Replacement Hubs, Wheels, and Tires for a Boat Trailer That Uses Dico 45263 Hubs

Question:

Hi, I have a 1999 Pacific boat trailer. Single axle no brakes. Im not sure the capacity but it isnt much. I am looking to replace the hubs, wheels and tires. I am having difficulty finding the right hub. The hubs that I am taking off are Dico 45263. The inside diameter of the bearings is 1 1/16. The inner diameter of the seal is 1 3/8 The outer seal diameter is 2. approx The bolt pattern is 5 on 4.5 Tire size is 4.80-12 The hub length is approximately 4 The hubs do have Bearing Buddies. The lightest duty hub I find on your site if for 2000 lb axles. The id on those seals is 1.5. I am not sure if my axles have the Bearing Buddy stainless sleeve but if they do then my seal diameter would be even smaller. Im also concerned that the Hub is deeper than what I have and I will have difficulty installing the cotter pin. The trailer is in another town so I need to get the right parts the first time. Thanks

asked by: Peter C

Expert Reply:

I was able to get a hold of Pacific Boat Trailers and find out which bearings and seals you would need, but unfortunately the seal that is used on a Dico 45263 hub is different than standard 5 on 4-1/2 hubs that use the bearing numbers they gave me.

The bearings are standard as it uses Inner Bearing # L44649, and Outer Bearing # L68149. The seal that is used for a Dico 45263 hub is # 168255TB. The inner diameter of the seal is 1.687 inches while the outer diameter of the seal is 2.561 inches. The outer diameter of a seal for a 5 on 4-1/2 hub that uses bearings L44649 and L68149 is 2.565. I contacted Dexter, who is one of our leading hub and axle manufacturers, to see if the 0.004 smaller seal would be a problem and my contact said that there cannot be any space between the seal and the hub, even if it is only 0.004 of an inch.

If your Dico 45263 hubs are still in good shape, you could just replace the bearings with parts # L44649 and # L68149 and the seal with part # # 168255TB. Then all you will need is new wheels and tires.

I can still recommend some wheels and tires that will fit with the wheel and tire sizes that you mentioned, but if you are needing to replace your hubs you will have to get a new axle that uses a standard seal and bearing combination.

For a tire and wheel combo, I recommend going with one that uses a galvanized steel wheel as the galvanized finish will withstand the wear of water better than other materials. Kenda offer two different tires that use a galvanized wheel; part # AM30670 which has a Load Range C (990 lbs at 90 psi) and part # AM30590 which has a Load Range B (785 lbs at 60 psi). I recommend going with part # AM30670 since the price is similar and it has a higher weight rating.

If you let me know your axle dimensions, which would be the hub-face-to-hub-face measurement and the spring-center-to-spring-center measurement, I can look into a new axle for you so that you can easily change out your current hubs for more standard hubs. I have attached a picture to demonstrate what measurement locations I am referring to.