PM for a 500 Mile Round Trip

[radioman]

ok - now you are scaring me. so far we havent seen any pics of the trailer tires, condition and what type of tractor you are going to pull and weight of your trailer. We all are concerned more about the total weight you plan to pull. I really dont care more or less about the laws requireing brakes or not for given weight. In MY book, anything over 3K towing over 60 miles one way - its really nice to have brakes on the trailer. I cant count on my hands how many times where there were idoits drivers out there who dont care about you. Even when i had mentality of given weight i was pulling and given myself space and time to stop- there is always just one out there to screw you up. iplayfarmer -- i do beleive you have alot of common sense and play it cautious - just by reading your posts - but 250 miles to your sister in law place with your tractor and trailer with no brakes ? you mentioned you have no idea when did the other guy repacked the trailer bearings , much less the type of grease being used. Its my understanding that mixing different types of hi-temp grease for trailers could destroy the bearings and having no brakes ??!! please - take apart your bearings and clean them and put one type of trailer grease on it so it clean- no mixing of grease and at least you have a visual inspection of your bearing and races. knowing that you have seen your bearings and have good grease in them shall ensure you will have a safe round trip . As bird mentioned - its a bit odd to have a Zerk in the back of hub to grease the bearings. this could add grease to the back bearing, but what about the front bearing and race ?

 

[LBrown59]

Leave your tractor trailer and equipment home and rent what you need when you get there.

L . B .

My wife volunteered me to haul the tractor to her sister's place in a few weeks to help do some landscaping and yard prep. It's about a 500 mile round trip. I have an old tandem axle tilt bed trailer that handles the tractor great, but I've only every taken it 50 or so miles from home before. I'm looking for suggestions on what preventive maintenance to do on it before the trip.

I think I'm going to get new tires. I've got a friend who runs a tire recycling business, and he's got some newly re-treaded tires that he'll just give me.
Is is hard to re-pack wheel bearings? Is that something I should look into doing?
What other PM stuff do I need to think about?

 

[Iplayfarmer]

ok - now you are scaring me. so far we havent seen any pics of the trailer tires, condition and what type of tractor you are going to pull and weight of your trailer. We all are concerned more about the total weight you plan to pull. I really dont care more or less about the laws requireing brakes or not for given weight. In MY book, anything over 3K towing over 60 miles one way - its really nice to have brakes on the trailer. I cant count on my hands how many times where there were idoits drivers out there who dont care about you. Even when i had mentality of given weight i was pulling and given myself space and time to stop- there is always just one out there to screw you up. iplayfarmer -- i do beleive you have alot of common sense and play it cautious - just by reading your posts - but 250 miles to your sister in law place with your tractor and trailer with no brakes ? you mentioned you have no idea when did the other guy repacked the trailer bearings , much less the type of grease being used. Its my understanding that mixing different types of hi-temp grease for trailers could destroy the bearings and having no brakes ??!! please - take apart your bearings and clean them and put one type of trailer grease on it so it clean- no mixing of grease and at least you have a visual inspection of your bearing and races. knowing that you have seen your bearings and have good grease in them shall ensure you will have a safe round trip . As bird mentioned - its a bit odd to have a Zerk in the back of hub to grease the bearings. this could add grease to the back bearing, but what about the front bearing and race ?

Thanks for being concerned about me.

The tires are bald, weather checked, and leaking. As I mentioned earlier, I'm getting brand new tires all around. The tractor is a Massey Ferguson 1215. The listed weight spec on it is only 1500 pounds. It's not like this is a regular utility tractor like most of you guys on here have. It's just a baby. Here's a picture...

Massey 1215

Between the tractor, trailer, and tiller, I'll probably be almost at that 3500 pounds that seems to be the generally accepted fine line between brave and stupid.

I'm with you 100% about breaks being nice. It's just not in the cards right now. I looked, and the cheapest I can get a complete set of brake hubs for $190 per pair plus shipping.

I am seriously entertaining the idea, though, of just going with brand new hubs all around. I've seen bearing and seal kits for $10 online, and I've seen complete hubs with bearings and all for $17. I think that with shipping I could have all new hubs for under $100.

 

[john_bud]

The tires are bald, weather checked, and leaking.

You make it sound so good, where can I get some just like that??

Will you take the trip already? Or you're gonna spend more time prepping for the trip than actually on the trip!



jb


Here's the law for Washington state
Trailer brakes are required on all axles when gross
weight exceeds 3,000 pounds.

