Unit bearing trailer axles?

larboc

larboc

Limestone cowboy
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I have started noticing that all of the u haul trailers I am seeing have unit bearing style axles on them which I found interesting but that is the only place I have seen them and I don't see anything on the internets for trailer axles with unit bearings. The uhaul axles have brakes on them. Is it a thing and I just don't know what to search for?
I could see some advantages to setting up a trailer axle this way as long as it used an off the shelf bearing assembly.
 
In no particular order:

Unit bearings are typically some sort of deep groove ball or some sort of barrel shaped tapered roller. This is done for fuel economy reasons. Between the choice of bearing and the typically narrow spacing you're likely going to get less weight capacity on a dollar for dollar basis compared to new trailer stuff of equally (dis)reputable brand.

If you have chunks of plate steel lying around I think that making bearing cups for Chevy/Dodge/Ford 8-lug unit bearings would be a good value for money. From a manufacturing perspective this is kind of unnecessary though since you can just bore the tube and pres a spindle right in, fewer and cheaper machine operations that way.

The bearing cup is gonna get in the way of running a small (and cheap) flange for a backing plate.

But if you're gonna do your own fab work a "the cheapest full floater on CL" is still the most axle you can get per dollar.

If you have a unit bearing tow rig I think it'd be nice to run the same one.

Or if you're the kind of guy who overloads the **** out of **** and always has a bunch of junkyard spares the ease of swapping would be nice.

I say go for it, but I think there's a bunch of little reasons these haven't seen mainstream adoption except for the one fleet operator who over builds and under-rates their trailers and keeps them long enough to spend a lot on labor changing bearings. This is the kind of thing we've all thought about doing but the effort/money per results just doesn't quite pencil out compared to the other options.
 
The only thing I've seen is dexter Nev r lube. It's a sealed bearing cartridge.
 
rent uhaul trailer, crawl under it and look for part numbers in the casting?

or just go crawl under one somewhere like a weirdo.
 
larboc said:
I have started noticing that all of the u haul trailers I am seeing have unit bearing style axles on them which I found interesting but that is the only place I have seen them and I don't see anything on the internets for trailer axles with unit bearings. The uhaul axles have brakes on them. Is it a thing and I just don't know what to search for?
I could see some advantages to setting up a trailer axle this way as long as it used an off the shelf bearing assembly.
Click to expand...
I made a trailer axle of out plymouth horizion rear hubs once. Its been in service since 2000. It's a canoe trailer so it doesn't take a beating like a car trailer YMMV.
 
ckupq said:
I made a trailer axle of out plymouth horizion rear hubs once. Its been in service since 2000. It's a canoe trailer so it doesn't take a beating like a car trailer YMMV.
Click to expand...
One day I'm gonna see a Promaster 3500 in the junkyard and I'm gonna snag the rear axle and do the same thing.
 
I rented a uhaul car hauler about a year ago and put a cucv on it :laughing:

I noticed they used a unit bearing and thought it was interesting. I'm betting all their trailers use the same ones also.

Makes maintenance easy, as well as road side repairs.

Newer F250/350 is the same bearing as the F450/550 so I'm guessing they're good for some weight. Dodge might be better if you want standard 8 lug. I don't think those units are cheap though.

If you were to go that route, using the brakes from the same truck probably makes the most sense.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I rented a uhaul car hauler about a year ago and put a cucv on it :laughing:

I noticed they used a unit bearing and thought it was interesting. I'm betting all their trailers use the same ones also.

Makes maintenance easy, as well as road side repairs.

Newer F250/350 is the same bearing as the F450/550 so I'm guessing they're good for some weight. Dodge might be better if you want standard 8 lug. I don't think those units are cheap though.

If you were to go that route, using the brakes from the same truck probably makes the most sense.
Click to expand...
Biggest thing I ever saw on a uhaul car trailer was a Allis D-17 with brush hog. Yes, I was impressed by the BDL because I assume it had loaded rear tires.
 
87manche said:
rent uhaul trailer, crawl under it and look for part numbers in the casting?

or just go crawl under one somewhere like a weirdo.
Click to expand...
I already did that (crawl around option) and didn't see any numbers aside from castings numbers. Also, they aren't hollow like they would be in a front axle of a 4x4 application. They are solid like the rear unit bearings on a mini-van.
 
ckupq said:
I made a trailer axle of out plymouth horizion rear hubs once. Its been in service since 2000. It's a canoe trailer so it doesn't take a beating like a car trailer YMMV.
Click to expand...
I made a hydraulic lift axle for my chicken coop out of the entire rear axle beam from an early 2000's gm minivan and it was extremely easy because it's a swing arm with panhard axle setup. The unit bearings are mounted in a flange with the axle beam "dropped" 6" or so. It would be a perfect axle for an equipment trailer if I could hit the 5x button.
 
ckupq said:
Biggest thing I ever saw on a uhaul car trailer was a Allis D-17 with brush hog. Yes, I was impressed by the BDL because I assume it had loaded rear tires.
Click to expand...
Wieght wise, I think the cucv would have it beat, (had a big steel flatbed with headache rack) but at least the way it was on the trailer, a lot of the weight was on the tongue. That tractor would be a nightmare to position since the deck is so short. (like the exact length of a cucv wheelbase :laughing:)

Also, I Google it before I did it, and found a guy who hauled an excursion on 1 for like 1000 miles. :laughing:
 
IMG_20200622_155248.jpg
 
larboc said:
I made a hydraulic lift axle for my chicken coop out of the entire rear axle beam from an early 2000's gm minivan and it was extremely easy because it's a swing arm with panhard axle setup. The unit bearings are mounted in a flange with the axle beam "dropped" 6" or so. It would be a perfect axle for an equipment trailer if I could hit the 5x button.
Click to expand...
Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix is a good option for anyone looking for a slightly smaller axle like this.
YotaAtieToo said:
Wieght wise, I think the cucv would have it beat, (had a big steel flatbed with headache rack) but at least the way it was on the trailer, a lot of the weight was on the tongue. That tractor would be a nightmare to position since the deck is so short. (like the exact length of a cucv wheelbase :laughing:)

Also, I Google it before I did it, and found a guy who hauled an excursion on 1 for like 1000 miles. :laughing:
Click to expand...
You guys are kidding yourselves if you think people haven't hauled some big fork lifts on those trailers. They fit the deck pretty perfectly. And 6k of tire is perfect for 12k of machine if you never exceed 40mph.
 
