Trailer Bearings

[cray]

I have only owned a boat for a couple of years and would appreciate any feedback on the way I maintain my bearings. My biggest fear is breaking down on I-35 again.

I have a 2 yo 1800lb trailer. I take it on 2 trips a year that are 1200 miles round trip with the boat loaded with gear and pushing the 1800lb mark.

I have the bearings repacked every spring and replaced if the mechanic feels its necessary.

I put a couple of squirts of grease in the bearings before every trip. When i get there I always have some grease that has oozed out into the spring inside the bearing buddy.

Am I overdoing it with adding grease on each trip and is it a bad thing if it gets spit back out?

[MikeEiden]

You shouldn't have to pump grease in before each trip unless you notice a bad seal or if water is getting in there elsewhere. Then its a good idea to purge some out until you can get it fixed. The grease spitting back out is due to the bearing being full and getting rid of excess once the grease heats up and expands. Sounds like you take better care of your bearings than most people and they should last you a long time. I wouldn't worry about it.

[jeffreyd]

HOW BEARING BUDDY® WORKS

The axle hub is filled with grease until the grease forces the Bearing Buddy® piston outward about 1/8 inch. Because the piston is spring loaded, the piston exerts a slight (3 psi) pressure against the grease, which maintains a slight pressure between the inside of the hub and the outside environment. When the hub is submerged, water cannot enter the hub because of this pressure.

An automatic pressure relief feature prevents over-filling and over pressurization. Without this feature, the inner seal will be damaged. Grease can be added to the hub through an easily accessible grease fitting located in the center of the piston. Lubricant level (and pressure) can be checked quickly by pressing on the edge of the moveable piston.

If you can rock or move the piston, the hub is properly filled. Bearing Buddy® will last the life of your trailer. The outer barrel is made of steel and is triple chrome plated. Internal Bearing Buddy® parts are made of stainless steel. Bearing Buddy® is also available with a stainless steel barrel for maximum corrosion protection.

[haverhunting]

Grease is cheep. A couple of squirts before a long trip will not hurt anything. Try just one or two less pumps of grease than you are doing now. But keep it up as long as the grease isn't fyling all over the place making a mess.

[marine_man]

If you can rock or move the piston, the hub is properly filled.

This is what you need to know right here. You don't fill the bearing buddy until it stops moving and grease starts coming out.. fill it just until the cup inside the bearing buddy nears the end, and you can still rock or move the piston, as indicated above.

marine_man

[basslkjohn]

Once again you guys came through...I sold a pontoon boat to a guy from Winnipeg. Since he would be hauling the boat over 300 miles, I got worried about the bearings, etc. Before pulling the hubs yesterday morning, I sat down with a cup of coffee and scanned Fishingminnesota...and there was the forum discussion on bearings. Sooo, I ran into town and bought a couple of pre-packed hubs and had the trailer ready by the time the buyer showed up at noon. Thanks for your excellent comments....BUT:

In replacing the hubs I noticed several things that were troubling:

1. The bubble pack new hubs did not contain either new crown nuts nor the washers usually found between the nut and the outer bearing. I also noticed that the original hubs didn't have that washer either. Is it common to not use the washer anymore?

2. While the replacement hub looked exactly the same as the original, I had a really difficult time tightening the crown nut sufficiently to allow passage of the cotter pin. What could be the problem? Perhaps you have to really crank on the crown nut to seat the outer bearing race far enough into the hub to accomodate the cotter pin...but then it is difficult to back off the crown nut far enuff to allow for a free rolling wheel. Anyone else have this problem?

3. Finally got a small diameter cotter through the axel to prevent the crown nut from backing off....but I'm concerned that the smaller cotter could shear if there is a lot of lateral force and rotational force against the crown nut....particularly since I did not have an axle washer to protect the crown nut from any potential rotational shear.

While the boat made it safely back to Winnipeg last evening I am concerned that my installation may be unsafe. What do you think?

[Big Buck Buster]

If you have to "crank" on the crown nut, there is something wrong!!! You should never have to do that. The bearings are too tight if you had to do that. Did you notice if the wheel was hard to rotate after the install? They should spin freely.

The buyer will more than likely have problems with them.

BBB

[basslkjohn]

I was able to back off the crown nut sufficiently to allow the wheel to roll easily...but it was not freewheeling so that it would roll for 30 seconds for example....and I'm really bothered by not having that washer between the bearing race and the crown nut.