Ranger cool hubs

[rangerused]

Looking at a used Ranger and the trailer has Cool Hubs with oil.
What kind of service do they required?
Is there any visual indicators as to conditions?

[ranger used]

one added question. The trailer was a dual axle if the covers on the end are see thru thenone was a yellow color the other was black? Comments?

[puddn head]

Cool hubs are the way to go. The long haul trucking and bus industry changed over years ago. I have them on my trailer and love them. Some guys will tell you as long as the oil looks good don't touch them. Me, on the other hand feel the need to change the oil once a year. Takes about an hour. My 4 caps are clear plastic. I would think yours should all be the same color. If one is different my guess is one has been replaced.

[cjbrown]

Hub has been replaced. My understanding is that the newer hubs have the black plugs.

[cc-rider]

Mine has the black plugs. Newer ones don't have clear plastic.

[went522]

Yes, the newer ones are black, old ones are clear(yellow).

The reason they went to the black...to many warranty replacements and complaints... condensation turns the oil milky, you can see it through the clear. I've had mine in for seal replacements and the liqualub replaced on both sides, every time the oil would get lighter and milky right away, within days. After the last time they said it's normal and wouldn't harm the bearings. I still replace the oil once a year though. Black cover...out of sight...out of mind. I still prefer the clear so I know if there's serious water intrusion.

BIRDDOG

[The Real Mccoy]

I do not understand why they went to the black cover. There is no way to see if the oil has leaked out. I have had three hubs loose all their oil in the last year. Will be picking up my boat today at the shop, because this weekend I checked the oil level in the hubs and noticed the port side was dry. Took it in and was told the hub would not have lasted many more miles. So if I would have had a black cover it would have been "out of site out of mind" until I was sitting on the side of the road this weekend. Ranger covered my last two hubs and I am waiting to see if they will cover this one. These liquid filled hubs are not everything they are cracked up to be.

[2Labs]

I do not understand why they went to the black cover. There is no way to see if the oil has leaked out. I have had three hubs loose all their oil in the last year. Will be picking up my boat today at the shop, because this weekend I checked the oil level in the hubs and noticed the port side was dry. Took it in and was told the hub would not have lasted many more miles. So if I would have had a black cover it would have been "out of site out of mind" until I was sitting on the side of the road this weekend. Ranger covered my last two hubs and I am waiting to see if they will cover this one. These liquid filled hubs are not everything they are cracked up to be.


Interesting point. I know Eagle trailers has stopped offering the liquilube-type hub. They felt that the material cracked too easily and caused too many problems on their trailers. The service rep I talked to there told me that those hubs are a love/hate thing -- you either love them or you hate them. They are sticking with their flow-through hubs. They said having those hubs on dry land in a semi are one thing but putting them in water is an entirely different matter.

I am not sure what to think about those hubs now, in light of both his statements and your post.

I also have a question ... from what you said it sounds like the liquilube hubs have an opening through which you can check the fluid level. Do I interpret that correctly?

[The Real Mccoy]

Yes the whole cap is transparent so you can see the fluid level at just one glance. I believe my Hubs are made by Tie Down Engineering.

[2Labs]

Yes the whole cap is transparent so you can see the fluid level at just one glance. I believe my Hubs are made by Tie Down Engineering.


You can see the oil level even with the black hubs? If so, why can you not tell if the oil has all leaked out?

I must be missing something basic here.

[The Real Mccoy]

Not with the black caps. The clear caps let you see the oil level at a glance.

[2Labs]

Not with the black caps. The clear caps let you see the oil level at a glance.


OK. My error. I READ INTO your posts that you had been switched over to the black caps and were not happy in light of having actually seen missing oil through your old clear caps. That explains it. Thanks.

