Trailer Wheel Bearings

Very lightly loaded trailer, about 300 pound boat is going thru bearings every year.  I know how to grease them, use a little pressure bleeder and have tried both valvoline synthetic and lucas sticky red.  I also know how to adjust, never had an issue like this.  Less than 3000 miles a year and every spring the bearings either feel like crap or come out in pieces. The seals look good, minor leakage.  I very rarely put the hubs under water, like 3-4 times a year.  The grease looks dirty and dry.  First time I blamed it on cheap no name bearings but then bought SKF and they still feel like crap.  So is there a better grease and should I just get bearing buddies?  

To clarify, when you say you know how to grease them, You are "packing" them with the palm of your hand until the grease comes out around the rollers?

I haven't had quite that much trouble with mine, but those teeny 1" bearings don't last long.  I plan on at least once every other year, sometimes every year.  Even my big boat with big bearings gets checked every spring before I take it out.

Bearing buddies on 1" bearings is like bluetooth on a bicycle.  Needless luxury for no real benefit.

Try sourcing some good bearings.  Timken is mostly overseas manufacturing these days, but still a good name.

I used to hand pack but the lisle packing tool does a great job. I can see the old grease come out and keep pushing till new grease is oozing thru.

I love my bearing buddies, I hit them pretty often. For bearing grease I use LubriMatic LMX seems so last a long time. I put 10-15k a year on my trailer. 

A few thoughts in no particular order.

On a boat trailer with either disc brakes or no brakes bearing buddies are an excellent choice.  After the trailer has been in the water pump some grease in there to push out any water that might have gotten in there.

You said you know how to adjust the bearings but just as a refresher the correct procedure is to snug them up to seat everything and then back the nut off to line up the cotter key or whatever the locking mechanism is.  With grease bearings it's better to have them too loose than too tight.  You don't want any pre-load.

I've seen small boat trailers with tiny tires where the bearings are running faster than they're specified for.  Just upgrading to better bearings doesn't help if they're still operated out of spec.

A bent spindle will destroy bearings in a hurry.  It would be weird to have both sides bent but it could happen.

I think the biggest issue with small boat trailer bearings is that they are attached to small boat trailer tires. No company is putting their highest grade materials in those bearings, so even when greased correctly they won't survive at the 9000 RPMs we all run them at on the interstate.

And Curtis, yes I have bluetooth on my bicycles. 

Bearing Buddies are almost required on boat trailers. I run them on all my boat trailers and never have to replace bearings. Bearing Buddies keep a constant stream of grease flowing through the bearings. Not for lubrication, but to keep the hub filled so there is no room for water and to push any water that makes it through the seals back out. That is why they are spring loaded. If the insides of the wheels and fenders aren't covered with grease, you aren't greasing them enough and will probably be replacing bearings on a fairly regular basis. 

Toyman01 said:

Bearing Buddies are almost required on boat trailers. I run them on all my boat trailers and never have to replace bearings. Bearing Buddies keep a constant stream of grease flowing through the bearings. Not for lubrication, but to keep the hub filled so there is no room for water and to push any water that makes it through the seals back out. That is why they are spring loaded. If the insides of the wheels and fenders aren't covered with grease, you aren't greasing them enough and will probably be replacing bearings on a fairly regular basis. 

Agreed, if its not messy you dont have enough grease.... Yeah it sucks, its messy, but the axle seals just are not very good on boat trailers.....

What size wheels/Tires?

To add to the bearing buddy pile on, when you take a tiny wheel and spin it really fast driving to the lake the bearings, spindles, and hubs all get warm. When you then dunk them in water they cool off. When they cool quickly the space inside draws a vacuum on the rear seal. While submerged.  The bearing buddy lets the spring and grease absorb that volume change instead. 

OK, it has 12 inch tires as trailering is not new to me.  Got big wheels as soon as I got the trailer.  I know how to set the bearing and always have it loose rather than tight, should have at least a little wiggle of play.  I will be getting new bearings, better grease and the bearing buddies this week.  That red grease must be crap, after shooting half a can of brake cleaner in a bearing I still can't get it to spin.  Last year one of the cages was cracked.  The bearings were Timken, supposedly made in the USA.  

And I would NEVER put the hubs under water to unload.  Maybe on a tough day I would dunk them to make it easier to pull the boat back on but rarely.  The axle comment has me wondering, I do have a spare and might try swapping it over.  But for now fresh bearings, seals, grease and bearing buddies.  And a few hours to locate the grease gun as it has been years since I had anything with zerk fittings.

oldopelguy said:

To add to the bearing buddy pile on, when you take a tiny wheel and spin it really fast driving to the lake the bearings, spindles, and hubs all get warm. When you then dunk them in water they cool off. When they cool quickly the space inside draws a vacuum on the rear seal. While submerged.  The bearing buddy lets the spring and grease absorb that volume change instead. 

See, this how I've always understood the bearing buddies to operate. Pump them up enough when cold to move the spring plate outward a little so it maintains some positive pressure. Heat expansion may compress it further, but even when dunked in cold water they revert to the cold slightly positive pressure. This keeps it from sucking in water. I've always heard that if you pump them enough to shoot grease out the rear seal you've compromised that seal and the system. Because once the seal lets go you can't keep the positive pressure and therefore they'll suck in water like anyother system.

Of course, I just installed my first set on a boat trailer, so I guess we'll see.

In reply to ultraclyde :

Dunking them in salt water, the seals are compromised as soon as the spindle rusts. Which is pretty much instantly. Keep the flow of grease moving and it stops the rust problem in the hub, bearing, and spindle. 

This thread reminds me that I haven't checked my boat trailer bearings in .... a while.  Fortunately, I do have Bearing Buddies, and I'm pretty sure I shot some grease in there last year.  Boat only gets out maybe half a dozen times a year, sadly.

I'll add one point of thought... I don't do bearing buddies on 1" bearings for reasons of heat.  It depends on how far you're going, but I know mine after 500 miles a day are significantly hotter than just packed bearings.  If you're just going a hundred miles or so, or just down the road to the river, no worries.  Long trips, I don't do bearing buddies unless I have the larger bearings.

Again, this is a big luxury and kind of overkill, but have you priced out oil bath spindles?  They are kinda da bomb.

Bath oil what, now?

This is such a lightly loaded trailer bearings should last forever.  Boat weighs 250, trailer is probably 150.  Given that the bearings won't even turn after a cleaning I now am blaming the hubs.  If the ID of where the race seats is out of round that could be problematic.  Not enough to feel when setting the axle nut but enough to stress the bearing.  One of the bad bearings was TIMKEN, and the other a no name.  So for now one side has the spare hub with fresh bearings and grease.  I do have a spare axle too, from a trailer that is now a stationary kayak rack so that could be the next move.  Hope I have a bore gage small enough to check out my theory.