Wobbly boat trailer wheel

[Stein]

So here is one that has me completely stumped.  I've changed a few wheels in my day and have never seen a wobble.

I bought a new set of wheels and tires for the boat trailer as well as new Timken bearings.  One side had a definite wobble, so I drove it around, re torqued the nuts and checked the bearing nut.  Everything perfect but still a big wobble, probably over 1/4" measured on the tread.

I figured it was probably the hub and they are cheap, so I picked up a new one and another set of bearings thinking the old set would be a good spare.  Same problem.  OK, must be the wheel.  Buy a new wheel and tire to replace the last one and same thing.  So, I've gone through two hubs, two sets of US bearings and two brand new wheel/tire combos and nothing made a difference.  I made absolutely sure I got the nuts on there square, brought out the torque wrench and everything.

What the heck could be the problem?  Only thing left is the axle and even if it is bent, the wheel should spin straight in the air.

Any ideas?

[Henrydog]

Is there any collision damage to the axel? Or is the axel square?

[Special T]

Not sure what your problem is. What size weight rating are the tires? Are they bias? If they are I wouldnt be overly concerned provided you do a couple things. 1 make sure the axle is square on the trailer frame. My small boat trailer axle is just u bolted to the frame and it loosened and slid making it run funny. 2 take a wheel with no tire  on it and spin with some lined paper behind it. It helps show the wobble. It could be that a bias tire is not completly "true" they act differently that radial tires.

Beyond those 2 things I cannot fathom a reason for a wobble. Some additional info about the trailer type and axle kind brakes weight capacity would help since we all cannot see your axle.

[Stein]

The tires are Kenda 4.80-12 LRC 4 lug and I think the axle is 3500#.  Both the tire and wheel are wobbling, I checked the tread and wheel rim.


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[Fastass350]

Are you certain the center of the new wheels seats properly on the hub? If the wheel hole is too small it won't center and rest proper on the hub.

[Special T]

This is strange because that is a very common tire size and axle configuration.  Since you have replaced everything FastAss350 explanation is the only thing that makes sense. Even if your trailer axle was mis aligned the only thing that could cause that much wobble is some issue with bolting the tires to the hub. Does the hub have studs you put the wheel on and then lug nuts? Or Does it have lugnut "bolts" you tighten down? When you tightened down did you go across? On a clock face from 12 to 6 to 3 to 9?

[huntnphool]

This is strange because that is a very common tire size and axle configuration.  Since you have replaced everything FastAss350 explanation is the only thing that makes sense. Even if your trailer axle was mis aligned the only thing that could cause that much wobble is some issue with bolting the tires to the hub. Does the hub have studs you put the wheel on and then lug nuts? Or Does it have lugnut "bolts" you tighten down? When you tightened down did you go across? On a clock face from 12 to 6 to 3 to 9?

 Does the hub wobble when rotated without the wheel on it?

[Special T]

This is strange because that is a very common tire size and axle configuration.  Since you have replaced everything FastAss350 explanation is the only thing that makes sense. Even if your trailer axle was mis aligned the only thing that could cause that much wobble is some issue with bolting the tires to the hub. Does the hub have studs you put the wheel on and then lug nuts? Or Does it have lugnut "bolts" you tighten down? When you tightened down did you go across? On a clock face from 12 to 6 to 3 to 9?

 Does the hub wobble when rotated without the wheel on it?

Good Question! If it does its not the wheel or tire... then it would have to be bearings? But he replaced all those... Good thing to check tho.

[huntnphool]

This is strange because that is a very common tire size and axle configuration.  Since you have replaced everything FastAss350 explanation is the only thing that makes sense. Even if your trailer axle was mis aligned the only thing that could cause that much wobble is some issue with bolting the tires to the hub. Does the hub have studs you put the wheel on and then lug nuts? Or Does it have lugnut "bolts" you tighten down? When you tightened down did you go across? On a clock face from 12 to 6 to 3 to 9?

 Does the hub wobble when rotated without the wheel on it?

Good Question! If it does its not the wheel or tire... then it would have to be bearings? But he replaced all those... Good thing to check tho.

Exactly, process of elimination.

[REHJWA]

Does it wobble as bad if you install it on the other side?

[RadSav]

First thing I do is make sure I've got my good glasses on!  Can't trust my eyes these days.

If the problem was there with the old wheel & hub and the new wheel and hub have the same issue I'd probably ignore the tire, wheel, races and bearing as a source of the problem.  So look at what has not been replaced.  Spindle washer/nut damage, spindle damage, roundness of spindle at bearing surfaces.  If all is good I would measure to make sure the hub was the right size.  Who is to say the last owner had the right size hub on it?   Lastly I always like to adjust the spindle washer with the wheel on.  My personal belief is you can get a better feel for play, or lack there of, with the wheel and tire on.

If none of those things produces a solution I like to give the headache to a professional.  To me, when the obvious doesn't fix a problem having someone else bang their head against the wall is money well spent.

[Sakko300wsm]

Sounds like a bent spindle stubb to me if everything else is new/replaced

[coachcw]

so you need to figure out where the run out is . the axle or spindle being bent will cause to run un even but not wobble . make sure the bearings fit the spindle and are adjusted correct , make sure that the wheel is centered on the hub . if it only wobbles on the road my guess would be a crap tire . did it wear tires out on that axle before ?

[zike]

It could be that you need spacers behind the axle nut. the nut is running out of thread and not tighting the bearing. Jack it up and shake the wheel if it has play that could be the reason. Before torque wrenches we'd spin the tire and tighten the nut till the wheel stop spinning. Then back it off til you have a small amount of play.