Greasing wheel bearings, switching tires

[dp]

I guess we should grease the bearings? And change tires from side to side every few thousand miles? Trying to figure out how to jack it up if I need to. My 10.0 sits kinda high. Has anyone done these things?

[tinkeringtechie]

I repack my bearings every year when I de-winterize. On a single axle trailer you don't usually need to rotate, but it won't hurt either. I'd recommend using a bottle jack beneath the axle bracket (not the axle itself, and not the aluminum frame either). Use some plywood or other flat, stable, stackable material to raise the bottle jack higher if necessary.

[fasteddieb]

Are they radial tires?

If so, I believe you're not supposed to switch sides.

They get a "preference" for direction of rotation, or some such.

[tinkeringtechie]

Are they radial tires?

If so, I believe you're not supposed to switch sides.

They get a "preference" for direction of rotation, or some such.

I think that only applies to unidirectional radials (where the tread forms a V). I don't think any trailer tires are unidirectional, but better check just in case.

[fasteddieb]

I was under the impression that even with bi-directional radial tires, swapping sides is to be avoided.

I think most tire rotation schemes now just have you rotate front to back on the same side for that reason, rather than the more complicated rotation pattern we used to do.

But I'm open to correction if it's just an old wive's tale!

[tinkeringtechie]

I was under the impression that even with bi-directional radial tires, swapping sides is to be avoided.

I think most tire rotation schemes now just have you rotate front to back on the same side for that reason, rather than the more complicated rotation pattern we used to do.

But I'm open to correction if it's just an old wive's tale!

I think that was the case with older radials which would "break in" to a certain orientation. Luckily it's not an issue with modern radials. Even unidirectional radials will work backwards, but the tread pattern won't work as effectively.

[fasteddieb]

Good to know.

Most of the sites I found confirmed that.

I've been doing the simple back to front/same side pattern for decades. Maybe time to switch to another pattern when the tires are not marked for direction.

In any case, I stand corrected!

[dp]

My car always gets cross crossed and then I do front to back and then X again. Seems to work for me. I do it every 5000 miles.

[dp]

The book I got from LL says to switch sides every 5000 miles but I was wondering if anyone really did it. I guess I will have to buy a bottle jack.

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/3246/thread" timestamp="1409779043" author="@tinkeringtechie"]I repack my bearings every year when I de-winterize. On a single axle trailer you don't usually need to rotate, but it won't hurt either. I'd recommend using a bottle jack beneath the axle bracket (not the axle itself, and not the aluminum frame either). Use some plywood or other flat, stable, stackable material to raise the bottle jack higher if necessary.[/quote][p]I took mine by the Les Schwab and they said jack it up by the axle or even the frame would be fine.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Would love a definitive statement from the vendor (too lazy to dig out the book and look it up).[/p][p]
[/p]

[pinstriper]

[quote source="/post/3267/thread" timestamp="1409839631" author="@ron10"]The book I got from LL says to switch sides every 5000 miles but I was wondering if anyone really did it. I guess I will have to buy a bottle jack.[/quote][p]What's wrong with the jack in your TV ?[/p][p]
[/p]

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/3269/thread" timestamp="1409841797" author="@pinstriper"][p]I took mine by the Les Schwab and they said jack it up by the axle or even the frame would be fine.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Would love a definitive statement from the vendor (too lazy to dig out the book and look it up).[/p][p]
[/p][/quote]Here's the manual:

http://www.dexteraxle.com/i/u/6149609/f/600-8K_Service_Manual/600-8K_Complete_Service_Manual.pdf

and here's the important part:

[attachment id="341" thumbnail="1"]

It must have been the same Les Schwab employee that thought it was okay to jack up my Accord using the bottom of my trunk 

[tinkeringtechie]

[quote source="/post/3270/thread" timestamp="1409841823" author="@pinstriper"][quote source="/post/3267/thread" timestamp="1409839631" author="@ron10"]The book I got from LL says to switch sides every 5000 miles but I was wondering if anyone really did it. I guess I will have to buy a bottle jack.[/quote][p]What's wrong with the jack in your TV ?[/p][p]
[/p][/quote]Nothing if you can make it work. Some vehicles have weird jacks that wouldn't fit. The nice thing about bottle jacks is that they fit just about anywhere. They're pretty cheap too... here's the one I use:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000234ISK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[admin]

I don't recall ever rotating the tires on my trailer. Honestly though I cant see an advantage to rotating the tires on a single axle lightweight trailer. I imagine the tire becoming unsafe from cracks/dry rot long before any negative effects will be seen from not rotating them.

[fasteddieb]

That's weird.

I have always jacked up vehicles and trailers by the axle when able. After all, they're designed to support the vehicle, so why the heck not?

Could they really be that flimsy?