I checked out a couple things on the trailer this evening post-trip. I got rained on the last 1.5-2hrs of the 1st leg of my trip. I was hoping to not get the trailer wet as I did not get a chance to paint the parts I made. As soon as water touched the welded parts they got surface rust, of course. So now I'll have to scrub off the rust before I paint. I was going to cover everything with a coat of etching primer first so that should bite down through any light rust and in to the base metal.
I found no signs of excessive wear, no cracked welds, and no bent parts - including the stub axles. That I was really curious about - if the heavy load and bouncing over train tracks, MUP/road crossings, pot holes, and the like would have bent the axles. Nada. That gives me some more comfort in the load capacity of the wheel set.
However, I did find the hubs are sealed cartridge bearings - not cone/race hubs like I thought they were. I tried to take one apart and so far I have not had much luck. I will poke at them a bit more when I get a chance, carefully, and see if I can pop them apart without damaging them. The one wheel I had off has a pretty gritty feel to the rolling of the bearing so I'd like to get it open, degrease/clean everything, then pack with fresh grease. The grease that is around the inside (look at the axle stub) is black and very loose. So at least it appears decently well lubed, but the gritty'ness has me concerned - that will only lead to problems over time.
Although, if the bearings are a somewhat normal size cartridge then I might be able to find some higher quality, more durable bearings to press in. That would give me a lot more peace of mind. As for the axles - they are 1/2" so it might be possible to get a 1/2" grade 8 bolt to work as a spare axle. So long as the hub or rim don't split apart - a bolt and spare set of bearings could give me a way out if I ran in to trouble on a long trip.
And a picture of the axle mounting bracket I made. You can see some of the surface rust from getting wet the other day.
