How to Select Replacement Trailer Hubs for Old Boat Trailer

Question:

Hi, Im swapping hubs from a lightweight antique trailer to 5 lug hubs to take advantage of better wheel/tire availability. I dont have any info on capacity other than the current tires are 175/80/13 C load rating, and its been holding a 15foot Boston Whaler for 30 years. The spindle is 1inch exactly, and it has no tapers. It looks like part number 8-258-50BTUC1 will do what I need. Are there any other considerations I may be missing? I have 1980SS Bearing Buddies I hope to reuse.

asked by: Beau C

Expert Reply:

The key to using alternate hubs on an existing axle's spindles is matching up the set of bearings in the two hubs. A new hub must use the same inner and outer bearing and grease seal as the old hub in order for it to fit properly on the spindles. If you can find a hub that uses the same bearings then you can take advantage of newer and more readily available parts.

The photo I linked for you shows the typical appearance of bearing and seal part numbers. If you remove one of your hubs, pull its bearings and seals and clean them off you should be able to find the parts numbers. This will allow you to check our site for hubs with the same set of bearings.

I also linked our main page for hubs; click on your inner and outer bearing part numbers to then see hubs that use these same parts. We have both idler hubs (for trailers without brakes) and hub/drums for braking applications.

It is important to determine the axle weight rating; this usually appears on a sticker or plate on the axle beam itself. You want to select hubs, wheels and tires that have the necessary weight capacity to match the axle's rating. On a 30-year-old trailer there is no guarantee that the current parts are matched.

Non-tapered spindles often use either bearing # L44643 or # L44649. These differ in dimension by only a few thousandths of an inch but both are close to 1-inch inside diameter. You will need to use the bearing part numbers or measure with a precision caliper to the nearest thousandth of an inch, such as 1.234-inches.

If you do have # L44643 bearings then the hub part # 8-258-50BTUC1 will work and accept your Bearing Buddies.