Trailer hub ate itself.. school me

Driving home from the races I looked back and saw one of my trailer wheels basically on fire. Yay. Once it cooled down enough to handle I got it off and it turns out the bearing had destroyed itself and the brake pads had surrogated themselves into the "bearing" role. Pulled it home at about 15mph for the remainder of the way (yay) and now have it apart, but am scratching my head at what parts are replaceable and how/where to order new ones.

Basically, is the spindle an integrated part of the axle? It looks pretty chewed up, so I'm guessing it needs replacement. Can I replace just the spindle, or am I gonna be ordering an entire new axle tonight? Where do I order trailer axles? NAPA?

 

You done did booger that fucker up and good!

You’ll need an axle. Trailer and RV shop would be your best local source.

 

Your spindles do not appear to be replaceable, tho' Dexter has offered replaceable spindles as an option for some years now...gotta buy the appropriate axle.

 

Spindle is likely junk.

Get the inner race off and see what that surface looks like. You are most likely looking at an axle purchase.

If there is a tag or sticker still on the tube with measurements or a part number I can let you know what it costs so you don't get screwed.

If you just need to get home an idler hud and some sand paper will work.

 

I had one do that on the way to Vegas. Went another 230 miles to Vegas on 3 wheels and tried to buy an axle which no one had. So came all the way back home on 3 wheels, which was another approximately 300 miles.

As @BC mentioned, you can clean them up with emery cloth or something else and slap new bearings on it and it will probably work. That is what I had to do and it continued working for years with no issues.

Surprisingly trailer brake and hub setups are very reasonable, after that I carried a spare in my trailer.

 

Thanks guys! I figured as much. What should I measure to determine what axle I need?

 

The whole axle does not need to be replaced. The upright and spindle can be cut off the axle and new parts welded on. Find a good trailer repair place.

 

Yeah it can but it'll probably cost as much as just replacing it.

 

And getting it there would be a pain. The suspension on this trailer is some lever-leafspring design so that even though there are two axles, it's not possible to roll the trailer with one axle missing a wheel.

 

Flatbed tow. Might even be covered under the trailer insurance, worth looking into.

 

Etrailer.com might be worth a look.

 

Your axle has a serial number on it: https://www.dexteraxle.com/Contact/FAQ/Axles

Buy a complete axle assembly. You can't piece together brakes and stuff cheaper than buying all new.

Your spring shackles and walking beams are probably worn out as well. Now would be a good time to replace.

This place has about everything https://www.redneck-trailer.com

 

Although probably different, mine had a lever leaf spring setup too. I had to take a ratchet strap over the frame and under the axle or spindle and crank it up to do it. That axle still hung lower on the side that was missing a tire.

I was nervous at first but just made sure to drive slower, 55 as I recall, and checked it a few times while driving out. This was on a 30 foot long toy hauler with bikes, toolboxes etc, so I’m sure the remaining 3 tires were pretty taxed, but it worked.

 

Agree with others - that spindle be right-proper fooked.
BTDT.
Even money on whether it's cheaper to repair or replace...

Tophyr, IIRC you're in Seattle area, yes?

A few outfits that may be able to help:

Six Robblees (I've used them, good shop, they speak Dexter):
https://sixrobblees.com/services/heavy-duty-services

Mann's Welding (Friend used them, thumbs-up):
http://www.mannswelding.com/services/trailer-repair.html

Torklift (Another friend recco):
https://torkliftcentral.com/services

Best of Luck!

 

That axle beam is a couple hundred bucks. Nobody will replace that spindle, except maybe Bubba, and that's only because he sells tires and knows it will be a tire eater.

 

It's a 3500# axle 4" drop, How wide is the trailer? If its a 6' wide trailer it's most likely a 85" Hubface x 70" spring center.

7' wide is 95/80

Measure the spring center and add 15" for the hubface that's how 95% are.

 

You can also take the other sides drum & brakes off and measure end of spindle to end of spindle (not including the grease fitting) and subtract 5" total to get the hub face measurement.

 

Had the upright and spindle (one part) welded to the axle by a long time trailer shop here in Columbus, and it looked just like the other side which had been built that way in the first place. The old upright was bent and wore out the tire on that side only. It was fine for a couple of years after that until the trailer got rear ended and totaled.

They are the old school type of place that has a real welder that repairs stuff instead of throwing parts at it.

 

Thanks!! Ended up calling Six Robblee's, they're apparently the place to go around here

Damn, good eye lol. 3500# 4" drop (on the money), 93" hubface we measured at the supply place.

$1600 all told ended up deciding to replace everything under there - both axles, all four brake hubs, lever links, etc. All the spindles were scored, brake shoes were paper thin, brake actuators themselves looked beat up, and all the suspension bushings were worn through and ovaled. This thing's had a hard life, I guess.

I've been thinking about selling this thing and dumping $2k (doing tires right now too because they've only got about a year left and I do a lot of travel racing in the winter) will make that a bit harder to swallow.. but there's no way I could sleep at night if I sold this thing to some poor sap with those parts in that condition.

 

If you were on the right side of the country I would do my best to hook you up. Glad you got it sorted.


Btw, everything used is selling for crazy money because nobody has New inventory and if they do it is 50% higher than it was 8 months ago.

If you want to make it go away, now is the best time.