How often do you guys change the wheel bearings on your boat trailer ? Every so many years or how do you decide when to replace them ?
I use bearing buddy's, so I don't take the bearings out to repack.

My Shorelandr is just finishing it's 16th year and I probably put 1500 to 2000 miles a year on it and have never changed wheel bearings. I also use the Bearing Buddies and grease the hubs spring, fall and a couple times in between. I pull the hubs for bearing inspection and seals every 4 years or so and do a manual bearing pack at that time then pump in the additional grease to the Bearing Buddies.

I have never had a wheel bearing problem (or thankfully a tire problem) in all these years so this works for me. I do check wheel bearing hub temp when towing longer distances (first stop for gas) as a precaution. My trailer is oversized for my boat (2800# trailer for a 1775 Pro V with 70HP tiller at about 1800# loaded) so I am sure that helps in bearing and tire life.

I don't change them unless I see they are damaged when I repack them. I've got a 42-year-old car with 140K miles and the original wheel bearings- as long as they are greased and adjusted properly, odds are wheel bearings will outlive you.

I use Bearing Buddies and repack every 3-5 years, sooner if I see runny grease coming out of the hub.

How often do you guys change the wheel bearings on your boat trailer ? Every so many years or how do you decide when to replace them ?
I use bearing buddy's, so I don't take the bearings out to repack.

I clean and repack every fall. Gives me a chance to look things over as well as check the brakes, if there is any water in the hubs I dont want it sitting in there all winter.

Proper maintenance requires you to disassemble, clean, and repack every year. This is a lot easier than thinking they are ok, and then breaking down on the side of the road. Car bearings last forever, BUT, they are not dunked into a lake all summer long.

I guess thats where bearing buddies fault, you don't remove and repack, just add great thru the fitting

What I do every year before lay-up is to remove the bearing buddies, pull the hubs off, and ispect the grease. If it looks milky, I yank the seals, clean everything, re-pack the bearings, and re-assemble (with new seals, of course). If the rear bearing area grease looks good, I put 'em back on, and all it costs me is a couple of new cotter pins.
HRG

What I do every year before lay-up is to remove the bearing buddies, pull the hubs off, and ispect the grease. If it looks milky, I yank the seals, clean everything, re-pack the bearings, and re-assemble (with new seals, of course). If the rear bearing area grease looks good, I put 'em back on, and all it costs me is a couple of new cotter pins.
HRG

Yup- I do the same with my big boat trailer, but re-pack every 3-5 years whether I see milky, runny grease or not.

On my small boat trailer (roller), the hubs are oil-lubed and never get dunked, so, other than confirming oil level is OK, they get no attention.

I guess thats where bearing buddies fault, you don't remove and repack, just add great thru the fitting

yes but you cant tell if water is trapped in there until you pull them apart and look, be it in your drive or on the side of the road

take your pick

I trailer a lot, nearly every day in the open water season, I always feel my hubs on stops and check for heat, I have used bearing buddies, sure lube, oil, and nothing, over the years I have had 5 failures, 3 on boats and 2 on utility types and believe me they ruin your day. The most recent failure in Manitoa on a smaller trailer cost me dearly do you believe $536 from Canadian Tire! I am still livid, thats the pipe with no grease! that was for 2 hubs and bearings and a 5 mile tow. Lesson learned and you would think I would have learned by now, always, always carry a spare hub, bearings, tools, and rags. My present trailer on my main boat is a eagle with sure lube, they even tell you do clean, inspect, regrease twice a year, excessive? well? broken down is bad news. So some go years, if you do consider yourself lucky. Why can trailer bearings be like car bearings? I would gladly pay more would 'nt you?

I trailer a lot, nearly every day in the open water season, I always feel my hubs on stops and check for heat, I have used bearing buddies, sure lube, oil, and nothing, over the years I have had 5 failures, 3 on boats and 2 on utility types and believe me they ruin your day. The most recent failure in Manitoa on a smaller trailer cost me dearly do you believe $536 from Canadian Tire! I am still livid, thats the pipe with no grease! that was for 2 hubs and bearings and a 5 mile tow. Lesson learned and you would think I would have learned by now, always, always carry a spare hub, bearings, tools, and rags. My present trailer on my main boat is a eagle with sure lube, they even tell you do clean, inspect, regrease twice a year, excessive? well? broken down is bad news. So some go years, if you do consider yourself lucky. Why can trailer bearings be like car bearings? I would gladly pay more would 'nt you?

they are like car bearings.

