OUCH! Don't forget trailer maintenance.

[lizardsrule]

Well just a little safety post here. I was driving on the highway here in Florida about 1 month ago. I was driving at a speed of 72-75MPH where the speed limit was 70mph. I was passing a semi in the middle lane, that was passing a truck/boat with trailer,tandem axle. Well just as I got past the semi's rear tires, I see out of the corner of my eye, a tire come rolling perfectly(upright) under the semi, and into the front of my Trailerblazer. I actually jumped up in the air, while pulling my boat behind me. I couldn't do anything with a semi on one side and a ditch on the other side. The tire came off the trailer that was pulling the boat. The entire hub came off, which tells me they didn't keep the bearing greased properly. I must admit it scared the kaka out of me when it happened. There was little damage, but it could have been a lot worse if the tire was bouncing and hit the windshiel etc... Luckily the guy did have insurance, but it still took me a couple of days of driving around getting it fixed from the dealer. Check your bearing at least 1 time a year, more if you drive a lot and pull the trailer.

Lizards

[bassintom]

that's why god made bearing buddies...
seriously,you have a point liz.i have had quite a few friends that have lost a wheel to neglect.fortunately noone was ever hurt.





and when was the last time you checked yours?...i filled my bearing buddies 2 weeks ago.

[zooker]

jan1st..
i might switch over to the oil bath bearing hubs. they are the same type thing they use on 18 wheelers. last a bunch longer imo..
worst part is the smaller the tire the faster the rotation. i hate changing bearings along side highways..


zooker

[bass kicker]

we grease our bearings on our trailer at least 2 twice a year we like the bearing buddies

[Christopherkeene9]

We were putting a boat under sea trial and when the salesman went to go get the trailer one of the wheels hub and all went one way as he went the other. Needless to say we didnt get that boat.

Chris

[1FASTLASER]

ZOOK
BAD IDEA buddy on the oil bathes. Already did some research on them a while back. ALOT of people are having problems with them. Do a search on fast bass and u will see what I am talking bout.

[jigicant]

i agree with laser. i worked for eagle boat trailers and we went to the oil bath... nothing but problems. we ended up spending tons of money replacing axles.

[Rebbasser]

Checked mine a couple of months ago-thanks for the reminder. On the subject of trailer wheel bearings-do y'all replace parts and repack every year? I replaced/repacked mine a year or so ago-wondering if I ought to do it again.

Welcome to the forum, jigicant!

[bassintom]

inspect and repack yearly...if the brng has the slightest hint of damage,replace it...you don't need a trailer wheel passing you at 90 m.p.h. when you're only doing 60.

[JB]

I learned that lesson ata early age, we hooked up my uncles wooden boat to hit cape cod and about 20 minutes down the interstate the right rear was smokin!...then ya have to wait forever and a day for the dern bearing to cool down, and hope it won't catch anything on fire.

[zooker]

replaced and repacked mine about 3 mnths ago.

thanks for the heads up on the oil bath system..

zooker

[1FASTLASER]

Chech and as bassin said any indication of wear ,pitts, or whatever on the bearing replace. Seals get replaced EVERY year. With a good pm on your trailer you can expect little or no problems.

[bass kicker]

i herd alot of bad news about them to the place that services our boat recomends that if you have oil bathes replace them

[1FASTLASER]

The oil bathes in the right enviorment have great longevity. But on bass or fishing boats it aint the right enviorment. Several companies have tried them and switched back to the conventional systems. Being a millwright I can see the drawbacks. One of the drawbacks is that a oil bath system does need a pressure relief on it just like you have on the rear axle of say your truck. Oil is a liquid so therefore it does heat up to some extent and will build pressure. Therefore you have to have a opening that will let this pressure escape. Being that you are constantly backing into water you eventually let water into the system therefore breaking down the oil. Thats just one of the frawbacks. They also need meticulous attention and who wants to deal with there axles when it comes time to fish.

[Jackl]

Thats odd that so many people are having trouble with the oil bath hubs. I have pulled my 2000 Ranger an average of 7,000 miles a year, and a fishing buddy pulls his the same miles. Neither of us have had a bit of trouble with the oil bat hubs. Another fishing buddy ordred a 2005 Skeeter and special ordered oil bath hubs on it, (which they had to buy aftermarket and install) We take our trailers to a dealer every year for service, and he never even changes the oil in the hubs.
One trick tht will keep you out of trouble with Bearing Buddies is to give each wheel a shot of grease just before you back your boat into the water, to expell any air from the hubs that could contract in the cold water and suck water into the hubs. I did this on my prior Ranger (without the oil hubs) and never packed a bearing in the 8 years I owned it.

JackL

[lonestarboater]

Yeah I was headed back to Tennessee from Hilton Head Island, SC and just before I left I pumped the bearing buddies full of grease. About 15 minutes down the road a guy in a truck sticks his head out of the window and points back at our trailer. I look back and the wheel has smoke pouring out of it. We pull to the side and notice the hub with brakes in it has separated into two halves. So we put it on a tow truck. That was scary because one half of one of the wheels was hanging off of the side of the tow truck. We get the boat to a dealership and they say it's gonna be 2 to 3 weeks but we have to be home by monday so we just got a whole new aluminum I beam trailer. It's better for saltwater anyway and a new trailer gives you better peace of mind.