Trailer Bearings

[KOKANEE]

I was just wondering how often everybody else is having there wheelbearings packed. I have mine done every year. And have had a few people tell me this is overkill. I have a 24ft boat with tandum axle trailer. Bearing buddies are in place and I keep them pumped with grease. I make 6-8 trips a year to Flaming Gorge from Utah County. Is every year to much? What do you guys think? To me its peace of mind and a bit of insurance Or am I just doing waisted mantaince.

 

[SuperD]

I equate bearing maintenance to mileage. I do my bearings about every 2 years or about every 5,000 miles. If the bearing buddies have proper grease, you might be overkilling it a bit. Ultimately, your peace of mind the what matters.

 

[Petty4life]

I agree with superD101goodpost101

 

[skookum9]

Although it is most commonly practiced to pack trailer bearings every other year, it doesn't mean that annually is a bad idea. It is overkill in the same way that excersizing daily or brushing your teeth 3 times a day would be overkill. Great ideas but most of us aren't always as diligent as we should be. And while it may cost you a little more, if it prevents one catastrophy, it will have paid for itself, and kept you from a major headache in addition. If I were you, I would take the overkill comments as a compliment about how good of care you are taking of your equipment.

Since this is sort of on subject I have a question for others who may be more familiar with this. I was recently talking to a friend who was showing me his new boat when he pointed out his trailer with its new axle. He had removed the original axle and put one on with an oil bath system. I had not seen this system before and would like to know what other people think who have had experience with them. My friend claimed that it was the best way but I don't know what he was basing this on. I would also be very worried about the fact that it looked like the clear hubs were made of plastic and appear to be the weak link in this system. If they were to somehow fail/break, it seems as though the tub would drain and there you'd be with dry bearings. Have any of you used this method? Am I worried about nothing? Is it any better than greasing your bearings? If you're familiar in the least about these I'd like to know what you think.

 

[Petty4life]

Since this is sort of on subject I have a question for others who may be more familiar with this. I was recently talking to a friend who was showing me his new boat when he pointed out his trailer with its new axle. He had removed the original axle and put one on with an oil bath system. I had not seen this system before and would like to know what other people think who have had experience with them. My friend claimed that it was the best way but I don't know what he was basing this on. I would also be very worried about the fact that it looked like the clear hubs were made of plastic and appear to be the weak link in this system. If they were to somehow fail/break, it seems as though the tub would drain and there you'd be with dry bearings. Have any of you used this method? Am I worried about nothing? Is it any better than greasing your bearings? If you're familiar in the least about these I'd like to know what you think.

working in transportaion maintance for the last 15yrs i can tell you oil bath is a very nice system if kept clean and free of water. one thing i have found is after running you trailer down the road the hub gets warm and when you back it down the ramp into the water it will suck in water. (have seen many times) grease system is alittle more forviving if water gets in the hub. just my opinion.

 

[SilverBullets]

Just had the axle and hubs replaced with this system...

http://dexteraxle.com/i/u/1080235/f/product_flyers/E-Z_Lube_3-09.pdf

 

[Bduck]

I was just wondering how often everybody else is having there wheelbearings packed. I have mine done every year. And have had a few people tell me this is overkill. I have a 24ft boat with tandum axle trailer. Bearing buddies are in place and I keep them pumped with grease. I make 6-8 trips a year to Flaming Gorge from Utah County. Is every year to much? What do you guys think? To me its peace of mind and a bit of insurance Or am I just doing waisted mantaince.

I came close to loosing a wheel completely off of my trailer. I had just checked the wheels over the night before. If that wheel had come while traveling down the road, it becomes a projectile and now you become liable for any possible damage and/or injuries it causes. Plus your safety as well. When it comes to safety, theres no overkill. However, I like to pop off the bearing buddies at the beginning of the season to see how things are looking and correct anything that doesn't look right. Always pumping grease into the bearing cavities tends to get forced out and creates a greasy mess from it slinging in the wheels wells and in alot of cases all over your boat. Your peace of mind is your safety.

 

[SuperD]

Over greasing, blows seals and will increase your chance of a bearing failure. If the piston on the bearing buddy is sticking out from flush, leave it alone.

 

[bobco]

Just had the axle and hubs replaced with this system...

http://dexteraxle.com/i/u/1080235/f/product_flyers/E-Z_Lube_3-09.pdf

been using that system for a few years now, WAY BETTER than Bearing buddys. Your fresh grease goes to the back bearing and pushs old grease out he front, unlike a bearing buddy which compresses on the rear seal until it leaks, been there done that. I try to repack and INSPECT bears every year, I drag the boat allot of miles and with a single axle trailer I want that warm and fuzzy feeling that things are ok. this spring I found 2 problems and ended up putting on 2 new hubs loaded with fresh bearings, really not that expensive ( under $100 for a 3500lb axle) if you do it your self and the piece of mind is well worth it. I don't want to be one of those guys broke down with my boat along the road to lake powell in 110 degree heat . Gorge Sunday yahooooooooooooo

 

[SilverBullets]

been using that system for a few years now, WAY BETTER than Bearing buddys. Your fresh grease goes to the back bearing and pushs old grease out he front, unlike a bearing buddy which compresses on the rear seal until it leaks, been there done that. I try to repack and INSPECT bears every year, I drag the boat allot of miles and with a single axle trailer I want that warm and fuzzy feeling that things are ok. this spring I found 2 problems and ended up putting on 2 new hubs loaded with fresh bearings, really not that expensive ( under $100 for a 3500lb axle) if you do it your self and the piece of mind is well worth it. I don't want to be one of those guys broke down with my boat along the road to lake powell in 110 degree heat . Gorge Sunday yahooooooooooooo

That's great to hear bobco... I'm glad the trailer shop recommended it. I also had issues with blown seals on the bearing buddies. What were the 2 problems you found this spring with the EZ lube system?

