now that I have it, I'm more motivated to finish the original. Keeps me out of Joliet, I guess.