bearing help please

[Kelly S.]

Hi, New to site and need help. Am picking up 72 boler 13' next week, driving back home about 9 hours. Need advice on what size bearings I should have on hand, I will take more than one size to be safe. Any ideas would be great. Thanks and wish me luck.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Kelly, if you don't get an exact answer, here's what I would do in your case -- Go to WalMart and get 8 sets of bearings, four of them in 1" and four in 1 1/16", because likely the axle is one of these sizes (two sets per wheel, two wheels) -- When you have found out which size is right, just take the others back (unopened, with receipt) -- WalMart is very good about stuf like that.

Stop occasionally and feel hubs with your hand for heat; also feel tires (likely they are kinda old and therefore fragile, despite how they may look). Remember that even brand new trailer tires have a manf speed limit of 65mph. You may be tempted to save time by going faster, but you will lose more if you have to hunt up two spares while on the road...

[Kelly S.]

Thanks Pete! That is all great advice. I think you have put me on the right track. That's way more than I knew before. Thanks for the extra pointers and if you can think of anything else I should be aware of let me know. This is my first camper trailer.
Kelly

[Pete Dumbleton]

If you have no experience with bearings, tires, trailer lights, etc., I would suggest that your first stop be at a garage where the bearings can be inspected and repacked, the lights checked and the tires examined (trailer tires, esp if the trailer has been sitting rather than being towed a lot, have an expected life in the range of five years or so -- Here's how to read the Tire Date Code).

Ask the owner if there's a Flat-Four connector on there for the lights, or what -- Presuming you have Flat-Four on your tow vehicle, there are adapters to change Whatever to Flat-Four (WalMart again).

Likely, you will need a 1 7/8" hitch ball, altho a Boler owner might know for sure.

Be sure to take it slow on the trip back -- Speed makes running gear hot -- Speed also makes any tendency to sway (either by itself or from passing trucks) get much worse -- 55 mph is a good speed.

[Donna D.]

Glad you found us at FiberglassRV Kelly. And, congratulations on finding a new-to-you molded lightweight fiberglass trailer! I'll leave the mechanics equipment necessary to those in the know...Pete has given you some great info. Slow and steady is the way to go too. Remember too we love to pictures.

[Kelly S.]

Thanks Pete and Donna, I went to napa today and got 1" bearings, they did not have
1 1/16" and said they were rarely used, I believed him, what do I know. The only experience I've had with bearings was bad, side of road with boat and no spare bearings, yucky. That won't happen again. Anyway thanks for all the wonderful advice and Donna I will post pic's as soon as I can.
Kelly Southern

[Benny K]

Hi Kelly, I went out to the garage and rummaged thru my Boler travel stuff and came across a spare bearing which I think is for my 74'- 13' Boler....sizes are 1 1/16" ....L44649 and 1 3/16" ....L44649 ....the kit No. is #6507 .....don`t think that this kit is for my 17'.....I would suggest that if you are expecting a problem that you pickup this size kit at a Walmart or where ever that will allow you to return it if unused, as suggested by someone earlier......Will go out to garage again and rummage to the bottom of my stuff and if there is no other there, then this kit is for the 13' ....Went thru the box again and that was the only bearing kit ....also brought the seal in and it is 2 9/16" O.D. and about 1 3/4" I.D. .....hard for me to get a surer I.D. size without calipers, which are in another building....anyway the seal part No. is #17146......hope this is of some help....oh,yes....the ball size is 1 7/16" unless someone changed the coupler to a 2" to make it more compatible with other trailers that he/she may have ......so like a boy scout...be prepared! ....remember Murphy`s Law.......if something different or odd can happen, it will! ...good luck in your venture..... .....Benny

[Kelly S.]

Benny,
Thanks for the info. Since you have both sizes, do you think that the inner and outer bearings are two different sizes? Do you think that 72 and 74 Boler 13's are the same as far as their bearings go? Thanks again.
Kelly

[Brian B-P]

More than you ever wanted to know about trailer bearings: Wheel bearings. It looks from that discussion like small Dexter axles used two 1" bearings at some point in history, but got larger later.

Just a note: non-sealed bearings are sold in separate inboardand outboard sets, so make sure you have enough pieces if you want to do them all: a set of cup, roller, and cone for each of inboard left, outboard left, inboard right, outboard right. Lots of pieces, lots of grease...

[Benny K]

Hi again Kelly, the inner bearing is the larger one and the outer is smaller.....there is a seal in the kit also along with a cotter pin....plus I got an extra separate seal.......there are two parts to each bearing ass`y.....cone and rollers are one part and the cup that they fit into is the second part......can`t remember who made my axle and am not about to crawl into the snow under my trailer to get to the axle info tag.. ......I believe that the axle is of a capacity lower than the total weight of my trailer but the rubber suspension is fine and will up grade the capacity if and when the axle will need changing....subtracting the tongue weight, I`m within the axle limit........anyway, back to the subject at hand.....as mentioned earlier, I`d pick up this bearing kit and return if not needed.....I don`t know what possible sizes of bearings that your axle uses......it could be like a standard older light boat trailer and use a 1" inner and outer......better to have everything that you could possibly need with you just in case....you never know.......also take some automotive electrical wire, tape, side cutters and strippers or a knife with you in case you have connector problems and just have to buckshee the wiring together to get you back home safe and sound........Benny

[Pete Dumbleton]

I see there are lots of differences between some Bolers and Scamps -- My 91S13 uses the SAME bearing sets for both inner and outer (not true for larger Scamps, which use larger inner bearings) -- And they are 1 1/16", so the NAPA guy doesn't know his stuf -- In fact, current #8 and #9 Dexter axles (that's a range of 600-2,200 lbs and a LOT of lawnmower/lawn service trailers, plus RVs) use 1 1/16" bearings, so the NAPA guy had it backwards.

