When to change brakes/hubs/all of it

[pgshields]

I recently bought a trailer and the seller wasn't totally honest about everything. Originally the trailer was a 2022 then a 21 and ended up being a 17. It's a Magic Tilt with surge brakes as well as disc brakes. I'm just trying to figure out when do I need to actually change hubs/or brakes/ or bearings? There is a lot of rust on the rotors and I'm not even sure the brakes are engaging. The brakes have a UFP brand name on them.

[jhnmdahl]

It depends a lot on the particular trailer. Many hubs/bearings will be just fine for more than a decade, and brakes are likely ok if the only thing wrong is some rust on the rotors. You could always have a dealer check it out if you're unsure, or find manuals and decide to go through it to build your knowledge and have some peace of mind. If the surge brakes weren't working, you would know pretty quickly if you tried backing up without them locked out.

Others with more experience working on their trailers will likely chime in too.

[NautiWeasel]

Post up a picture of your hubs is you can. Most hubs on trailers I've seen around here lately (and on my last 2 boat trailers) are non-serviceable bearings. I don't love that idea, but it is what it is. The "grease" in them is like oil, until it builds up heat, then turns a bit thicker, I guess.

As for brakes, jhnmdahl hit the nail on the head... you'd probably notice pretty quickly if they weren't working. The surface of the rotor would have the rust rubbed off of it, and back to a shiny surface pretty quickly on even a short drive if they were working correctly. The parts could most likely be sourced from a site like etrailer if you remove them and do some measuring. It's probably based on which hubs it has. If it were me, and I didn't know the brake pads were good or not, I would at least remove them and inspect. The linings may be nice and thick, but have stress or heat cracks on them, in which case you would want to replace them.

[pgshields]

[NautiWeasel]

That's a picture of the brake caliper (which is a good thing, that means disc brakes, which are better in most cases). That picture doesn't show the hub, which is where the wheel studs are. The actual hub may or may not be a serviceable hub. The picture below is what my current, and last boat trailers have had. These are not serviceable, in that you can't change the grease or repack the bearings. Some see that as good, others (including myself) would prefer a hub that can have the bearings replaced and repacked.