Wheel Bearings- replacement

[Rost]

How often do you replace or repack the wheel bearing on your trailor?

[Eric Wettschreck]

I have bearing buddies. I give em a shot of grease in the fall and spring and anytime I'm going to take it for a long drive.

[CRAPPIEBAIT]

Very easy task to do.Never hurts to repack/replace each year.I wouldn't think too much grease would ever hurt them & it's always good to do an indepth visual inspection.

[Guest]

i USE BEARING BUDDIES,BUT i STILL REPACK THE BEARINGS EVERY OTHER YEAR ,TO AT LEAST CHECK THE BEARINGS AND RACES,NEVER HURTS,EASY TO DO.

[rmh2o]

I also like to inspect and repack them once a year even with bearing buddies.I found out a long time ago this is not a fun job on the side of the road and definitly cuts into the fishing time.

[Jeremy airjer W]

At least once a year. My theory is to do it in the fall just before storage that way any water that may have found its way into the hub cavity won't cause any corrosion issues, and its ready to go first thing in the spring. Anybody else agree?

[ChuckN]

I wouldn't worry about it until you ruin or weld bearings to the spindle and spend oodles of money making repairs. I thought my little boat trailer was "fine" until it was too late. I let one trailer slide and I paid the price.

Buddy bearing caps work great, but you MUST inspect at least once a year or before winter to make sure there is no water in the grease.

[Surface Tension]

I used to clean, inspect and repack every year even with bearing buddies. After using the buddies for the past 10 years or so I've now went to every other year. Thats as long as the seals are good and I don't notice any water getting pushed out when I apply grease. Also use a bra with the buddies, they keep dirt and dust off the buddies internal parts will continue to work freely. Once that dirt and dust gets in there it takes more time to clean the buddies then to do a complete bearing job.

[MuleSkinner]

I use bearing buddies, but have a hard time pumping in grease withoug the springs popping out (before they are barely compressed).

I should repack in the fall for the reason airjer pointed out, but fish 50+ times a year til ice and snow come, so I am always in a hurry to get it to storage (I'm always the last boat into the storage guys shed). So I repack in the spring. Don't always replace parts, though the kits nowdays are quite cheap, so if a seal is needed, I pretty much replace all.

Years ago, a guy who used to work for a big boat service dealer told me his belief that bearing buddies were somewhat a joke. He suggested most damage occurs on the inside, when a trailer just off the highway, with hot axles, is backed up right away into the water. He said the hot inner seals would contract, and the natural vaccuum would draw in water. I am not sure about that, but I do take my time readying my boat (parked well out of everyone's way), so mine have a chance to cool down.

I would guess bearing buddies are good just for the fact it encourages a little inspection once in a while. Definitely, when you repack/replace parts, make sure you check a second and third time after a little road trip, for sealing and tightness. Last year I dinged a seal, and caught it before my first trip to the water. Hated repacking again, but I had definitely damaged the first seal and would have had big problems.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Mule, I'm also not a big fan of the Bearing Buddies myself, although I think the concept is a good one. I like the Idea that the Buddie keeps some possitive pressure in the hub just for the reason you stated above, to keep out water when you back the trailer into the water.

I think a majority of people are missinformed about the intended use of this product. I personallly feel they are intended to enhance, improve, and resonably extend the regular and normal bearing service.

I would bet (and can confirm based on the number of axles I replaced last year that where equipped with the Bearing Buddies, most where boat trailers) that alot of people think that they can pump some grease into the buddy and there good to go for another year.

A couple of hours, at the most, and a couple bucks for grease and seals sure beats a cancelled fish trip. Not to mention having the boat an trailer sitting at a garage in the middle of nowhere mn for a week because they keep sending the wrong axle!!

[lawdog]

I think all are right on in this thread with the comments on the bearing buddies and still doing the repacking and occasional replacing. The pre-packaged replacement kits are so cheap now its good precaution if nothing else.

The one thing I think should be added is that boat trailers, as opposed to dry land trailers, probably need a little more TLC due to being backed into the water so much. There is much more chance for problems with this. Regardless, even with the snowmobile trailers I try to redo every other year even with the bearing buddies that I keep stuffing full of grease all the time... Fall is a good time to do it with the boat trailers don't want that water in there corroding over freezing and possibly damaging seals even further.

[IFallsRon]

There's plenty of guidance about trailers at this site:

http://www.geocities.com/palmbeachboating/trailer_maintenance_detailed_instructions.html