[Kelly S.]

Thank you all, I found out the boler uses a 6 prong hexagonal hook up, I have a flat 4 prong, so I went to a trailer supply place for the adapter, he said they don't make an adapter for that configuration, they just make the opposite, is this true? Remember I am in Alabama, no disrespect meant to Alabamians, I was born and raised here. I am getting the runaround everywhere I go, I do not shop at Wal-Mart (boycotting) so I am limited to where I can go without caving to my moral issues with wally world. Thanks again and I will keep hunting.
Kelly Southern

[Brian B-P]

Thank you all, I found out the boler uses a 6 prong hexagonal hook up, I have a flat 4 prong, so I went to a trailer supply place for the adapter, he said they don't make an adapter for that configuration, they just make the opposite, is this true?..

This is probably a 7-pin connector (usually known as the RV or Bargman type): 6 flat pins forming a hexagon plus a round pin in the middle, all in a round body.

Regardless of the actual connector, it is true that simple plug-in adapters to go up in number of pins are not common, only to go down (from more pins on the tow vehicle to fewer on the trailer). The usual solution is a receptacle to mount on the tow vehicle with the required 7-pin RV connector, with a short cable to the existing 4-pin connector, plus extra wires for battery charge, brakes, and ground (example: item 18299 on page of the Go-RV/Coast catalog). If the trailer does not have brakes, you can use one of these and hook up only the ground.

If it really is a 6-pin on the Boler, there is a similar conversion receptacle for that, too.

I use one of these conversion receptacles (7-pin version), but I have the power and brakes hooked up as well.

[Pete Dumbleton]

Here's one for adapting a Flat-Four on the tow vehicle to a 6-pin on the trailer from E-Trailer. Depending on who orders the stock, you might even find this at WalMart.

Here's an assortment of wiring guides for various connector arrangements from ETrailer.

[Benny K]

The adapter from E-Trailer won`t be much good for the 6 pin Bargman hex , if that is what`s on the trailer, since that adapter has round pins.........I would pick up another flat 4 connector, remove the the 6 pin for the time being, and connect up running lights from the tow vehicle to the bared wires on the trailer using the proper mate to the flat 4 on the tow vehicle....when you get home change the connector to whatever configuration you want to..... Benny

[Brian B-P]

Pete, that does look like the same approach as the 4-to-7 adapter, but with no requirement for high ground circuit capacity (no support for brakes) the 4-to-6 version doesn't need to separate out the ground wire, so it's a simple plug-in as far as wiring is concerned. Like the 4-to-7, mounting of the receptacle is still required.

The reason I am guessing that this is really a 7 (not 6) pin plug on the Boler is that I have never heard of separate turn signals from the factory on a Boler.

Kelly, this could be like the bearings: if you're not really sure what the trailer plug is, buy both types of adapter and return the unused on when you get home. I don't know about you, but I'm certainly not sure which one you are describing, because the 6-pin design isn't hexagonal (round body, the pins for a pentagon instead of a hex because one is in the middle) and the Bargman/RV design doesn't have six pins (although the outer six flat pins do form a hexagon in the round body).

Benny's approach would work, too, but if the Boler has a cable moulded to the plug and in good condition, I would hate to cut it off for a temporary rigging. On the other hand, it could be a good excuse to put a nice new connector and cable on the trailer later!

[Pete Dumbleton]

I think (and I could be wrong) that Kelly's going to find that it's not really a hex, but five round pins arranged in a pentagon with a sixth round pin in the center, all in a round housing -- That's the only kind of Round Six-way connector I have run across.

Here's the pictures.

It is crucial as to whether it is a Six-Way (supports lights plus batty charging) or Seven-Way (supports lights, brakes and auxilliary), but that's solved in this case by getting both adapters and returning the unused one.

[Kelly S.]

Thanks to everybody for your help. I think that I have all the adapters and bearings and gizzies that I could possibly need to take with me. All of your suggestions are appreciated. I am leaving in the AM tomorrow on the boler purchasing adventure. Will report back when we are safely home. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!
Kelly

[Kelly S.]

YEA WE ARE HOME!!! We have arrived safely and happily home, thanks to everyone's suggestions. Have lots of questions about this cute little 13' egglike thing and will ask them in a little while. Wanted to let you all know we made it home...
Kelly and ?

[Donna D.]

Glad you're home safely and things were UNeventful. We're here to help answers any questions you may have and are patiently waiting for pictures