It’s officially summer travel season, driving this weekend and seeing everyone towing their trailers reminded me of driving out to the burn in ‘22. We’d rented a trailer on Outdoorsy. It was nice, the owner was nice, everything seemed fine. About 9 hours into the drive, another 6 to go, and I feel a hard pull to the right and the sound of what can only be described as hellishp. The rear wheel and tire on the tandem axle trailer was gone, and the front shredded. At some point the bearing had failed, destroyed the hub, and ejected itself off the trailer. This dropped the front axle and blew the tire, which in turn caused a bunch of damage to the trailer and bent both axles. Both axles, 3 tires, two wheels had to be replaced, to a tune of $3600 at Les Schwab Winnemucca. All of this could have been avoided if the owner had lubed the bearings on the trailer, aka repacking the bearings, which usually runs $100 per axle at any tire shop.

So here are some tips if you are towing anything to the burn this year. -repack your bearings every other year. If you aren’t 100% sure you did it last year, then do it this year. It’s a very easy process, tons of YouTube videos, or any tire shop will do it $100-150 per axle. This should be followed regardless of how many miles you towed it in the last two years. -check your tires. If there is any cracking, replace them. If they are older than 7 years, replace them no matter how much tread is left. If your reaction is anything other than, they look great, then replace them. Don’t forget to check your spares as well. -have a jack and tire iron that will work with your trailer. I once needed to swap a tire on a trailer and the car jack couldn’t get tall enough to lift the trailer. -trailer loading, don’t go overweight. The weight capacity of a trailer is determined by its axles. Unless very old, the weight rating should be stamped or stocked on the axle itself. Climb under and have a look. Tires blow when overloaded or unbalanced. -if you’re renting a trailer, specifically ask when they last had the bearings repacked. If they don’t have an immediate answer, clarify that they are on the hook for any damages and repairs resulting from a failed bearing.