Trailer bearing

[manfishing]

With proper maintenance with your wheel bearing on your boat trailer, how many miles do you think you put on before you completely replace your bearings.

[Clairebear]

Forever with proper maintenance unless you're doing tens of thousands of miles per season.

[Bobby Winds]

I agree with Clairebear, I went over 20 years on my Tynee Trailer for my old Grumman before I did anything to those bearings.

Now with my Trailmaster Trailer I am never planning on redoing the bearing because after the last time out in late fall I just pump in new Lucas Red n Tacky grease into the Dexter hubs. GREAT system IMHO.

[Ltrain]

Bobby, Is that the hub system where you pump new grease in from the back and it pushes the old grease out from the front?

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by ltrain

Bobby, Is that the hub system where you pump new grease in from the back and it pushes the old grease out from the front?

YES, there is a zerk fitting on the outside of the hub similar to Bearing Buddies..... scroll down for a diagram on this link to see how it works. You pump in new grease and keep spinning the wheel until all the old grease is pushed out by the new grease.........that is why I like the RED grease as it's easy to recognize.......it takes almost a 14 oz tube to do each side. Latex gloves and a LOT of paper towels plus a plastic bag makes the job easy.

BTW ONLY A HAND PUMP CAN BE USED

https://trailmastertrailers.com/feat...ns/all-models/

[Huntindave]

I have oil filled hubs with a clear sight window. Very easy to check the fluid both for fluid level and fluid contamination. A good brand wheel bearing (as stated) should last forever for the average user, given the bearing receives proper lubrication.

I would be more concerned with doing a seal replacement every 6 to 8 years or when ever you put on new tires. When the tires wear out replace the seals.

[clawman]

How long should you expect the sealed hub units to last? My 2017 Ranger trailer has lost 3 of 4 already. Warranty yes but really inconvenient on the road.

[REW]

A fair number of folks who purchased a trailer with oil filled hubs have had issues and have gone back to grease type hubs for the reason you mention.

The posts are right about replacement time as in never.

As long as one keeps the water out of the hub and keeps it properly lubricated the bearings should last for as long as you own the trailer.

BUT -- BUT -- if you let water get into the hubs, the bearings and races will rust and the bearings will need to be replaced ASAP.

So, do the maintenance, keep the water out of the hubs and bearings and you will be good to to for many years.

[MarkG]

Manfishing,,
It's not so much a matter of mileage , but rather a combination of your trailer's lubrication system ,how maticulous you are with maintenance , and how often you launch. Unlike all other types of trailers, since boat trailer bearings get submerged in water, this becomes the main issue, Not mileage.

On a Dexter type system that Bobby speaks of, maintenance is easy,since it allows complete flush and repack of the hubs with fresh grease without disassembly. Do this yearly, they will last a long time. However, at some point the inner seals will eventually wear and push grease. When this happens,it's time to tear down, clean and inspect. My Trailmaster with this system went 12 seasons before needing seals. Bearings still looked fine, just a trace of discoloration on one of the races, but since all apart, why keep 12 year old bearings....I Just replaced it all.

Here is a quick video describing the Dexter system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XT0RKDGgDm8

If you DON"T have a Dexter type system,but rather have Bearing Buddies, maintenance will be a little different and a bit more labor intensive since the only way to repack is a tear down. Inspect and replace bearings as necessary. I had Buddies on several trailers, in earlier years. My routine was every other season,a tear down including new seals. Sometimes I felt lucky and went 3 seasons. As I recall ,there were couple of times I did have to replace bearings as I saw some evidence of overheating or pitting.

The Dexter system itself is part of the axle and spindle. But if you have Bearing Buddies , you CAN ditch them. There are aftermarket hubs you can replace with, that have Zerks on the rear and allow the same type of maintenance as the Dexter ,but on any axle.

[Ltrain]

That Dexter system is nice, the one I was thinking of did indeed have zerks on the hub that allowed grease to be pushed straight through. Its by TDE, they also make a system identical to the Dexter one