Bearing Buddies

[sniffid]

I'm considering installing Bearing Buddies on our 2003 Trail Cruiser
C-19 and I'd like opinions on the benefits of Bearing Buddies.  Also,
can anyone tell me the bore size of the hub on a C-19.

Thanks for your help!

Dave

[Gone-Camping]

First of all, let me get the disclaimer out of the way... I'm not an expert on this, but.....
 
 
Bearing Buddies are made for boat trailers, so that the entire bearing cup can be packed tight with grease to help prevent water from getting in there when the boat trailer is submerged. It should also be noted that boat trailers are not usually pulled very far!
 
On a Pop-up, filling the grease cup is likely to have an adverse affect, as you tend to pull the trailer on greater distances at higher speeds. This makes the grease heat up. As the grease heats up, it'll expand and need someplace to go, and wind up oozing out where ever it can and getting slung all over the wheel well.
 
Also note, if your intention is to prevent having to pack your bearings, the Bearing Buddy will not do an adequate job of that (at least that's what I've read)

[brainpause]

I have not heard good things about Bearing Buddies from the non-boat world. In fact, when we bought our popup, it had the Buddies on it, and when I took the trailer to get the bearings repacked, the service guy advised just to change them back to "normal" bearings. I am confident that he wasn't trying to make a couple of extra bucks. He has all the work he can do.

He also said that some people with the Buddies try to put too much grease constantly into the system and "blow (something) out of it." Not sure if it was some kind of seal or if it is the same thing Mike is talking about, but it wasn't good.

Ours were repacked, and said that unless I drove huge amounts of miles on the camper, they wouldn't need to be redone for a couple of years. Well, after two years, we have put 3500+ miles on the camper, without problems. Will get them repacked this year, though.

My advice would be to repack them and keep them "normal."

Larry

[LKaskel]

As both a boat owner and poup owner I prefer the buddies on the boat and not the popup.  The fact that they help keep the bearings from the damage of water is the only reason they are benificial to me.  If you think about it.  We put more miles on our cars and trucks than our campers and they have just a bearing cap.  The process for packing the bearings is very simple although it can be dirty.  I would stick with what you have although I really don't think they would "harm" anything at all.