Was wondering how often I should grease up my bearing buddies on my trailer? I usually travel from Lewisville to Ray Roberts and back when I go, so grease up after 5 trips? 10 trips? What rule of thumb does everyone go by on this?

Once or twice a year should be fine no farther than you are pulling it. Just keep an eye on them for any signs of problems such as grease coming out of the inside or outside seal. If you will feel of the hubs when you get to the lake before launching, and when you get home, you will be able to tell if they are getting warmer than normal. If they are getting hot, you'll need to find out why.

If you will pull the hub every other year and inspecty the bearings and repack or change them.... we probably will never see you on the side of the road.

!!! inspecty !! have not had my coffee yet!

Typing TOOOOOOOOO fast!

Also watch those lug nuts. My wife lost the closed acorn lug nuts on her lincoln after being over tightened by a local tire dealer.

I bought a used ranger and the guy just installed new crome wheels with the closed lug nuts. I watched them because I knew they could be a problem.

I pull the boat 3 miles at 40 mph. On the third trip the studs stripped on the right tire and the wheel came off. I now have white trailer steel wheels with open lug nuts.

WOW This is all good info! I just purchased my first boat and had the same question about greasing the bearings. I guess the same would go for travel trailers. Good To know!!

Actually if you have bearing buddies on your hubs they have a green oring on them. Before you leave just look at your bearing buddies and if the green oring is not showing then grease them until it does you should be just fine. Just make sure you use a good quality grease and follow Boatmans advise the repack (and inspecty ) them on a regular basis.

Make sure you do it at least twice a year, if was so busy this year forget to do them and lost a hub and almost a wheel, pulled up after fishing in my parking lot and my dang tire fell off, the bearings went and then the hub went, i went ahead and put two new ones on to be safe, and make sure you tighten the hub up to where it needs to be, i have to retighten mine this weekend, i put them on and greesed them and the greese came out the back.lol so i know it did not go on enough to seal the back.

Ray

Same for RV's. Inspect mine minimum of every year and more often if I use the trailer a lot. If your bearing buddy's don't have the ring, and have an exposed spring assembly, watch the spring! When you put in grease the spring compresses - at a glance if you see the springs open then you may need to check bearings and add grease. DON'T FORGET the TIRES. Some don't look low but will only have about 15 or 20 lbs. Any distance with a low tire can cause a blowout. I pull a 5th wheel with the boat behind and I carry an extra bearing set for each one. (Had to limp in one time - not fun, learned lesson)

Take if from me , go ahead and greese those bearing at least 3 times a year, i'm am having to pay $365 for a new axle which went out on me last saturday, after two new hubs it still went bad.

ray

This is a great site for info, tips, tricks, even spiritual matters...put it on your "favorites" list and come back often.

JR

I have a 20 year old Ranger on a OKT trailer and have never done anything but keep the bearing buddies full. I have not even pulled a hub and have had no problems. I check them about every 500 miles and add grease if need be.

never hurts to put a little shot of grease in then everytime you pull your boat. i do my motorcycle trailer everytime i use it,but i am making 400 mile trips.
fish on!

I keep a grease gun hanging in my carport, every time I pass by it I am reminded that grease & oil are the cheapest parts you will ever have to buy, hit 'em a lick or 2 every month or 2, it don't hurt a thing to do it!I like the black lithium grease the best, it seems to repel water the best, as long as you don't blow out your wheel seals, you cannot overgrease the bearings in a trailer of any kind! I hate bearing failures on the side of the road caused by "grease worms" eating up the bearings, hub & spindle!

u need to run down to walmart and pick up some bering buddies they are cheap and easy to install and u will no when u need grease with out having to pull the hub cap off good luck

Whatever you use here is a good tip. Let the trailer sit for 15 minutes after heating them up driving to the lake. Letting them cool reduces the tendency for water to intrude into the wheel and cause damage.

Keeping pressure in bearing buddies also helps.

I have changed one hub out in over 30 years of fishing and 200k miles of pulling a trailer. The one hub I changed was due to the bearing cap falling off and the hub loosing all its lubricant.

I love the oil bath hubs.