I will stick with my flow-through hubs. If I ever do replace them with oil bath hubs I will make sure the caps are the clear and not black. You are right ... what a dumb move that was for the manufacturer!!! I wonder if they felt the clear caps were deteriorating due to sunlight exposure and the black caps are made of sunlight-resistant materials. That would be the only thing that would make sense. Otherwise they are giving up one of the big features of oil bath hubs when the customer can't even see if the hubs are filled with oil!!!

[went522]

what a dumb move that was for the manufacturer!!! I wonder if they felt the clear caps were deteriorating due to sunlight exposure and the black caps are made of sunlight-resistant materials. That would be the only thing that would make sense. Otherwise they are giving up one of the big features of oil bath hubs when the customer can't even see if the hubs are filled with oil!!!


It's all about the almighty dollar!!$$$$$

Clear caps weren't degrading due to sunlight...ever see a tractor trailer with black caps, they see more sun than anybody. They are all clear.

The reason they went to the black caps is so that we the consumer can NOT see the oil, for reasons I stated above. Out of site, out of mind. When you can see the oil and it's milky grey all the time your going to get warranty replacements, that costs the manufacturer money. How do they fix it...turn the cap black so you can't see there is a potential issue. Right, it's a dumb move as far as the consumer is concerned...terribly stupid! But to the manufacturer it's smart, saves money because they are doing less warranty replacements.

Take a warm hub and immerse in cold water day in day out. You will get water intrusion, be it condensation or water sneaking past the seal. Impossible to prevent, at least on this style hub. But, they say that the condensation in normal, just change the fluid once a year.

Same can be said for the grease hubs as well...they certainly take water in. The difference is that with the grease hubs, when they warm back up the moisture will evaporate and has a path out.

I'm fine with the cool hubs, just like I used to be fine with the grease hubs. If I had grease hubs I wouldn't be changing them to oil, especially not black covered hubs. The key to both style hubs is maintenence...if you keep with that, they will both last a long time.

BIRDDOG

[Burr]

I read these potential horror stories about oil hubs, and kind of shrug my shoulders. I haven't had oil hubs on my boat trailer for long, or many miles, but I never will have oil hubs on my boat trailer for many miles if I have them for the rest of my life.

On the other hand, I have had them on semi tractor trailer combinations for years, and hundreds of thousands of miles. Changing oil in those hubs is NEVER part of a preventive maintenance program. It gets changed when the hub has to be pulled for whatever reason, usually brakes, bushings, or seal failure. They don't get hot, so they don't mysteriously take in water. They really are a permanent solution, as long as your seal is good. To know if your seal is good, simply watch for oil splatter both outside in inside your wheel. It will tell you if it's leaking.

Personal experience on just how durable oil bath hubs are - - I have always watched for oil splatter on this one particular trailer I inherited from someone else. After pulling the trailer for well over a hundred thousand miles, I pulled the plugs to inspect oil levels. One of the wheels did not have oil detectable from the fill port. I pulled the hub, and there was no more than a table spoon of oil in the very bottom of the hub. The bearings were fine, the wheel was never hot, there was no bearing wear at all. It never broke down on the road. It only takes a very small amount of oil in the oil bath to lube the bearings effectively. Oil bath hubs are really maintenance free. There is no reason to change oil in them, none. It is a method that works.

So, I'll watch mine, but I kind of anticipate the doom and gloom of water infiltration and lack of lubrication, and bearing corrosion is something I will not have an issue with.

When someone gives my a piece of chocolate, I just say "mmmmm, chocolate".

Take it for what it is, a good method of taking care of your bearings and axles.

[I Fish GS]

How do you add oil to ranger hubs. I drive big trucks for living they have rubber cap in center hub covers to add oil.

Brian

[went522]

Oil bath hubs are really maintenance free. There is no reason to change oil in them, none..

This may be true for OTR trailers, but the manufacturers of boat trailer hubs recommend changing the oil yearly as preventative maintenence. The reason...condensation.

Here's the FAQ's page from Liqualube..."I fish GS", it explains how to add, change the oil.
http://www.liqualube.com/liqualube%20website/faq.htm

BIRDDOG