Problem is you dont submerge your car bearings. If you did not submerge your trailer wheel bearings you would get the same service out of them as you do your car

How can water get in the hub, if the rear seal is good? Isn't it to keep grease in, and contaminants out? Just wondering. Thanks Doug

How can water get in the hub, if the rear seal is good? Isn't it to keep grease in, and contaminants out? Just wondering. Thanks Doug

water is thinner than grease and can easily enter the hub even though the seal is still holding the grease in. Add to that the problem of dunking a warm hub into cold water, the negative pressure that results in the hub from this rapid cooling helps to suck water in the hub

the seals will usually prevent this when they are in good shape, but you have no way of knowing except for checking them peroidically

My present trailer, an 05, has the dustcap with a rubber plug and a grease fitting at the end of the spindle. I've serviced the bearings a number of times and more often than not, I've seen grease on the inside of the wheel after several months. Maybe I distorted the seal installing it, or it's a cheap China seal. Anyhow I redid them this spring and they are holding up well. It's fairly easy for me to check for water intrusion, as all I have to do is pull the rubber plug and look at the color of the grease. As long as my grease looks good, I ain't messing with it now. I always carry bearings, seals, grease and the tools for a roadside repair. If I'm taking a long trip, I carry and extra hub ready to go.
I was never a fan of bearing buddies. You have to force grease thru the outer bearing, then thru the hub itself to reach the inner bearing. I like the axle in my present trailer which has the fitting at the end of the spindle and greases from the center out to each bearing.

My present trailer, an 05, has the dustcap with a rubber plug and a grease fitting at the end of the spindle. I've serviced the bearings a number of times and more often than not, I've seen grease on the inside of the wheel after several months. Maybe I distorted the seal installing it, or it's a cheap China seal. Anyhow I redid them this spring and they are holding up well. It's fairly easy for me to check for water intrusion, as all I have to do is pull the rubber plug and look at the color of the grease. As long as my grease looks good, I ain't messing with it now. I always carry bearings, seals, grease and the tools for a roadside repair. If I'm taking a long trip, I carry and extra hub ready to go.
I was never a fan of bearing buddies. You have to force grease thru the outer bearing, then thru the hub itself to reach the inner bearing. I like the axle in my present trailer which has the fitting at the end of the spindle and greases from the center out to each bearing.

I've found the Bearing Buddies do a pretty good job of filling the hub with grease on my EZ Loader- it's always full when I get ready to re-pack bearings and I've yet to have any water intrusion or grease seal leaks. I also carry a spare, fully assembled and packed hub- never needed it, thank goodness. Just got a trailer with spindles like your '05- we'll see how that goes.

I agree with PJ. Repack every fall when I put the boat up for the winter. I check them in the middle of the summer, just for peace of mind. I have EZ Lube hubs, and will shoot a bit of grease in. If I see excessive water coming out, I will repack. Hasn't happened yet.

If you have Bearing Buddies, and you do n't check and repack your bearings, you are in 1 of 2 groups. Those that have had a bearing failure, and those that will have a bearing failure. Bearing Buddies are not meant tp repack your bearings. They are supposed to keep a positive pressure inside the hub to keep water from getting sucked in when you launch your boat. If you try to use them to repack your bearings, you will destroy the seal, and you will have a bearing failure.

Last failure I had was in 1983. Co-owned a boat with Bearing Buddies. Other guy said he just "filled" the hubs, and not to worry about going to Canada. 3 hours later, I heard "birds" chirping in Peshtigo. Heard the same "birds" in Marinette. Got out to check the bearings, and got a burned hand. All parts stores were closed. 4 hours, and $160 later, some guy with the handle Leprechan finally got the bearings replaced, and we were on our way. Never, ever, believe you are doing the right thing by "filling" your hubs with through the Bearing Buddy zerk. Clean, inspect, and repack with new seals every fall.

I agree. Repack and new seals every fall.

I put about 4,000-5,000 miles a year on my trailer and haven't had any bearing failures, yet....

Tires, now that's another story.

My present trailer, an 05, has the dustcap with a rubber plug and a grease fitting at the end of the spindle. I've serviced the bearings a number of times and more often than not, I've seen grease on the inside of the wheel after several months. Maybe I distorted the seal installing it, or it's a cheap China seal. Anyhow I redid them this spring and they are holding up well. It's fairly easy for me to check for water intrusion, as all I have to do is pull the rubber plug and look at the color of the grease. As long as my grease looks good, I ain't messing with it now. I always carry bearings, seals, grease and the tools for a roadside repair. If I'm taking a long trip, I carry and extra hub ready to go.
I was never a fan of bearing buddies. You have to force grease thru the outer bearing, then thru the hub itself to reach the inner bearing. I like the axle in my present trailer which has the fitting at the end of the spindle and greases from the center out to each bearing.

The beauty of that system is that you can completely flush out the old grease and replace with new without disassembly. It's a bit messy but easy.