Done a ton of bearings for my customers. Here's what I do. Pull the hubs, replace the bearings and races. The inside bearing I pack by hand, install the grease seal and pack the space between the bearing and the seal. Install the hub on the spindle, fill the hub completely with Mystic grease, Hand pack the outer bearing, install the washer, tighten the nut, install the cotter pin. I then place a Bearing Buddy on the hub and pump enough grease into it to make the spring expand 1/4in. Place a Bra over the cap and never touch that bearing again.
What I do is inspect the inside of the wheel rim for grease each time I head out to the lake. If grease is present---you have problems. In order for grease to excape from the hub, water has entered. What you guys are doing with the grease gun is causing yourself problems by overgreasing and blowing the seal out. Think about this. How many times have you repacked your front bearings on your truck? What never! Why not? Your truck is running in water everytime it rains doesn't it. But you don't grease them everytime you go on a trip. My last bass boat made 3 trips 200miles North of Toronto Canada and Back, plus traveling to Amistad,Falcon,Fork and numerous lakes around here. No bearing falure. No extra grease. But I will admit, Once a year, I jack the trailer up and listen to the bearings. Any noise---their out of there, and on that last bass boat I never had to replace a bearing. Sorry for getting so long winded.

Allison1 right about letting the bearings cool down..I think the reason you like oil bath is because oil is less dense than grease, less friction, less heat. Hard to contain but better.. Everyone over greases their bearings, like Mike says-don't use that grease gun. Also I don't pack the hub full, just the bearings,If you push in enough grease in to move grease out pass the seals the seal will let water in. Also try running on dry ground or on sand, sand works the same on legs, as packed hard grease does on your bearings..FRICTION....IMHO Bearing Buddys cause more problems than they solve...Cover the bearings with grease and keep the water out,with good seals... Problem sovled..
My 2Cents

kingdad -- you da man-- I live in Santa Fe, the Home of Sportsman Trailers. Those guys over there told me 20 years ago that buddy bearings cause most people more harm than good. Not that they don't work but people pump that grease gun til the cows come home. Result is blown inner seal. My advice is if you have buddy bearings - DO NOT OVERGREASE and take your hubs apart and do the maintainance the correct way once a year if your trailer travels alot.

If you have the Ranger trailers with the needle valve, thats the best way. It injects grease through the inside of the spnidle and comes out the between the two bearings. This is the best as far as I've seen since bearing buddies just add grease to the outside of the hub. The key to them also is to grease until you see grease moving, a couple pumps.

I always carry a spare new hub and bearing, already packed with grease and ready to go. You never know where that old fickle finger of fate is going to point! I pack my bearings by hand and the use the bearing buddies,I use about one or two squirts at the maximum every 3 months. I always check the hub temp every time I stop. If buying a new or used trailer, make the dealer or seller pull the caps off the hub and make sure the washer is there.

Mike Halfmann the boatmann

You are the only one that I have ever seen or heard that does pack bearing the way my father taught me 55 years ago. I do the same thing you do and over fourty years of trailering I have neve had a problen.

VERY GOOD ADVISE...

I just got my first boat and I want to buy a bearing kit for it. How do I know what size I need? Do I just measure the diameter? I don't want to be stuck on the side of the road on a bad day. The trailer has the buddy bearings on it.
Thanks

My $.02 worth is that I agree with the frequent greasers You know what bearing buddys are designed to do?

When towing, heat and friction build up causing bearing to expand. Back your rig into 55 to 80 degree water and the metals contract quickley pulling water into the hubs. The bearing buddy keeps positive pressure (via grease) not allowing water to enter.

Not all buddys have the ring etc. to show they are full. I give a couple of pumps of grease per trip till I see the end plate move out a tad.

Like the other Guys have said, It's a small price to pay.

Anything I can do to prevent tow vehicle, boat, or tackle failure makes for a better Fishin' trip.

As far as tha spellin' thang goes, There is a freeware program called Tinyspell. Do a web search for it. It's made for forums like this.

TFF is Awesome!

If you drive far enough to heat up the bearings, let them cool for 15 minutes if you can.

When greasing bearing buddies, just enough to make the insert move...no more.

Pulling the wheel and cleaning/repacking once every year or two is the best single thing. It was mentioned several times, I will add it once more.

Here is another.02 worth about grease in hubs. If they are inspected, cleaaned and repacked by hand once a year with new seals you should never have a problem. Two things will make grease leak out. To much preasure from being over greased. And water getting past the seal. If water gets inside the hub and heats up it creates preasure that will force grease past the seal. The secret is not to over grease and make sure that your seals are good. Should be replaced every time you pull a hub. A couple of bucks for a seal is a lot better than having your trailer on the side of the road with a bare axle while you run to get bearings replaced.

Not sure about this, but will the heat from driving really deform hardened steel? Your hubs should never be too hot to touch after driving, if they are then you got a problem before you ever put it in the water.

Some water is bound to penetrate the seals anyway. The spindle looks & feels smooth but under a microscope it'd look like the rocky mountains. Thing is, grease can absorb a bit of water without breaking down. If you continually submerged your truck hubs they wouldn't last forever either - it's different from getting rained on or driving through puddles where the centrifugal force throws water off.

