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Yes and besides the bearing quality and correctly packed with the right grease and tensioned not too tight or too loose ( I always like to feel the slightest amount of freeplay in the wheel once all settled in)
The inner seal and the out cap integrity, both need to make a good seal and with many many dunkings I have never seen signs of water being sucked in from normally warm hubs once they are installed correctly. I think if that sort of thing happened it would be due to damaged or poorly installed or incorrect type seals.
I would agree that in many cases of failure that I have seen it has been due to poor installation and often from manufacturer installation. My last trailer from Dunbier had one out of 4 inner seals damaged no doubt at intallation and leaking grease flicking out around the rim being how I noticed it. A Mafairs trailer years ago with all 4 marine seals spinning on the axles which they are not designed to do, I had to replace the lot and no more worries, and I have been in the habit of serving the wheel bearings/seals on any trailer I buy new or old at the first opportunity, I think it is wise and saves major hassles on the side of the road somewhere with no spares or help in sight
But yeah I agree most of the problems on trailers come from improper installation and adjustment and not so much from the components themselves, made in china or otherwise. So it's worth doing a good job on them, regular checks for excessive heat or leakage of grease anytime you pull up anywhere and a yearly service should see you never having a problem on the road.
you ever see some people at the ramp..they arrive after towing down the road for whoever knows how far..obviously the bearings will be very warm by this time..they very quickly dunk the trailer in the water to launch...warm bearings..cold water. I don't care where the bearings are made..doing this will have a detrimental effect on any bearings. Always good to spend a little while before launching and let the bearings cool a bit...also gives some time to have a chuckle at the shenanigans of those launching and retrieving.
Yeah I like to take my time getting everything ready before backing down the ramp, even after may years of doing this, I don't like to be rushed, best way to make a fatal mistake..and yeah it can't hurt to let the hubs cool a little.
As this topic is on Chinese products I thought I'd share my opinion and mention that I just recently bought new Tyres from a Company here in Brisbane called ETyreStore. They also have an online store. These Tyres are of course Made in China. And quite frankly I have been more than impressed with the quality, styling, more than competitive pricing & aggressive A/T tread pattern. Not to mention the great customer service received as opposed to some of the major retailers. In my opinion it's like anything else you own, look after it and it will look after you? Abuse it! and suffer the consequences.
There are several factors to consider, the primary is the load on the bearing, a small tinny will not subject the bearing to the same load as something sitting right a the weight limit per axle. The hardness of the steel and the tolerance are what ensures a uniform load across the contact faces, minimizing wear and heat assuming properly lubricated.
Correct installation is critical to bearing life, to tight and expansion caused by heat will cause wear and premature failure, too loose and the lateral movement results in load being transferred to individual rollers, causing premature wear. Depending on the hardness of the bearing steel this can also result in failure.
Seal installation is just as important, any damage or marking on the sealing face will result in water ingress, the definitive cause of corrosion for salt water boats.
As mentioned allow the hubs to cool when you get to the ramp to avoid a vacuum in the hubs when submerged drawing water into the hub.
If you tow long distance at highway speeds I would spend my money on Timken every day, I am happy to on reputation alone. Chinese brands will establish themselves eventually, but until then I am happy to pay a small premium for peace of mind.
We tow near enough to 2000kg all up, and running temp of the hub is 29C or ambient temp if it is higher. Even at the bottom of Brown Mountain they are only in the low 50's on the braked hubs, 29 on the hubs without discs.
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