Tag axle wheel bearings

[mikkhh]

Two years ago I had in plans to buy five year old 25t tracked excavator and tri axle tractor + heavy haul trailer and also tipper trailer. Well I looked at quite a few trucks that were 5 years old, 10 years old, 15 years old, that had tri axles and and hydraulics fitted for trailer. Tri axle trucks are really common in Scandinavia, but there are harsh winters and lots of road salt used. As of today I have not bought big excavator or semi truck. Last year there was one well priced 10 year old excavator for sale, that dealership highly reccomended to steer clear of, there is reason behind the cheap price on excavators. Machine looked way good to be true, no big dents, no worn tracks, no hydraulic leaks. Maybe hydraulic pump has failed and it was just fixed up just to pass problems to somebody else.

Well 15 year old trucks I looked at were complete utter scrap metal, well they started and ran, somebody even used (or still uses) them daily to make money. But all the issues - enormous oil leaks, rust attacking (back of the cab had so big holes you could fit your hand through). They still had valid yearly inspection on them, somehow. PARTS ONLY in my opinion, some of the electronics there was fine and probably worth something, engines were rebuildable cores too.





10 year old trucks most of them had some issues popping up, but repairs were done super cheap, retreaded drive tires were really common. Probably the reason for selling was hidden engine issue (liners dropped) or some other expensive issue meaning that truck is financially totalled if you pay somebody to have it fixed properly, but if gotten for cheap enough price it could be fixed up DIY and it would make sense to buy it IF you do not count time spent fixing.

Pictured is a jump start socket "repair". That jump start pole has LIVE power to it all the times.



5 year old trucks seemed to be the only option that could head straight into work without major overhauls needed. Usually retread tires were not found on them, but here I have yet to see somebody to put big name brand tires on drive axles. Price wise that looks like the sweet spot since they cost 1/3 the price of a new truck, BUT most likely they are just passed on before they need tires or clutch, those can cost easily 10k if you use good brand tires and original clutch + actuator (if it is automatic, like the majority of trucks around here).