What's a reasonable price...

[bowling]

for a mechanic to inspect a single-axle trailer's brakes, hubs, bearings, etc?

[Acheron2010]

Having spent $1,000 at a dealership to have that done, my response is...learn to do it yourself. Watch YouTube videos, read the owner's manuals, reach out to a local Airstream club, but, don't throw money.

[richard5933]

I think that the problem is that once you pull everything off to do an inspection, it makes sense to go ahead and repack the bearings and install new wheel seals.

My thought is that the answer to your question is going to depend largely on where you are in the country and what type of shop you take it to.

If you go to a trailer shop, you might be able to get the work done on an hourly basis. I'd figure at least 2-3 hours plus parts as needed.

For comparison, in spring of 2021 I took my new-to-me Excella to Out Of Doors Mart to have the bearings repacked and seals replaced. Once they got things opened up, they discovered that the brakes were beyond their service life and needed to be replaced.

They replaced all four brake mechanisms with pre-assembled brake/backing plates, repacked the bearings, replaced the seals, and had the drums turned. The total bill for the brakes and hub work was only $640. Prices on the parts have climbed a bunch since then, so I'd expect the same job would cost upwards of $1,000 today. But, that was quite a bit more work than just pulling hubs and doing an inspection.

Your cost will likely be somewhere between a few hundred to something approaching $1,000.

One big mystery in all this is what type of trailer you're talking about, what year, etc. If you are talking about an older trailer, it will likely need a new axle since the rubber torsion springs age out eventually. If this is the case, it is much more cost effective to just buy the new axle complete with the hubs & brakes rather than doing the work on the current axle and then trying to swap the new parts onto a bare-bones axle assembly later on.

[bowling]

thanks for the info. FWIW, it's a year old axle on a new smallish AS trailer.

[richard5933]

Originally Posted by bowling

thanks for the info. FWIW, it's a year old axle on a new smallish AS trailer.

In that case (with a newish trailer), I'd guess that a simple inspection would do. Pulling the wheels & drums/hubs to inspect, and then possibly just repacking the grease in the bearings and installing a new seal before re-assembly. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours labor plus the cost of grease & seals.

[Action]

An inspection like that should be an hourly basis.
$50 an hour would be on the higher end depending on location of the trailer
Maybe an hour to 1 and a 1/2 plus two grease seals

Is this a pre-purchase inspection?

Action

[jeffb831]

Originally Posted by Action

An inspection like that should be an hourly basis.
$50 an hour would be on the higher end depending on location of the trailer
Maybe an hour to 1 and a 1/2 plus two grease seals

Is this a pre-purchase inspection?

Action

$50 an hour is no where near the rates for most AS service departments. The typical shop rate is usually in the $150 to $200 per hour rate.

[Action]

My reference above is not for an Airstream shop. You are correct, if an Airstream shop would be engaged, it would be far more expensive than a lower skilled "mechanic" needed to pull a hub/drum to inspect brakes.

The request is, "for a mechanic to inspect a single-axle trailer's brakes, hubs, bearings, etc?"

There are a lot of trailer "mechanics", independent or otherwise that would do a side job.

The request is for an inspection not a repair. The OP has not stated why an inspection is wanted. There are a couple of reasons to do this.

Action

[bweybright]

Originally Posted by Action

My reference above is not for an Airstream shop. You are correct, if an Airstream shop would be engaged, it would be far more expensive than a lower skilled "mechanic" needed to pull a hub/drum to inspect brakes.

The request is, "for a mechanic to inspect a single-axle trailer's brakes, hubs, bearings, etc?"

There are a lot of trailer "mechanics", independent or otherwise that would do a side job.

The request is for an inspection not a repair. The OP has not stated why an inspection is wanted. There are a couple of reasons to do this.

Action

With all respect to a "site team" moderator.....
You are on drugs with your $50 an hour for technicians (Airstream or not) to do mechanical work these days. Please validate from a rate schedule that you can publish from a reputable compay your statement. And if $50 an hour when will they fit you in?

Real life, I had a hanging boat trailer brake on a trailer I needed to sell last year and it cost me $350 bucks (AND NOT AT AN AIRSTREAM DEALER TO YOUR POINT) to break it free....not new parts just labor to check and free the stuff so I could sell. So My experience is you are on living in a different world than me.

I don't know what world you live in but I am seeing $120 and hour on the cheap end for questionable mechanic ability to upwards of $175 an hour to even look at something?
I think you need to justify your $50 an hour quote with rate schedules or stop being a moderator because you offer bogus information.
Basically put up or shut up. Thank you for offering to be a moderator, but don't offer highly questionable information unless you can validate....wearing the badge of being a site team.

Thank you for clarifying and feel free to chastise me if you can prove me wrong.

[Action]

My position as a moderator has nothing to do with my opinions. So please let that go.

OP is in Florida
There are shops paying far less than $50 an hour to hire a trailer tech.
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/Tr...h/--in-Florida
One of those guys doing a side job is kind of a no brainer.

And may be $50 an hour is too low. Who knows unless one asks. I am not going to argue about a labor rate for an independent person or someone private party doing an inspection.

Here is a shop charging $125 as a flat fee for a boat trailer inspection doing far more work than what the OP asked.
https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/mas...520040758.html

Pulling a hub/drum is not that difficult to inspect brakes. Even some one from this site might help. And there is a list of those on this site.

I am not out to prove anything to you or chastise you. This is about the OP getting opinions. You have yours and that's OK.

Action

[civeng99]

Wow. $50 an hour? I want to go where you’re going.

Paid $400 for a vehicle battery recently. Just the battery. $100 to pop that in. No thanks. Ten mins worth of work.

Originally Posted by Action

My position as a moderator has nothing to do with my opinions. So please let that go.

OP is in Florida
There are shops paying far less than $50 an hour to hire a trailer tech.
https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/Tr...h/--in-Florida
One of those guys doing a side job is kind of a no brainer.

And may be $50 an hour is too low. Who knows unless one asks. I am not going to argue about a labor rate for an independent person or someone private party doing an inspection.

Here is a shop charging $125 as a flat fee for a boat trailer inspection doing far more work than what the OP asked.
https://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/mas...520040758.html

Pulling a hub/drum is not that difficult to inspect brakes. Even some one from this site might help. And there is a list of those on this site.

I am not out to prove anything to you or chastise you. This is about the OP getting opinions. You have yours and that's OK.

Action

[Action]

It is all about choice.

Paying a highly skilled and educated techican in a large repair facility to change a tire is an option.

Finding a low skilled independant person or apprentice to remove a tire and a hub. And shoot a pic with a cell phone isn't rocket science. The tech that is working in a high volume tire shop or a brake shop isn't paid that much. Paying for the shop, the manager of the shop and special tools that won't be used for a job like that is an option.


Look at this a different way -
You can pay six figures for brand new Airstream or $5000 for a used dual axle utillity trailer. They both have the same braking system. You do not need to know how to diagnose a RV wiring system for a non-working accessory in a travel trailer to inspect the brakes. But you can pay for it if you want.

Action