 

[bobco]

That's great to hear bobco... I'm glad the trailer shop recommended it. I also had issues with blown seals on the bearing buddies. What were the 2 problems you found this spring with the EZ lube system?

inspecting the bearing I found some spalling starting on one of the outer bearings and the other side had the outer bearing race spinning. New hubs seemed like the logical thing to do at that point, BTW champion trailers has an online parts store, these guys have great prices on axles, hubs tec..., I also carry a spare loaded and greased hub in case of problems,,,ok I'm a little anal tooexcited

 

[Harpoon]

I have two trailers with the oil bath system. I have had them for about 3 years with zero complaints. The oil is changed out every season ( very easy) and as far as heat I am sure there is some but I have not felt it. I still check the bearing temp any time I stop.H

 

[HiTechKoke]

All good advice... peace of mind on a yearly grease change does it for me....this year while going through my re-pack the inner bearing on one side it just came apart..... so that was worth it for the check right there. It was the original bearing that came with the new trailer, was well greased and maintained, but it had the tell-tale sign of problems written on it.. "China" and no brand. So that got replaced with a quality Timken bearing.

I have bearing buddies and never had a blow out of grease issue and I will add a few pumps from time to time. I do make sure that I use the double lip seals with the spring tensioners in them. A standard trailer shop may sell you a generic, single lip, without the spring. You will have more opportunity for water to seep in with a cheap single lip generics.

Also I have been religiously using a laser infrared thermometer the last two years to read the outer temp on each side after getting to my destination to see what temps they run and are they nearly equal. I have one sode that runs about 5 degrees hotter but within tolerance.

In checking yearly you can see if the grease is looking normal or has been spent as well without even opening up everything. You may discover water has made it into the system too... so just check at least every year but I just clean and re-pack for good measure since I tend to put on a lot of summer miles.

There's my .02 on the matter.

Kevin

 

[Full_Monte]

I guess I better get with the program here and do my annual checking. Bought new bearings just for drill, ready to replace the bad ones if necessary.
I hope everyone has an event-free trailer experience this year.

 

[Bduck]

Don't forget those campers that are on wheels too. They are a safety issue as well.

 

[SuperD]

I took my trailer into Les Schwab last week and had all the bearings repacked and the brakes checked. The trailer has a clean bill of health and ready for all the summer road trips.

 

[HiTechKoke]

That's good to know as I did not know they did this. What did they charge if you don't mind saying?

Kevin

 

[SuperD]

That's good to know as I did not know they did this. What did they charge if you don't mind saying?

Kevin

$160 for a double axle trailer. $40 a wheel seemed reasonable to me. It would be an all day job if I did it and I'd still second guess myself.

 

[tortuga]

I had a bearing go out just 4 miles from my house last week and last year I didn't repack!! I'm pretty anal about greasing them every once in a while and anytime the buddy it not out from flush. We're in the water a lot and I know there is some transfer of water due to heat loss and water so some water had to have gotten in the bearing!! If I had just cleaned and repacked them!!! Once a year makes reel good sense to me!
Tortuga

 

[sawdustsavage]

101goodpost101

I came close to loosing a wheel completely off of my trailer. I had just checked the wheels over the night before. If that wheel had come while traveling down the road, it becomes a projectile and now you become liable for any possible damage and/or injuries it causes. Plus your safety as well. When it comes to safety, theres no overkill. However, I like to pop off the bearing buddies at the beginning of the season to see how things are looking and correct anything that doesn't look right. Always pumping grease into the bearing cavities tends to get forced out and creates a greasy mess from it slinging in the wheels wells and in alot of cases all over your boat. Your peace of mind is your safety.
101goodpost101 It is a disaster waiting to happen. Well worth whatever it takes to insure no lost wheels.
When my daughter was a senior she was taking some of the family to the airport. On the way home she fell asleep at the wheel. The car rolled and stayed on its top. It was a ford tempo. Bad news. The little innocent looking map light came loose in the roll and scalped her. She was scared of course and it took a little while and the help of a young man to get out of the car. There was another Kind gentleman waiting beside the road for a break in traffic so he coul help also. One of the wheels came off a camper and bounced down the road. The Good Samaritan didn't know what hit him. My daughter and her aides climed up the embankment and he was laying on the road with the ambulance crew working feverishly trying to revive him. She of course thought that she had hit the poor guy. He died in the hospital. It took several years of councelling to help my daughter over the trama. Actually she never got completely over it.
Needles to say anything can happen and does. All we can do is make sure its not because of the lack of maintanance