trailer bearings

[kezsr]

new trailer last year,traveled 1/2 hour each way to and from ramp, greased every other time,do I need to check and repack bearings before using this year?

[Hunter 2]

They should still be good. It sounds like you took good care of them.

[Luna Sea 5]

believe it or not, you can go 10K miles on 1 greasing.  I personally don't.  I tow the boat back and forth to the slip, only but maybe 2K miles on the trailer, but what I do is grease them at the beginning of every season if I don't put the 10K miles on the trailer.  If you plan on a long trip, I would check them during the trip and always bring extra grease.

[kezsr]

always short trips and the gun is always in the truck.thanks for the input.

[Luna Sea 5]

since I only go to the slip and back a few times a year, I don't even carry it on me.  Even this season when I filled the bearing buddies, they were still 3/4 full from last season. 

[Duffman]

I probably go overboard with bearings but I learned my lesson the hard way.  I too travel a very short distance to the ramps.
  Water will get into the grease no matter how good you think bearing buddies work. Just a small amount of water will pit the bearing rollers and races. The pitting will cause wear, wear causes heat, yada, yada.....
  I had a bearing grenade on Rt 36 a few years ago. With the help of Hazlet PD and strategically placed vise grips, I limped home.
   Bottom line, I remove, repack and put new seals on yearly. Grease and seals cost me around $50.  Cheap insurance if you trailer all season.

[Pops Soul]

I use bearing buddies also, I do a lot of travel with my 14 footer. From what I read and I can't remember where I read it, after a longer travel time you do get some heat build up in the bearings then you dunk your trailer in cold water and that tends force the the grease out of the bearings. Not sure how much sense that makes, but I know when I pull the cap off my bearing buddies I have a watery mess of wet grease..... Just my 2 cents 

[wb]

If you have a bearing buddy packed full of grease, and working, and the seals are good, you should be fine. That's a lot of ifs. Tough to tell the buddy is working though, until the seals go bad then you typically have grease on the inside of the trailer wheel. Keep em' full o grease, spray lightly with hose after immersion in saltwater, at least inspect yearly-- but not usually necessary to replace every year unless much heavily loaded high speed (read: heat) mileage or confirmed grease failure/saltwater intrusion.

[Still Running]

The best time to lube the bearings is before you back down the ramp. The grease will cool the bearings before you put them in cold water. Remember cold water can be 80 degrees compared to the temp of the bearings. Also a light lube after you pull the boat out. If you have drum brakes on the trailer you want to be careful how much you grease it due to the grease will get on the brake shoes. If you go a short distance back and forth you still get salt water in the bearings and I still would pull them once a year just so you know. Most times if a bearing fails, it’s too late when you find out and it will cost you a lot of money to repair it. It does not take that long to repack bearings compared to the time and money you can spend to fix a bearing, hub or axle.
Just my 2 cents

[Hunter 2]

My trailer was new last June. I made 2 trips to lake George and one to N.Carolina. Also several local trips. I greased the bearings every trip.  How do I repack them?  Or should I replace them?    Thanks,  Ed

[Still Running]

Hunter 2,
There should be no reason you should have to replace them. I would repack and check them. I got my trailer August of last year and have about 2,000 miles on it. I will take them off and repack them before my first trip this year. Putting them in water really beats them up. When I go to Sandy Hook I lube them before I put the boat in the water and then just before I leave to go home. That way the water that got in gets pushed out by the grease. When I go to lake Ontario I don’t put the boat in the water till the next day. So I don’t grease the bearings because the boat ramp is about a half of a mile from the campground and the bearings don’t get hot. Even when I pull the boat out and go back to the campground I don’t grease them. When I leave for home I greases them to get the water out. If I was putting it in salt water I might do it a little different.
Repacking bearings is no big deal
If you want to know how to do it shoot me a PM and I would be glad to help you out or give you a hand doing it.
Or maybe we could have a tech day at my shop. Everyone bring there trailer to the shop and we all could do them in one day.

[Hunter 2]

Thanks, My trailer will not be empty for a couple of weeks. Im getting a slip this year, but plan a few long trips. Wheres your shop? Maybe you can grab a few customers from the  sight.

[Still Running]

My shop is in Kenvil on Rt 46. We really don’t do that kind of work. We do pickup and medium duty trucks. But anyone who wants help I would be glad to help. I guess if some didn’t want to do it, we could. Its really not that hard.