How often do you service your trailer bearings on your bass boat trailer?

[creekchub]

I haven’t had mine done in two years and haven’t added any grease. They are always cool to the touch even after a five hour one-way ride. Is it necessary to actually replace the bearings and the racers each time or can they be taken apart and just lubed up with grease and put back together if they are not Rusty or there is any water in the grease? Thanks for any advice!!

[Highcentered]

Bearings don't cost that much but make sure you use seals meant for marine use. At a minimum at least replace the seals and inspect the bearings really close.

[bgibson]

Bass Cat has always said do not touch them unless they start getting warmer then usual or are leaking. They say more problems are caused by over maintenance. I monitor my hubs for leaking grease and have a cheap temp gun I use to check hub temps every couple trips. They run about 15-20 degrees warmer then ambient outside temps. I usually get around 5 years before a seal starts leaking and I then redo them.

[Lightning 6]

You’ll get a lot of opinions on this….but I follow the advice Rick Pierce gave me once (identical to what bgibson posted). Monitor them & address issues when they arise. Other than that, they should be good for 5 years.

[creekchub]

And at what frequency or how often do you add grease to the bearings….like a squirt here or there ( twice a year , once a year ) or never if they always feel cool?

[ThomasD]

And at what frequency or how often do you add grease to the bearings….like a squirt here or there ( twice a year , once a year ) or never if they always feel cool?

The grease in your hubs is sealed and bearings do not burn oil. Adding grease is a sure fire way to blow a seal.

[DaveBrabec]

Vault says leave alone for 10 years ��

[jigworm]

I have Vault hubs now change out every 2 years on my past rangers trailers I change oil every year standard greased hubs change every 2 year on my utility trailers fish house ect

[Fishysam]

I got into my vortex 100k no touch at 45k, they were significantly loose and a little Warmed up, since an appropriate service i have 40k and no issues and no temperature after 2 hour hauls

[cape cod basser]

Check for temp when you stop. bearing buddies have a spring in them so you can tell if your loosing grease.
they should be taken apart, cleaned , inspected for corrosion and repacked every four or five years. Easy to do just watch a few videos.
I take care of mine very well but I still had a bit of corrosion on one last year and also caught a brake issue when I had it apart so it's good to check them on occasion.

[Stratosfaction1]

Went to change my oil in mine the other day and couldnt get the set screw loose . Whats the secret to this?

[TideChaser]

Bass Cat has always said do not touch them unless they start getting warmer then usual or are leaking. They say more problems are caused by over maintenance. I monitor my hubs for leaking grease and have a cheap temp gun I use to check hub temps every couple trips. They run about 15-20 degrees warmer then ambient outside temps. I usually get around 5 years before a seal starts leaking and I then redo them.

Someone said 10 years, so I have to ask, my PIV is a 2009 and I haven't had to do anything yet for them. However, I think it's time to do so. What exactly do I need to do?

[CatFan]

Bass Cat has always said do not touch them unless they start getting warmer then usual or are leaking. They say more problems are caused by over maintenance. I monitor my hubs for leaking grease and have a cheap temp gun I use to check hub temps every couple trips. They run about 15-20 degrees warmer then ambient outside temps. I usually get around 5 years before a seal starts leaking and I then redo them.

I agree. I lift the trailer every year and spin the tires to check for smooth rolling and shake them to feel for play in the bearings. Look everything over for signs there has been water in the hubs. If all is good, I go fishing. First sign of issues I open it up and take a look.

[CatFan]

And at what frequency or how often do you add grease to the bearings….like a squirt here or there ( twice a year , once a year ) or never if they always feel cool?

With Bearing Buddies, just enough to bump the inner ring out.

[JR19]

I live 4 miles from the lake I fish 85% of the time. The other 15% is local lakes that range from 25 to 50 miles away. At most I put 1500-2000 miles a year on my trailer. My boat trailer is 24 years old. I have a box I keep all the paperwork/receipts for stuff I buy for my boat, motor, trailer, zero turn, garden tiller and things such as that. Keeping the receipts lets me know when was the last time I worked on them. Anyways to the best of my memory I re-packed the bearing around the 5 mark and replaced them around the 10 year mark. I also repacked them again around the 15 year mark and replace them again at the 20 year mark. Doing maintenance to them every 5 years seems like a long interval but buy mileage its no that many miles. Every year late winter/early spring I sit aside one day to go over everything on the boat/motor/trailer. One of the things I do is jack it up and spin the wheel to check the condition. The only time I add grease is if the zerk fitting is compressed. If its pooped out I don't add anything. I would estimate I put 2-3 pumps in them once a year or every other year. I'm all for preventative maintenance but I feel people packing them once a year are going overboard unless they are routinely pulling several thousand miles a year.

[BroWhoop]

Vaults here, 9 years old 2nd seal this year. Just watch for problems, grease leak or when the center starts to withdraw into the hub.

[Squire]

I am proactive on maintenance. I would much rather spend too much, than sit on the side of the road and have a lost a vacation or fishing weekend. JUST ME. So, I have a 2017 Triton with a double axle, trailer that has brakes on all 4 wheels. At the 5 year mark, I had them proactively "repacked", and they found a brake pad that was breaking up. So the trailer guy (only thing his shop does is sell and maintain trailers) said he would recommend annual maintenance now given the age. So I do it, he is relatively cheap, and the second year of this he found and fixed another issue. Just having a trailer guy go thru your trailer annually and checking for issue is peace of mind to me. I really don't want to ever again (hint) find an issue that takes me out of service at the worst possible moment so I prefer to do it proactively when it doesn't impact something important. I do have laser temp monitors I use on longer trips, sometimes just take the boat for a drive to test, but so far I have never been stranded. I do the same thing with the motor, I don't wait until I have a problem, rather I am aggressive with my mechanic about doing proactive work to make sure I am never impacted on the water. Costs more is debatable, but my choice. I am beating on my mechanic constantly (he is a good one who likes to save me money) about proactively replacing/servicing things on the motor BEFORE it is an issue. Common sense to me.

[Fireball]

With my Dexter Axle I pump in new Red N Tacky grease in November until all the old grease is out when I put the boat away for the winter. It's now year 8 and no problems. God I love those Dexter axles.

[Bass Cat Boats]

From our experience Vault hubs will begin to see failure at 5 years. The warranty is 5 years also.

Thus our suggestion is monitor the bearing temps and check for leakage, rebuild and hand pack with with tacky red grease in five (5) years. DO NOT ever pump lubricate bearings on new products, or fresh rebuilt, with a grease gun. The original grease has no place to escape.

On older products that are purchased as used, there is a good chance they already have been pump lubricated. Sine the grease has no place to escape, often they are overpacked. This allows the seals to be blown, as the seal has two lips. One lip prevents water intrusion, the inner (pointed in) spring supported lip prevent grease escape. Once that lips is forced out (reversed) by pumping grease in the bearing cavity, it also presses the water seal outwards and allows moisture to enter the cavity when submerged.

BCB

Vault says leave alone for 10 years ��

[Bass Cat Boats]

This >

The grease in your hubs is sealed and bearings do not burn oil. Adding grease is a sure fire way to blow a seal.