12k is not a big forklift, unless you're talking the semi rough terrain ones? The standard 12k forklift I've been around would probably be too narrow for the channels.

Pics? :flipoff2:
 
Big as in "wide enough to not fall through the middle". Like something with big single or small pneumatics up front. Like a Hyster H100.

I'm sure you could fit something bigger than 10k or 12k if it was a solid tire warehouse machine but I don't think the trailer would like that even around town.

The 6x12 utility is pretty perfect for warehouse size forklifts if you can manage to not kill the ramp on your way in.

Unfortunately I'm in the market for a small machine so you won't get any pics anytime soon.
 
I swapped out my pontiac 6000 rear axled trailer after going through several sets of unit bearings (didn't get much mileage out of a set). 4x8 trailer, but no suspension.

Now it's got 2000 lbs torsion axle stubs.
 
Sort of related: Action Fab was working on putting sterling 10.5 outers on a trailer axle. I would LOVE to do something similar. You would never have to fawk with them for the rest of your life.

Trailer axles are jerks.
 
DirtRoads said:
Sort of related: Action Fab was working on putting sterling 10.5 outers on a trailer axle. I would LOVE to do something similar. You would never have to fawk with them for the rest of your life.

Trailer axles are jerks.
Click to expand...
He did it, says it works great, but was too ****y to post pics.

As long as they don't leak, or the brakes don't go out.

At least 10.25 has slip on drums.

I have been kinda wondering why you don't see 10-12k axles with 18 ply 17.5 singles more. Would make a killer tilt deck.
 
arse_sidewards said:
Big as in "wide enough to not fall through the middle". Like something with big single or small pneumatics up front. Like a Hyster H100.

I'm sure you could fit something bigger than 10k or 12k if it was a solid tire warehouse machine but I don't think the trailer would like that even around town.

The 6x12 utility is pretty perfect for warehouse size forklifts if you can manage to not kill the ramp on your way in.

Unfortunately I'm in the market for a small machine so you won't get any pics anytime soon.
Click to expand...
13-14k worth of forklift on 8160# worth of tires would be interesting...

Aaron Z
 
aczlan said:
Probably cheaper to have someone put them on with an impact vs having someone who knows how to properly preload "normal" ones.

Aaron Z
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking too. Not that bearing packing and installing is hard, but some people still can't get it. My buddy actually manages a place that works on trailers every day, they also do a lot of fab work. He's constantly bitching about guys that are fab guys will still **** up simple bearing replacement.

On the flip side most ******s can switch out a part with 4 bolts.

There are a lot of other benefits too, easy to carry a spare, no worry of the spindle getting ****ed up and preventing new bearings from going on, ect.

If there was a beefy 8 lug version, I'd definitely entertain the idea.
 
aczlan said:
13-14k worth of forklift on 8160# worth of tires would be interesting...
Click to expand...
Would be just fine at slow speeds. I'd be more concerned about bending an axle.

Even passenger car tires can take stupid high loads at around town speeds on paved roads.
 
larboc said:
I made a hydraulic lift axle for my chicken coop out of the entire rear axle beam from an early 2000's gm minivan and it was extremely easy because it's a swing arm with panhard axle setup. The unit bearings are mounted in a flange with the axle beam "dropped" 6" or so. It would be a perfect axle for an equipment trailer if I could hit the 5x button.
Click to expand...
at first I was thinking "yuck unit bearings" but it makes a lot more sense on a drop beam axle
threw together a car dolly that used those generic 3-bolt GM w-body 5 on 4.5" unit bearings , "drop axle" portion was just made outta 6" C channel welded into a U shape, and of course used junk takeoff unit bearings from at work because they'd get loose but not loud
 
YotaAtieToo said:
That's what I was thinking too. Not that bearing packing and installing is hard, but some people still can't get it. My buddy actually manages a place that works on trailers every day, they also do a lot of fab work. He's constantly bitching about guys that are fab guys will still **** up simple bearing replacement.

On the flip side most ******s can switch out a part with 4 bolts.

There are a lot of other benefits too, easy to carry a spare, no worry of the spindle getting ****ed up and preventing new bearings from going on, ect.

If there was a beefy 8 lug version, I'd definitely entertain the idea.
Click to expand...
And a unit bearing (with either studs and a set of lug nuts, or a new set of wheel bolts) along with a new wheel would pretty much guarantee that a "tech" could get a trailer back on the road (as long as the axle itself is not overly bent or disconnected) at least enough to limp to the exit and meet someone with a new trailer.

Looks like they have the parts breakdown available at: Repair Hub -
Does the parts diagram show up for anyone? Curious how they attach the backing plates or caliper brackets

Aaron Z
 
[486] said:
at first I was thinking "yuck unit bearings" but it makes a lot more sense on a drop beam axle
threw together a car dolly that used those generic 3-bolt GM w-body 5 on 4.5" unit bearings , "drop axle" portion was just made outta 6" C channel welded into a U shape, and of course used junk takeoff unit bearings from at work because they'd get loose but not loud
Click to expand...
I didn't know gm had anything 5 on 4.5"?
 
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