Get a full cartridge of grease,, you will need the full size,not the minis,,(maybe 2) and a GOOD grease gun. Knock the hubcaps off,(not just the rubber plug) . Put a pan of somesort under the hub to capture the old grease. Then start pumping grease into the zerk,keep pumping, pushing all the old grease out,until you see completely clean grease coming out of the hub,and continue a little more for good measure. You will definitley see a difference by the time the new has completely replaced the old,even if the old looks in good condition.

Replace the hubcap,add a bit more grease to make sure the cap is full,then replace the rubber cap. You have just completely refreshed all the grease,pushed out the old and any moisture.

Flushing it every year will avoid disassembly,although that should still be done periodically, to inspect but should not need to do it every year.

The issue with water in the hubs is a simple fact.

When the hubs get hot after a long tow, the grease expands - due to thermal expansion.

When the warm or hot hub hits the cold water, the material inside the hub, including the grease and seals contract. As a result, even with pretty good seals, it is quite possible that water will get sucked by the back seals.

---------
Bearing buddies work as follows.
Bearing buddies have a spring loaded hub on the outside of the wheel.
In general use, the bearing buddies have grease added, so that there is a very slight amount of positive pressure put on the hub by the full grease in the hub. Then, when the wheel warms slightly, the spring will compress toward the outside of the wheel.
Then, when the warm or hot wheel hits the cold water and the material contract, the spring from the hub expands, keeping the grease in place, and not allowing water to come in the back of the wheel.

An easy mistake to make with bearing buddies is to add too much grease. You only want to add enough grease so that you see a slight positive movement of the outer grease plate to Start to move toward the outside of the wheel.

Do NOT add so much grease that you completely compress the spring. If you do, you will have no expansion room in the hub as the hub warms and pressure will build up in the hub and will blow the back seal out of the hub.

If you find that you are constantly finding grease on the back side of the tire, you have a bad seal that was likely caused by over greasing the bearing buddy.

Good luck
REW

The beauty of that system is that you can completely flush out the old grease and replace with new without disassembly. It's a bit messy but easy.

Get a full cartridge of grease,, you will need the full size,not the minis,,(maybe 2) and a GOOD grease gun. Knock the hubcaps off,(not just the rubber plug) . Put a pan of somesort under the hub to capture the old grease. Then start pumping grease into the zerk,keep pumping, pushing all the old grease out,until you see completely clean grease coming out of the hub,and continue a little more for good measure. You will definitley see a difference by the time the new has completely replaced the old,even if the old looks in good condition.

Replace the hubcap,add a bit more grease to make sure the cap is full,then replace the rubber cap. You have just completely refreshed all the grease,pushed out the old and any moisture.

Flushing it every year will avoid disassembly,although that should still be done periodically, to inspect but should not need to do it every year.


That's exactly what I do. I've never pushed grease out the back seal doing it. I just make sure the cap is clean, giving the new grease plenty of room to expand when it and the hub absorb water. That's generally why you'll see grease inside the rim. The grease and any water that enters doesn't have enough room to expand when it gets hot and pushes out the rear seal. If you use calcium sulfonate grease, which most of us do, it can easily absorb about 50% it's weight in water. That's good though. Unlike other greases, it ties up the free water and basically neutralizes the corrosion process. But it does need plenty of room to expand.

Terroreyes,,,,some time ago I posted a question about grease types but did not get a definitive answer. Maybe you can help...

Is the calcium sulfonate definitely better to use than Lithium base? I have been using Lucas "Red and Tacky" lithium for several years with good results.

If I switch,what brands out there are Calcium Sulfonate and should I do a complete disassembly and cleanout to switch? Unlikley they are compatible?

Terroreyes,,,,some time ago I posted a question about grease types but did not get a definitive answer. Maybe you can help...

Is the calcium sulfonate definitely better to use than Lithium base? I have been using Lucas "Red and Tacky" lithium for several years with good results.

If I switch,what brands out there are Calcium Sulfonate and should I do a complete disassembly and cleanout to switch? Unlikley they are compatible?


In a marine application, absolutely. Don't get me wrong, lithium greases work fine under normal operating conditions for marine applications. Where calcium sulfonates shine is on corrosion protection, water resistance, and upper temp limits. Lithiums can't tolerate as high of temps. As far as water resistance, you have two different concepts. The lithium grease relies on a polymer additive to make it tacky and water resistance. Works great for repelling water, but if you do get water into the hub, it will separate and you'll have a pocket of just water sitting on the bearing and race. In those conditions, lithiums rely on additives to provide corrosion protection and can be consumed in storage conditions. And the corrosion additives can also have negative impact on wear and oxidation resistance. Calcium sulfonate on the other hand, doesn't repel water, it readily accepts it. BUT, the sulfonate thickener system, by nature is corrosion resistant, and it can absorb 50-100% of it's weight in water and still give excellent corrosion proctection and have no free water in the hub. Similar wear protection to lithium when no water is present, but outperforms lithium when contaminated with water.

