As if we need additional confirmation that I am an idiot. Let’s be clear…

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by

Wes Modes
in

As if we need additional confirmation that I am a fucking idiot.

Let’s be clear, this was not just a crazy unforeseen unfortunate highway event. I am 100% incontrovertibly unarguably and completely responsible.

Mistakes were made:

1) I didn’t get the wheel bearings re-greased and repacked as part of our regular maintenance.

2) When I noticed that one of the caps was missing from one of the trailer wheels, I didn’t take it seriously enough.

3) I didn’t make the connection between two salt water immersions and wheel bearing health.

4) When it was noted that my wheel bearing was smoking, I headed straight for a service station, but not at 10 mph like I should’ve.

5) on the way to the mechanic, when I looked back and saw smoke pouring off the wheel, I didn’t immediately stop and investigate thinking, “that wheel bearing is shot anyway” not realizing it was the remaining tire rubbing against the shantyboat.

For all of these totally foreseeable mistakes I will be paying the cost. Now I have to repair a deep Divet at the tire carved into the hull of the shantyboat.

#shantyboat #dumbmistakes #boatrepair #trailertroubles

Comments

One response to “As if we need additional confirmation that I am an idiot. Let’s be clear…”

  1. Gregory Cotton Avatar
    Gregory Cotton

    You’re very lucky that it’s only new bearings, which are easily replaced, and not a whole new axle spindle, which is troublesome and expensive. I’ve seen ungreased bearings weld themselves to the spindle. There is a reason you see those boat trailers alongside the road frequently.

    Also, it looks like you’ve got the grease zerks on the end of the axle which means you can grease the bearings without removing the wheel. That zerk leads to the inner bearing so grease pumped in there greases the inner bearing and then flows out through the outer bearing taking any water and dirt with it.

    I trailer about 14,000 miles every summer, even though I never put the trailer in the water, and I grease the bearings with the same system two or three times during that time. If it were a boat trailer I’d be doing it more often. You should probably grease those bearings after each launch to get the water out of the bearings. Also let the bearings cool before launch since when they hit the water they contract and actually pull water into the bearing. Also Google “bearing buddies”.

    Have fun,

    Greg