Bearing buddies use grease under pressure to help keep water out, as mentioned, just don't overfill. They also also let you add grease to the hub if you discover a leaky seal after you get to the lake - don't let trailer maintenance interfere with your fishing!

Never reuse a rear seal.
Never install new bearings into old races - replace both or neither.
If you reuse, keep the bearings & races together - they mate for life.
Any discoloration or pitting on the spindle will interfere with a good seal - polish it with emory cloth until it's completely clean.

True that is not a far trip but I would add a little bit about every 5 trips. Itis no where near the work you will have if one of the bearings locks up on the side of the highway. It is no fun and that is from experience. Just make sure the bra covers are tight. I have never been able to find the right size for my boat so they throw grease all over the rims. Finally I had to zip tie them.

Wow, can't believe this post is still alive and well. I posted this question originally last year. Guess it was a good one... Go Post! Go Post! Good info from everyone, thanks again!!!!!!!!

"previously jtc30"
"Home Loans for Less"
1-800-606-4210 ext. 202
Purchases, Refinances, Cashouts

Well since you started this, you could at least tell us what you found out in all this time...
Just how often ,do you grease those buddies...

Any one know anyone around the DFW area that repacks and does these? Any ballpark on what they charge? I haven't done any of this stuff before and really dont have much time or a place to do this at. Any info would be appreciated.

I asked North Texas Fiberglass about this and he referred me to Lakeview Marina.

I had my neighbor show me how to replace and repack the bearings on my trailer. It IS easy, but there is no way in Hades I could have done it with out his help the first time.

It's a real good idea NOT to use a high pressure grease gun (like what you'll find at most service facilities)...like they're sayin', keep a hand operated grease gun close by, and avoid blowing out the rear seal(s).

Crappie Terrorist- be VERY careful having your bearings packed in a shop. Always keep in mind that your average joe mechanic went through an 8 week certification course where they were taught to pack bearings in a cone shaped vise with a high pressure gun. Make sure the bearings are hand packed by someone who knows what they are doing. In my experience, you have to find a mechanic who is either out of the military, or who has been around for at least 20 years. Those are the only ones that have been taught properly.

Bearing buddy or not, with proper routine maintenance your bearings should not offer any problems. Don't wait for a problem to look at your bearings.

Check out this site, best I've seen on wheel bearings.
http://users.westco.net/~tandjlm/berring.htm

Crappie Head...that is an awsome post ( the wheel bearing site) Thanks for doing the homework!

Leonardo...Your welcome. I found that site several years ago and was impressed by the detail of everything you wanted to know about wheel bearings.
I have followed his instructions several times. Several years ago my buddy and I were going camping/fishing at Lake Whitney. We lost a trailer wheel on a bridge near Cleburne at 8:00 at night. Don't want to do that again.

Is it normal for it to have no flat washer between the outer bearing and the axle nut when bearing buddies are used?

I just moved from Texarkana to Waxahachie. I got to Rockwall and sparks were coming from my passenger side boat trailer tire. Those sparks were my spindle and bearings going out and getting chewed up. The hub was glowing red hot. Good thing I stopped when I did, otherwise I would have lost that tire. I am a newbie to boating and just thought I would wait until I got to the DFW area and get someone to help me repack the bearings and show me the ropes. Needless to say , I didn't make it. I had to get a guy to come out and put new bearings and race back on the hub.

I am afraid I may have to buy a new axle as well.
Terrible lessoned learned.

So point is, if you can repack or buy bearing buddies, go for it. A little trouble now is worth it, trust me. I would do it at least three times a year.

Doesn't the latest issue of Bassmaster's have a complete guide to trailer bearings in it? Did I dream I read that yesterday? I can't seem ti find the magazine right now.


I have to agree with the "hand pack 'em" crowd. Bearing buddies do place a positive pressure on the seal. When you tow the trailer, the grease within the seals does heat up and expand. If you overpump the buddies, there's no room for any expansion and you blow the seals. The result is you have grease spun all over the backside of the wheel and you have to pump more grease every trip to keep them full. The upside to that is you're keeping fresh grease in the system. The downside to that is you're setting yourself up for a failure.


Not everyone is mechanically-inclined so I don't judge anyone based on how they grease their bearings. For myself, I fully endorse the hand packing method the way my dad taught me when I was about 10 years old. Towing back and forth into Canada every summer, and not the first problem. I figure he either had the right idea, or he was one lucky fella. If you don't know how to do it, take it to a reputable marine shop and ask them to let you watch as they do it. Most likely, the shop mechanic will be thrilled you're interested in learning and for once you're not looking down at him like he ain't worth your time. We can all learn a lot from each other if we just bury our pride from time to time.

