Bearing buddies have a weep hole so they will not over pressure. They sell bras for that soul purpose.
Bearing buddies have a weep hole so they will not over pressure. They sell bras for that soul purpose.
Why use bearing buddies at all? A good rear seal and a sealed cap with permatex or "screw on" on the outside is all you need to keep water out and no nasty grease everywhere. I pull my trailer about 8000 mi per year and this has worked great for me. Yes, salt water and fresh water. And... no water inside unless you have a rear seal failure. Bearing grease is bearing grease just don't mix. Because of the miles, I jack up and check wheels annually. Replace bearings and seals every 2//3 years whether they need it or not myself since I am self funded. Bearing failures seem to come from overfilling with grease which puts undue pressure on seals and eventually water leaks i.e. trouble. JMHO!
Ive had the same set of Bearing Buddies on my single axel ranger trailer since 1995. Never replaced a seal... just add grease into zerk fitting untill I get a little play on the spring loaded buddy. I think I have been super luck and am considering switching to the newer style Vortex Hubs Ranger has started using. Any thoughts?
1992 Ranger 481v • Yamaha ProV 150 • Lowrance HDS9 Live HDS12 Live X2 • Lowrance Ghost • Balzout Mounts • Lowrance AT1
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
JUST A WARNING! dvs-2 I just went through having a wheel come off my boat trailer while traveling at 65 mph down hwy. Contacted insurance to file a claim for damages that incurred to find they WOULD NOT cover damage to axle, attaching U bolts, or wheel hub due to bearing failure. I know I was highly upset but I was informed the bearings failure was a bearing warranty issue not an insurance coverage issue. I make this post to relay what the trailer repair technician told me. Using bearing buddies are good BUT the plastic(neoprene) colored gauge in the bearing buddy can become stuck due to trash, debris, or grit. If this happens it is easy to over pack the hub bearings thus blowing the inner hub grease seal and allowing grease to escape and allowing bearings to heat up and FAIL. Exactly what happened in my case. Now I have an E-Z lube axle by Dexter Axles that have no inner bearing seals to blow out and when greasing the bearings through the spindle the old grease comes back out the front of the hub.
2006 Triton TR-21 XD, Mercury 225 Pro XS, S/N 1B287870
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
Are you saying that the E-Z Lube hubs do not have a seal? The picture at Dexter's website looks just like a seal on the back of the hub. I understand the principle of pumping grease through the spindle and it goes through a hole in the SS wear ring, through the inner bearing then outer bearing and back out of the front until all of the old grease is out. What keeps the grease from going out of the back of the hub?
I have a similar spindle on my utility trailer (Posi-lube) and my last boat trailer had it also. My utility trailer still has an inner seal. I know, because I replaced them when I replaced the bearing and races. They don't show SS wear rings in the following video, but mine has them. I didn't change the SS wear rings on my utility trailer as I don't put it in the lake!
2006 Triton TR-21 XD, Mercury 225 Pro XS, S/N 1B287870
They have a seal on the back, but they don’t really worry about the overall hub being sealed. The cap just snaps on, so it’s not a really good barrier.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
You said you had the bearings repacked and you got home and added more grease? Why did you add more grease because if the guy repacked the bearings then they shouldn't had to have more grease added in the first place. Just reading your statement.
I could see how that might work for a travel trailer, but a fishing boat trailer that gets submerged when hot, how can it be good to have water in your hub, because if it has no outter seal, water will wash right in, right? Sure you say the hub, filled completely with waterproof grease doesn't leave room for water, but heat, expansion, contraction, grease that's slung out will leave a void for water, not to mention, the grease slingin' all over the wheels??
Anyways, my dillema; I've got spring loaded bearing buddies on a '01 triton boat I bought last year. The PO kept a big grease gun in the tackle storage behind the passenger seat and would pump them full-o grease every time he stopped or something. What a mess, grease in the compartment AND all over the wheels! Yea I'm sure he was overfilling them, but my past 3 boats have been Rangers, and 2 of them had Cool-Flow oil bath hubs, one had those Vortex sealed hubs, and I NEVER had grease or oil on my wheels. Just drained and filled the oil once a year. What hub caps, buddies, or oil system can I hammer onto these triton hubs that could perform as well?
Or do I just replace these (2 hubs, s/a trailer) with Vortex hubs and go? How about Vault hubs with their special hybrid grease? Are those the best?
Last edited by Fishfreq; 08-07-2019 at 08:22 PM.
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2001 Triton TR20, 225L OptiMax, 26" Tempest Plus, Serial No: PT345686
Sticky: worn out bearing buddies???
Started by dvs-2, 10-08-2008
This post has been around the block for sure. I used to use bearing buddies but finally decided to just use the simple metal caps that you pound on. Properly pack them and forget them for a couple of years. Jack the wheel up and spin it, if you hear grumbling take it down and put in new bearings. I believe those simple metal caps are the best seals.
My Shorelandr trailer manual calls them "bearing protectors" and says the same thing, just enough grease until it starts to move out. My original bearings are over 11 years old and still going strong, I give them 1-2 pumps of grease once or twice a year. I would say stick to what works and keep it simple. Use the money instead on a complete set of bearings, races and grease seals. Mine have a rubber cap like the bearing buddies with no relief hole on the side.
I have the Dexter Axle on my boat trailer for the last 8+ years and it's been the cat's meow. Every fall I pump and spin the wheels until new fresh Red n Tacky grease only comes out the front and then I reinstall the grease plug for another year.
BTW my hubs never heat up and if your's are you already have a problem brewing.