HF Trailer Bearing Dust Covers

[bdosborn]

There seems to be a lot of concern on this site about bearings and grease. Does anyone have a bad experience they could relate to this issue? My thoughts would be to pack when trailer is new or new to you and repack in ~10 years. <snip>

No bad experience I can recall except for the guy who didn't pack them in the begining. His bearings went south and when he tore it apart there wasn't any grease in them from the factory. My truck goes much faster than the trailer should so I wanted to see how they where doing after a thousand miles or so as well as make sure they were packed well. My HF hub has a grease zirk so I'll probably just grease them between trips and repack the bearings every spring.
Bruce

[Arne]

Several: first, I bought a Boston Whaler, straight from the dealer. ON the way home, stopped and felt the hubs, and one was more than warm, bordering on hot...... pulled the cup off and found the bearing was overtightened, I assume from the mfgr. I pulled the hub and just spread the grease around where it should be (in case it all got squeezed out by the tight bearing) and adjusted it properly...

Second, another of my trailers had been backed into the river, by me, to launch a boat.... this spring I pulled the hub and found rust on the inside of the cap, a bad seal, and a slightly pitted bearing. I mention this, though it was my own fault (though a good seal should have protected it for the short time it was in there as the hubs were not hot enough to suck the water in).... because a bad seal can let water in if driven in the rain...

So, I think it appropriate to chec the bearings before putting the trailer up for the winter, or in the spring... I tend to do things at the end of the season so whatever it is sits with clean lube through the layup period.

[Joseph]

There seems to be a lot of concern on this site about bearings and grease.

With good reason: a fried bearing will ruin your trip. However, I wouldn't recommend Bearing Buddies - they're designed for boat trailers that are regularly put in the water. Not that they're bad - a travel trailer just doesn't need 'em.

Joseph

[asianflava]

There was a thread about Bearing Buddies a while back. From what I remember, their biggest downfall was their convenience. It was too easy to put a squirt or two in the hubs before a trip which, lead to over packing and blowing the seals.

[Arne]

Also, bearing buddies can be difficult and messy to remove, making it very easy to just keep putting grease in, without having to look at the bearings.

Bearings do not require a lot of attention, but they should be looked at, as mentioned above. Some things goind wrong won't ruin your trip, but planning ahead and maintaining bearings is a good idea.... and I always carry spares the the tools to change them... just good insurance.

[owenmpk]

I have 3 cars that have +150,000 miles on them and still have OEM grease. I am 50 and never had a bearing problem on anything I have ever owned. Except when I over tightened a repack and it got hot. The new bearings are very good and think this is like lighting we are overly concerned