As is the case with most of my trailer maintenance, found myself putting new bearings and springs on a trailer the two nights prior to departing on a 5-hour trip... Have always installed bearings/hubs by snugging them up with a socket, spinning hub a few times by hand, backing nut back off, then running the nut back on by hand, as tight as greasy hands will allow, and if I can't feel any major end play, but also can't feel it dragging when I spin it, I'm good (assuming I can get cotter pin in). Judgement call on which way to go with the nut if it needs to move to get cotter in.
Followed that method this go round and when I got to where I was going, trailer tires on the ground, could feel some pretty obvious end play when I rocked things back and forth. So what did I miss? Just didn't have it tight enough to begin with? I snugged it pretty good with a 1/2" drive, then backed it off...but seems they "wore in" over the course of my trip even more than I could seat them with a socket? And if I'm going to miss, little too tight or little too loose the better direction to miss? I always thought too loose. But happy to learn otherwise.