Trailer less than 3,000 pounds: total weight on
and including wheels shall not exceed 40% of the
gross weight of towing vehicle when connected to
trailer and combination is capable of complying
with state’s performance requirements. If
exceeds, then needs brakes.​

 

[firemanpat2910]

check west marine or simular boat place for complete assemblies. Prices arent bad. I agree for the size tractor you are pulling, slap some new rubber, grease bearings or replace the hubs, get a couple of spare lightbulbs and haul buggy.

 

[mlauk]

If there isn't a lot of play in the wheel and they spin good, I wouldn't worry about the bearings. Sounds like you have kept them greased and you are using the trailer on a regular basis, just shorter trips. I would get new tires and a spare wheel/tire. I'm sure you will be alright without brakes also, that is a light load.

 

[RobJ]

ok - now you are scaring me. so far we havent seen any pics of the trailer tires, condition and what type of tractor you are going to pull and weight of your trailer. We all are concerned more about the total weight you plan to pull. I really dont care more or less about the laws requireing brakes or not for given weight. In MY book, anything over 3K towing over 60 miles one way - its really nice to have brakes on the trailer. I cant count on my hands how many times where there were idoits drivers out there who dont care about you. Even when i had mentality of given weight i was pulling and given myself space and time to stop- there is always just one out there to screw you up. iplayfarmer -- i do beleive you have alot of common sense and play it cautious - just by reading your posts - but 250 miles to your sister in law place with your tractor and trailer with no brakes ? you mentioned you have no idea when did the other guy repacked the trailer bearings , much less the type of grease being used. Its my understanding that mixing different types of hi-temp grease for trailers could destroy the bearings and having no brakes ??!! please - take apart your bearings and clean them and put one type of trailer grease on it so it clean- no mixing of grease and at least you have a visual inspection of your bearing and races. knowing that you have seen your bearings and have good grease in them shall ensure you will have a safe round trip . As bird mentioned - its a bit odd to have a Zerk in the back of hub to grease the bearings. this could add grease to the back bearing, but what about the front bearing and race ?

I think this is getting to the overthinking stage...again. IR temp meter for the hubs??? Got to have brakes?

99% of all the trailers we have sit most of their life. And I bet the rest of the time they are pulled empty. So bearings and such don't get the wear of our cars and trucks. Tires are #1 IMO, I've had 3 go on me and my Dad before. And if you have a fendered trailer, if the tread goes..in our case, it wrapped the fender under itself. Lots of fun.

I change my mind, I think 1) you should not go at all!!! or 2) just drive your tractor, most safe way to go, should only take you 25 hours to get there!!

There no need to worry about the trailer!!

 

[RobertN]

I think this is getting to the overthinking stage...again. IR Got to have brakes?

We're anything over 2500lbs I believe, has to have brakes.

I had to panic stop a few years ago. I had borrowed a trailer, and was hualing my tractor. Trialer brakes did not work properly. The 1500lb dual axle trailer and my 2000lb Kubota really pushed my 3/4 ton Dodge Ram around. I was really surprised. I'm glad I was on a straight portion of highway; if it would have been a curve I'm sure it would have pushed the rear of the truck around.

Last time borrowed a trialer(wiring issue).

If the trailer is big enough for dual axles, it is big enough for brakes...

 

[Bird]

I think this is getting to the overthinking stage...

Probably so. But some folks think Bearing Buddies, which let you apply grease with a grease gun on a zerk, permanently eliminate the need for repacking bearings. They don't! Although they can considerably extend the intervals between repacking, even on boat trailers.

One of my brothers bought a 17' boat in Anchorage in 1990. He used it both in fresh water lakes and in Resurrection Bay, but of course with him normally working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, it wasn't used a lot anywhere. In the late 90s, he moved back to Texas and brought the boat with him. He used it in Texas occasionally, but not very often, in a fresh water lake where he didn't tow it 5 miles to the launching ramp.

In November, 2001, the other brother and I decided to borrow it and go to Port Aransas to fish a couple of days (about a 300 mile trip, one way). So we decided that maybe, in spite of the Bearing Buddies, we'd clean and repack the trailer's wheel bearings first. It was one of the better decisions we ever made, because the bearings were so bad it's a wonder they hadn't already seized. We had to replace all bearings, races, and seals.

 

[john_bud]

I think this is getting to the overthinking stage...again. IR temp meter for the hubs??? Got to have brakes?

Sure go ahead and laugh, but it's the neatest little gizmo. I zap the hubs and tires and can tell a lot quicker if the air is low and can tell how hot the hubs are getting. I go by how much over the outside temp it is.

Not to say that I still don't remember how to grab each hub at every stop when doing a walk around before going to the can!

jb