Nope.

What Mike Halfmann says for sure!

Just my .02 having a 90 model Skeeter with trailer with old style bearing buddies:

Once a year, take it to the wheel shop and have them pull, inspect, and hand pack bearings. After that about every third trip (approx 100 miles in my case) add grease just until the buddy hub moves out a tad. Anything more is a waste.

The big deal with it is that the bearings heat up during the tow. When you back down into water that may be as much as 40 degrees cooler, the bearings contract pulling in water. The bearing buddies keep positive pressure on bearings that keep water out. Thats a big deal. Grease is cheap insurance. Don't over do it but keep it just a tad overloaded.

Again, just my .02

What happens when hot metal is hit with water........steam baby steam.

So your driving in the summer with the tarmac @ ~ 110-120 degrees F, or more, stop, get the boat ready and then plunge the trailer into the water. If you don't keep the hubs full of grease that will move the water out/protect the spindle/bearings/races you will be in a pile of trouble.

Probably left a few steps out but it's late.

I shoot my buddies with a little insurance grease about every other month. I've seen too many horse/cattle/boat trailers on the side of the road to not keep this a high priority.



Dan

Hubs should never get too hot to touch. If they're hot enough to produce steam when it's 120º, they'd burn the [censored] out of you on a 50º day - it'll take more than a little grease to solve your problems.

Waiting 15 minutes usually isn't a problem. There is usually that long of a wait in line at the boat ramp. Waiting makes sense.

I think you kind of have to look at the quality of your trailer to begin with. If you have a n older or lower quality trailer you may have to do more maintenance. My first trailer didn't have bearing buddies, so I just gave them a couple of slow pumps until I felt pressure every 3 months or so and never had any problems for 8 years.

The only boat trailer I've ever had problems with had a set of bearing buddies that I kept pumped up. The rear seals had blown out (due to my filling them all the time) and that caused problems.

That was 15 years ago and I've never used a grease gun since. Not one bearing related failure and I've pulled all kinds of trailers. I have mine serviced annually and leave them alone. No reason to pump grease in if grease hasn't come out. It doesn't melt or otherwise go anywhere, so adding grease only displaces grease. That is the cause of most problems. I inspect mine during and after each trip. If I see grease on the inside of a wheel, I've blown a seal and have it serviced. If not, I run it a full season and do nothing other than inspect it.

Another topic along the same lines is going on here:

http://bbcboards.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=158967

Rick Pierce of BassCat Boats is the responder "BCB".

I posted in another section yesterday about trailer bearings before reading this, and now have another question. Bear with me, first time boat owner and first time on the maintenance.

My trailer has bearing buddies on them. At one time, there was a black "cover" over them and one cover fell off on the left/driver's side. I looked at the bearing buddies website and it seems that this may have just been a "bearing buddy bra." If so, would the bearing buddies being exposed cause any problems, or is that normal? The website states that the cover is there just to help keep grease from getting on the tires and trailer.

And secondly, I haven't put grease in the bearing buddies and need to. Would a grease gun kit at Wal-Mart from the sporting goods/marine section work fine, or do I need something special?

Arsonal-no, not having the bra on the bearing buddy is not a problem. They are mainly there to keep crud off the BB.

A grease gun from WalMart will work fine. Make sure you gat calcium grease instead of lithium grease. Lithium grease is white where calcium grease looks like motor oil.

just curious....what is wrong with lithium grease?

never had one go bad. I grease 'em about twice a year, make about 25 trips of about 150 mi. each per year. use marine grade grease and keep them full.

i greese my bearings before i go fishing.
this is about 1 time every 2 weeks.

If you don't know the condition of you bearings, inspect them.
Inspect them annually.

Recently bought an eight year old boat and trailer - trailer is a McClain with EZ-Lube spindles. Guy hadn't pulled the boat more than 5 miles in 5 years, but had made short (less than a mile) trips to the lake and back during that time. He mentioned he'd never serviced the bearings during that time. Boy, didn't that turn out to be the truth. Popped the rubber dust caps off, and the old grease flowed out like chocolate syrup. The two rear wheels' bearings were water contaminated (looked like melted chocolate ice cream and about as thick. Cleaned and inspected all bearings and races, found one set pretty badly pitted and replaced. New dust caps, seals and red grease all around, and several 150+ mile trips later she's running cool & doing good.

kicked my wheel and heard the clunk.... Changed bearings, seals, added bearing protectors and caps. $100 well spent.

trailer is a 1997- they had NEVER been changed. I always greased them, but they leaked everywhere!