Are there any trailer axles that have replaceable spindles? And to be clear, "replaceable" meaning "i don't need to carry a fucking welder along with me"? I lost a trailer wheel bearing coming home from Laguna a few weeks ago. Never really thought about it before, but when the bearing goes, it's going to - of course - destroy the spindle. The one I lost was damn near chopped all the way due to wear from the harder cast-iron brake drum that obviously used it as the new bearing surface for god knows how long. And Dexter Axle, in all their genius, have designed all their products to have the spindle permanently attached to the rest of the axle. So if you lose a wheel bearing, you lose the entire axle. The only possible way I could think of to make this design stupider would be to ensure somehow that you had to replace both wheels, too. I dunno about you guys, but I really hate being broke down on the side of the road, and one of the only things I hate more than that is not having the tools or parts to fix myself when I'm broken down on the side of the road. I carry a spare wheel and tire; and now I carry a spare set of wheel bearings.. but I can't really very easily carry an entire fucking spare axle assembly. And, believe it or not, eight-foot-long 3500lb trailer axles aren't something that AutoZone keeps in stock on the regular. thank you for listening.
I bring two full size spare tires and bearings. Like you said though, still doesn't cover everything.
I don’t know of any with bolt-on spindles. There are roadside guys who can repair, machine, and rethread a spindle, on the spot. But, they’re not on every corner. Not trying to be a smartass, but, you could perform preventive maintenance, before every trip. Bearings don’t just disintegrate; that bearing has been slowly dying for quite awhile. Simply removing the wheels and going through everything will prevent most scenarios.
Huh, I freely admit I never looked at mine close enough, pretty much assumed it would bolt to the end of the torsion stuff. I only carried bearings and races and a spare drum in case one went missing.
Yours a drop axle? Those have to be unwelded and a new one welded in. Straight axles with replaceable spindles are few and far between on the lower weight axles. We had them on our old equipment trailer (2 5200lb axles). That trailer was also made in the early 90's also. Nowadays they may just weld them in for manufacturing costs. GOing with what ducnut said, gotta keep up on the maintenance of them. Not saying thats 100%, I have seen a new trailer with fresh bearings correctly installed just let go. That reminds me, gotta check mine this month.
All the axles I’ve worked on were welded. My Dexter torsion spindle is welded on. It’s a 3500#, but, maybe the 5K and 7500K are bolt-on? I’m not sure, as I don’t have experience with them. Every semi-trailer spindle I’ve seen was welded, as well. My last trucking employer kept complete trailer tandems ready to go. It’s a whole lot easier to disconnect periphery connections, unbolt the retainer plates, slide one tandem out and the other under, then, let another tech deal with the issue, while the trailer quickly goes back into service.
Not common. Periodically jack up one side and spin the wheels to listen/feel for bad bearings. Remove wheels and repack before every "season". Even then you may still get burned.
Wild guess you guys bought Stoughton Trailers? Used to put the floors in, hook the brake lines up, put the rear door frame on, put the landing gear on and the tandems. Did everything but roofs, paint and welding. Kept getting moved around. Apparently being competent in doing the job was a no-no.
Yep. And, if equipped with EZ-Lube spindles, squeezing some grease through the bearings will push all kinds of shrapnel out, which makes it very obvious something is going on. I’m lucky my trailer has them. Makes it very convenient to keep up on things. Utility. They have something like 2400 of them. Unfortunately, most have a Thermo King hung on the front, instead of a Carrier. TK are underperforming headaches, anymore.
Regular checks and maintenance that include checking the amount of bearing play and addressing the axle nut when necessary. A bottle jack, or a couple ramps if it's a multiple axle trailer, to get the tires off the ground and maybe 20 minutes to check and grease everything. If you're not keeping an eye on bearing play it won't matter how much grease you stuff in there. It will eventually cook.
Also never tow in the dark. I've had 2 trailers this year where the axle welds broke loose and the axles shifted mid trip and never knew until I saw tire smoke. The hillbillies in Indiana that build all these utility trailers are a bunch of slapdick bums. Luckily for me both times our jobsites were local and we have a good network of repair friends.
Yeah, maintenance is definitely key. My anger is more directed at the stupidity of the design. Bearings are literally wear items, and the spindle and axle are different parts to begin with... Yet once assembled, failure of the wear item causes destruction of the entire assembly, not just the individual part. I actually just replaced the *entire underside* - axles, suspension, bushings, all of it - a year ago, after the original bearing finally went (after like fifteen years of me abusing and utterly neglecting it). The trailer's had about fifteen thousand miles since then and I checked it copiously immediately after installation, again in March, and again in June. I did have to re-tighten the u-bolts on one of the axles at one point but the wheels all had no play in them. So I don't think I did it incorrectly last summer, and I did do decent maintenance, or so I thought. Never took the hubs apart to visually inspect the grease tho, if I'm being honest. Must've checked the wheels every hundred miles from Flagstaff to Austin after this last one. Still don't fuckin trust it, even after having gotten home and literally taking everything (hubs included) apart to re-inspect. Now I know I did it right then, but I'm suspicious whether I did it right now... since I had to R&R to inspect. Lol. And mongo, yeah, I did end up actually finding that Dexter now makes torsion axles with field-replaceable spindles. Fairly seriously considering swapping the trailer to use those instead of leaf and solid drop-axle suspension. But... The cost of the parts for the conversion, is literally more than the trailer is worth. Sigh. Cooter, if you're serious about those axles (and they happen to be 4" drop), let's talk. Guess I'll figure out a way to store a spare.
Lest we forget that in the name of more profit most of these axles are equipped with Whineese or Indian-sourced bearings. Spend a few bucks more and install Timken bearings and don’t use a brand X cup with a brand Z cone.
Nah. I think, we’re all missing something, since we’re not in the trailer axle or trailer manufacturing businesses. A quick search shows there’s a bolt-on spindle available. However, its end use is what’s difficult to figure out. There has to be a specific axle option that uses them.
My old single-axle dirt bike trailer needed the bearings replaced every winter. I used a good high-temp synthetic wheel bearing grease but wasn't smart enough to quit installing parts store bearings. The outer races and rollers had surface damage every time I disassembled the hubs. Never lost a wheel, but don't think the bearings would have gone two riding seasons. I've worked on heavy equipment trailers with replaceable spindles. For smaller axles I don't think they're very practical. The axle itself has to have enough mass to bolt through to retain the spindle.
