Bearing Buddies

[John McNamara]

Had these installed when I had the bearings repacked. Figured they would be an easy way to handle the repacking in the future on my own without worrying about taking wheel apart and putting it back together. But read a FAQ post on rec.outdoors.rv-travel that they are not recommended for trailers. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

[brainpause]

Your bearings need to be taken apart and inspected every 1-2 years. The bearing buddies are primarily for trailers (like for boats) that get submerged in water. With the Bearing Buddies, you can just force a little more grease in there after submersion. The BB's are not a substitute for disassembling and inspection every 1-2 years.

Larry

[wavery]

Your bearings need to be taken apart and inspected every 1-2 years. The bearing buddies are primarily for trailers (like for boats) that get submerged in water. With the Bearing Buddies, you can just force a little more grease in there after submersion. The BB's are not a substitute for disassembling and inspection every 1-2 years.

Larry

Actually, those Bearing Buddies are probably responsible for a lot of bearing failure. Some people get a false sense of security by pushing additional grease into the hubs when the bearings may be pitted or damaged from simple lack of of use.

Trailer wheel bearings are damaged by sitting in one spot for a long period of time. The only way that you can find this is by disassembly and inspection. Adding additional grease does nothing to help.

Like brainpause says, Bearing Buddies were designed to displace water, not add additional lubrication. In reality, it doesn't take a lot of grease to keep the bearings lubed. What it does take is use. A trailer that is in constant use needs servicing less than a trailer that is only moved twice a year.

[John McNamara]

Remind me to check with you guys before I start doing things, especailly stuff which costs me money. The darn things were pitched as an easy way to regrease the bearings. Sigh. I guess my dad was right, the easy way is frequently the wrong way.

[mike4947]

Wayne hit it on the head and I will add is if you go to the Bearing Buddy site you'll find they don't recommend using them to extend or replace periodic removal/cleaning/inspecting/regreasing/reinstallation.
They also say their primary use is to provide a positive pressure to the inside of the hub to prevent moisture/water incurrsion when the axle is submerged.
 
And you really have to make sure you use a grease recommended by Dexter as some greases will degrade and pretty much make you a canidate for an unscheduled roadside stop. Also the standard hub is not designed to be filled with grease. That will create excess heat and softened melted grease will have a way of finding it's way past the seals and on to the brakes.