Bearing Buddy mess

[Trackrig]

I was in my local Six Robblees store yesterday. While waiting for help I looked at a trailer wheel hub hanging on the wall behind the counter. It was so full of grease and junk I couldn't really figure it out so I had to ask.

A guy brought his boat trailer in complaining that the brakes didn't work so they pulled it apart to inspect them. The wheel hub was completely full of grease so they had to ask the owner about it. He said when he bought the boat the previous owner told him to give each bearing buddy a ten (yes 10) shots of grease each time he pulled the boat out of the water. Well, he went fishing almost every weekend at ten shots of grease each weekend...............

Bill

[RCMAN46]

Mel B. wrote:
My 2004 Montana 2955RL has a new axle on it odered and installed at a Montana dealer and it has Bearing buddies on it. I'm the second owner, the first owner had the axle replaced 6 months before I bought it 7 months ago. I asked if he installed the BB's he said thats the way it was when he picked it up. Do new RV'S have bearing buddies now?
Mel

I doubt you have true bearing buddies. Most likely EZ-Lube.

This is what a true Bearing Buddy looks like.

[Mel_B_]

My 2004 Montana 2955RL has a new axle on it odered and installed at a Montana dealer and it has Bearing buddies on it. I'm the second owner, the first owner had the axle replaced 6 months before I bought it 7 months ago. I asked if he installed the BB's he said thats the way it was when he picked it up. Do new RV'S have bearing buddies now?
Mel

[TNGW1500SE]

mike-s wrote:
There are lots of boat trailers with brakes, but they're mostly hydraulic surge brakes, not electric ones. Small duck boat, no brakes, sure. A large boat with no trailer brakes, you're asking for trouble.

I'd say over 1000 pounds should have brakes and maybe some under 1000 depending on the tow vehicle.

I blew a hose once on my boat trailer and didn't know it. It was about a 4000 pound load. I sure was glad when it finally stopped. I had exited the interstate ramp down a hill.

[mike-s]

There are lots of boat trailers with brakes, but they're mostly hydraulic surge brakes, not electric ones. Small duck boat, no brakes, sure. A large boat with no trailer brakes, you're asking for trouble.

[aruba5er]

most boat trailers do not have brakes, mine doesn't and I have BB and a seal does leak and blow grease on the tire. So what better than haveing water in the hubs and burning out a bearing. I do not Have bearing buddys on my camper (which has Brakes)

[down_home]

I was not quite as bad as ten shots on boat trailer.
But I still had a hot bearing when I pulled out of the water.
Had to replace all the bearings. Took old one to a Bearing Distributor, selling American bearings then. It was Chinese and poorly constructed and bearings. The races were split and so on.
Seems like their ought to be a better way.

[RCMAN46]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Whether it is ten shots every tow or two shots a month, eventually the seal will give and grease the brakes. On true "Bearing Buddies" the grease has nowhere else to go but past the inner seal.

Not to be confused with the greasing systems that come on almost every new towable RV.

Not true!

There is no problem with a true bearing buddy. Look up how a true bearing buddy works.

It has a spring loaded piston that moves as the grease expands and contracts.

If too much grease is pumped in the piston moves out past the o-ring seal and the grease exits near the grease zert as long as a hand pump is used.

A power pump may be able to add grease faster than it can be expelled past the piston and create enough pressure to blow the spindle seal.

I used them on my boat trailers for 20 years and never had a problem.

After getting all of the air replaced with grease I never had to add grease until the next brearing and brake service.

The problem EZ-Lube and Bearing Buddy are not the same.

EZ-Lube will not work on a boat trailer as they will draw in water when a warm hub is submerged in cold water.

The Bearing Buddy piston moves inward as the grease contracts from the cold water. Then the piston moves out as the greas expands when it heats up during travel.

[time2roll]

If the TT bearings are properly packed, there is no reason ever to pump more grease in before the next inspection or brake service.

In the boating world it is a tough call. Hub needs venting and is periodically submerged. You would think something could be invented that actually works.

[soren]

beemerphile1 wrote:
Whether it is ten shots every tow or two shots a month, eventually the seal will give and grease the brakes. On true "Bearing Buddies" the grease has nowhere else to go but past the inner seal.

Not to be confused with the greasing systems that come on almost every new towable RV.

Are you suggesting that there isn't an issue with grease blowing past the inner "double lip" seals on the glorious Ez-lube axles? I have dealt with a trailer right out the factory that had grease blown all over the brakes from incorrectly greasing them. There are many here that think they are the greatest invention ever. I'll go with the opinion of the owner and head mechanic at a family dealership where I bought several trailers. He told me, almost two decades ago, that they are a gimmick and nothing but trouble. He said it's common to find blow seals and greasy brakes from DIYers who think they are magic, and they are best ignored in favor of regular, real maintenance. Since I do my own work, his only gain was a few bucks in seals, not like he was trying to sell bearing repacking jobs.

[beemerphile1]

Whether it is ten shots every tow or two shots a month, eventually the seal will give and grease the brakes. On true "Bearing Buddies" the grease has nowhere else to go but past the inner seal.

Not to be confused with the greasing systems that come on almost every new towable RV.

[tvman44]

Way too much grease. 🙂

[wa8yxm]

I ran BB's on both of my trailers. Other than one blown inner seal I had ZERO problems. BB does warn about inner seals.

Before BB's I replaced af few bearings...

Of course.. I did not overfill.

[mike-s]

jerseyjim wrote:
but, say 2 shots every couple weeks when using the boat trailer shouldn't be too much to damage the brakes or anything else.

Still way, way too much.

The purpose of BBs is to hold positive pressure in the bearing, so water doesn't get in, especially after running down the road warm, then being plunged into cold water at a boat launch. It lets the hub and air and grease contract with the cold without sucking water in.

The design of BBs is such that you can look and tell how full they are. If you see the plate go low, it means the grease has gone somewhere. Where? It doesn't evaporate - it's going past a seal which it shouldn't be doing. If it's the outer seal (which is the BB itself), you can see it, and things will be an obvious mess. If it's the inner seal, you're filling up your brake hub with grease. You don't refill it if it goes low, you take things apart and find the problem.

There is no need to refill a bearing buddy, ever. That only happens when repacking the bearings. Same as without them.

They are NOT like EZ-Lube axle stubs, where when you push in new grease, old grease comes out through the bearing.

Edit:The correct way to repack marine bearings is to use a long grease needle to fill the area between the bearings with grease after the hub is set in place, from inside to outside. That displaces the air which would be between the bearings/spindle/hub, which is what expands and contracts the most. An EZ-lube spindle does the same thing, but has its own set of issues - if the grease is too stiff or is pumped in too fast, it's going to get forced past the inner seal.

[garyemunson]

MY feelings on Bearing Buddies is that the inner bearing is always getting the old grease... Best to hand pack every year. The guy putting 10 shots in no doubt doesn't have much problem with old grease...but....