Thanks,,sounds like something for me to consider.

Got a brand recommendation??

Thanks,,sounds like something for me to consider.

Got a brand recommendation??

I buy Lubrimatic, or refill at work with the same stuff. ;)

When completely tearing down to clean and repack what is the best way to get that inner seal out? It seems like I have to drive it out of the hub by reaching through the hub with a long tool like a blunt flat tip. It seems like it is possible to damage the bearing through this process. Does anybody have any tricks for this step?

dmack

There's a tool for pull the seal, I bought mine from Auto Zone for around $5.00, it works great. I use to use a wooden dowel, but one time I damaged a bearing,:angry: when I went to buy the bearing that when I got the seal puller.:D

When completely tearing down to clean and repack what is the best way to get that inner seal out? It seems like I have to drive it out of the hub by reaching through the hub with a long tool like a blunt flat tip. It seems like it is possible to damage the bearing through this process. Does anybody have any tricks for this step?

dmack



To pull the inside seal out what I do is after I have the outer bearing out. I slip the nut back on and give a yank to the hub assembly and it pops the inside seal right out.

Good and timing thread guys - I have a bear trailer with Safe-T-Lube bearings but my question pertains to all wheel bearing systems. Question is: how do I know what type of wheel bearing seals to purchase ?

Do I need to pull apart and then walk into my local auto parts store to source the seals? OR look for a part number on them?

I've tried to buy via by boat dealer and they can't seem to get Bear Trailer to respond with either selling me the seals OR a part number. What the heck. I'm a little frustrated with this.

To repack my bearings I remove the hubs and pry off the seal, I then temporarily reinstall the hub and bearing buddy onto the spindle...you don't need the nut to do this trick.

Next pump fresh grease through the buddy until all the old grease is pumped out the back. Remove the hub after you knock the buddy off, wipe off the old grease and put on a new seal, they are around $2 each around here.

The rest you can figure out, I do this once a year and costs less than $10 including the grease. The best part is you get a fresh seal every year which is the one weak point in the system and you get a chance to adjust the bearing preload setting every year, I examine the expended grease for metal particles and water intrusion as a precaution.

Easy repack.

I use Bearing Buddies. Check the hubs every stop. Never hot, just warm.When the buddy cap is all the way in I give it a couple shots,never over do it. Pulled my bearings yesterday. Washed every thing very clean. Looked at bearings under magnifying glass and checked them closly. 15 years and they look brand new. Used a lot. Repacked and reassembled!

regardless of your greasing method or type of axle, how do you find the right size of seal for your specific hub?

Just take the old one into the auto parts store?

regardless of your greasing method or type of axle, how do you find the right size of seal for your specific hub?

Just take the old one into the auto parts store?

Yup. Make sure you get the double lipped ones with the spring in there to keep it tight against the spindle.

I could never get a seal out without totally destroying it so you may have to take the entire hub in.

Measure across the shoulder area where the seal sits on the bsack of the axle.

Ok, I need to give credit where credit is due.

I phoned Bear trailer directly as suggested by a member of this site. They got back to me in like 20 minutes with pricing on all the parts I required (fair pricing BTW).

Once I have the new seals in hand from Bear Trailer, I can then take the new seals to my local autoparts dealer and find a replacement part for future use (easier to match up a new part). Failing that I can also order from Bear directly but I doubt that would be needed.....

Great service from these people...

Spent the day replacing seals and one bearing on my double axle Trailmaster trailer. Bought this rig used (6 yrs old) and it was obvious by the mud packed in the rear bearing that the previous owner had never serviced the trailer. I almost pulled it up north for winter storage before checking the bearings/seals...I would have been one of those guys on the side of the road with a smokin hot hub!:driver:

$10 seals + $10 grease + couple hours + $23 (1) bearing set = Peace of mind (PRICELESS)

m

After completing the work above, went to fill the gas tank and put her to bed for the winter. Side wall blew out pulling in the driveway. Lucky it happened there.

7 year old dry rot tires = another $500.

m

After completing the work above, went to fill the gas tank and put her to bed for the winter. Side wall blew out pulling in the driveway. Lucky it happened there.

7 year old dry rot tires = another $500.

m

:muahaha:

Some days you feel like you can never win.

A couple times I've been on the side of the road in the middle of the night trying to take off a bent up boat fender so I could get the spare tire on thinking, "Why can't I be into playing video games instead of walleye fishing." :rotfl: