Trailer wheel bearings - why?

[Harry Bloomfield]

OK, I've been buyng a second-hand little trailer. Many of the ads say 'new bearings fitted', or similar. A couple of friends have also reported breaking down, whilst towing a trailer, due to bearing failure. I've towed caravans for decades, never had a bearing failure, so what is it about small trailers, that they suffer such frequent wheel bearing failures, with such irregular use?

Yes, I have just bought one, and yes, wheel bearings were checked, and absolutely fine..

 

[carmanmemoranda]

Overloaded trailers ? Small bearings?

But more likely because the trailers have cheap bearings fitted, not used often, and then used heavily.

 

[RandomGrinch]

...and smaller wheels rotating faster?

 

[bernardgreen]

and cheap inadequate suspension

 

[Burnerman]

I've worked on several heavy duty trailers, and on each one the water ingress to the brakes has a detrimental effect of everything inside the drum.
There is so little done to prevent this.
The big stuff often has taper roller bearings, which get little attention, if any at all.
Overloading is sure to play a large part of bearing failure.
John

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

and cheap inadequate suspension

Identical suspension system, from the same manufacturer, Alko, as 90% of modern caravans. A torsion bar design, in a rubber filled square tube. All I can imagine, as the difference, is that caravans tend to be checked and serviced more regularly, whereas small trailers are just used, never maintained. Only takes a second to lift one side up, they don't need a jack, just give the wheel a spin and listen.

 

[Burnerman]

With a caravan Harry, I guess there has to be a maximum weight - although who knows what the owner will pack in.
With trailers, anything goes so low long as the thing will actually move.....I’ve seen bent chassis and collapsed ramps etc.
It’s the weight that kills the bearings!
Regards
John

 

[Avocet]

There's no MOT requirement for trailers. I suspect that has a lot to do with it. Plus, of course, many are still on taper roller bearings, which, when that was commonly used on cars, never delivered the sort of life that modern, double-row spherical bearing packs give today. I've done a lot of boat towing, back in the day. They're a special case, of course, particularly when launching in seawater, but I can go on eBay and buy a set of taper rollers for my current trailer for £8. They'e absolutely awful, of course! I also think that availability of ultra-cheap bearings is a factor.