Bearing Buddies For PopUp

[Rt66West]

My wife and I camp in a 2003 Forest River Flagstaff popup.  I like to be sure that my bearings are always packed to prevent problems on the road.  This is a job that I don't care to do myself.  I have my local RV repair shop pack them for me.  They charge $78.00 per hour plus materials.  So packing my bearing runs me nearly $100.  I have considered having bearing buddies installed because I heard that the bearings can then be easily lubricated without removing the wheels.  Does anyone out there have bearing buddies installed on their popup?  Is this something worth doing?  I appreciate any feedback from the membership.

[Shawsee]

I have bearing buddies on my utility trailer and they do work great. I don't have them installed yet on my popup but will soon be doing that. On my utility trailer each time I hook it up to use all I do is pump a few shots of grease in the zerk fittings and good to go. I still however take apart my hubs once a year to inspect. The bearing buddies are good but one still must visually inspect the bearings and races to make sure everything is ok from time to time depending on how much use the trailer gets. Also if you have electric brakes on your popup you may want to consider not using the bearing buddies as they do weep grease occassionaly and if grease gets on your brakes they will not work properly.

[lwbfl]

I have bearing buddies on my utility trailer and they do work great. I don't have them installed yet on my popup but will soon be doing that. On my utility trailer each time I hook it up to use all I do is pump a few shots of grease in the zerk fittings and good to go. I still however take apart my hubs once a year to inspect. The bearing buddies are good but one still must visually inspect the bearings and races to make sure everything is ok from time to time depending on how much use the trailer gets. Also if you have electric brakes on your popup you may want to consider not using the bearing buddies as they do weep grease occassionaly and if grease gets on your brakes they will not work properly.

I agree with Shawsee, and also make sure that if you are using them that the grease can get to the back bearings.  On my old trailers it does not.  You are also adding a couple of psi of pressure so weeping is an issue with older seals.

[mike4947]

They are a good product and for their DESIGNED use do an excellent job; but If you go to the Bearing Buddy site you will read that they DO NOT say they replace removing/cleaning/inspecting/regreasing of bearings.

They are designed ONLY to create a positive pressure in the hub so when BOAT trailers are launched and the hubs go under water; the water will not enter the hub.
If you don't plan on launching boats off the PU or doing any signifcant driving in water where the level is over the hubs then you're just wasting money and the bearings have a greater chance of failing and stranding you than if you periodically regrease and inspect them.

[flyfisherman]

Actually there are two different types - the orginal "Bearing Buddy" that was designed for boat trailers and then the newer "EZ Lube" which was designed for over-the road trailers. The first was for hubs that were contantly being submersed in water and then being able to inject more grease to replace any that might have been washed away, plus disperse any water that might still have remained in the hub (real important for salt water). The other (EZ Lube) was designed more for getting just a little additional grease to both the inner and outer bearings when halfway through the season, or when making a long cross country trip in the heat of summer.

I understand most (if not all) new popups on the market today have the EZ Lube system. However, both systems require annual maintenance just like the regular bearings.


Fly

[tlhdoc]

As the others have posted, they are not a replacement for repacking and inspecting your bearings each year.

[Rt66West]

Thank you all for your valuable feedback.  I am going to continue with my annual bearing inspection, packing maintenance and forget the bearing buddies.

[chasd60]

E-Z Lube is a registered trademark of Dexter Axle Company. You may or may not have it. It is actually a hole drilled in the center of the axle that allows grease to be pumped through the axle and force its way back out through the bearings. The wheel must be rotating while applying the grease .
 
 
  http://www.dexteraxle.com/e_z_lube_system

[wavery]

Here's the point. The reason that you need to clean and inspect the bearings on any trailer is because most trailers just sit, most of there life.

Cars have used the same wheel bearings that your trailer uses for a hundred years. They need very little maintenance in hundreds of thousands of miles of use because the car is used (hopefully) on a regular basis.

When a grease packed bearing sits in one place for a long period of time (weeks and sometimes months) gravity has a chance to work on the grease in 2 ways.

#1. The grease at the top of the bearing tends to slip down, over time and leave the tops exposed and the bare metal vulnerable to rust.

#2. The bottom of the bearing is exposed to the weight of the trailer baring down on a single point over a long period of time. The ball in the bearing will eventually displace every molecule of grease from a single point. That single point may (over time) actually weld itself in place (microscopically) due to electrolysis and corrosion.

The next time that the trailer is moved, one of those areas may become a week point in the bearing. It can become a small place of friction that can cause a small area of over-heating, gaulding and/or pitting.

No matter what kind of hub/bearing lubricating gizmo that you install on your trailer, nothing replaces inspection to be sure that the bearing has not developed the above conditions from the lack of use. When it comes to wheel bearings, use is good, lack of use is not good.

Very few wheel bearing/hub assemblies need additional grease over time. If they do, you have a bad seal. Grease does not evaporate. It can only leak out.

I hope this helps. IMHO......don't waste your $ on that junk (unless you have a boat trailer). It may give you a false sense of confidence and result in more harm than good.

IMHO the best thing that you can do for your bearings is to move your trailer about 6" (1/4 turn of the wheel) in either direction a couple times a week.

[Shawsee]

Great info and advice Wavery! Thanks