QA

Quick Answer: How To Pack Boat Trailer Bearings

Remove the wheel. Remove the lug nuts and the wheel. Remove the cotter pin. Straighten the ends of the cotter pin and pull it out with needlenose pliers. Remove the rear bearing and seal. Pack grease into the bearings. Reassemble the hub.

How often should you repack boat trailer bearings?

How often should you repack your trailer bearings? The axle manufacturers recommend that you repack your trailer bearings once annually or every 12,000 km. If you are over-do for trailer wheel bearing maintenance, we would be happy to help you.

How do you keep water out of boat trailer bearings?

Grease-Filled Protection Grease is kept around your boat trailer bearings by a seal on one side of the hub (preferably a double-lipped seal) and pressure from froma rubber plug or grommet positioned on the outside of the hub.

How do I know if my trailer bearings need grease?

Keep your hand on the wheel and spin it. If you feel any motion that is not smooth, hear any noises, or if the wheel does not spin freely, the wheel bearing is defective or needs lubrication.

Can you over grease trailer bearings?

There’s no such thing as too much grease for bearings! You would not pack grease in the hub otherwise and not in the drum since the brakes would not be able to grab with grease in the hub. Grease caps, dust caps, and bearing protectors have to be installed right to avoid losing them.

How often should you grease trailer bearings?

When Should You Grease Your Bearings With a larger travel trailer, you should grease your trailer wheel bearings every 10,000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. If you have a smaller travel trailer, however, you’ll need to grease your wheel bearings every 2,000 miles.

How much does it cost to repack trailer bearings?

Trailers tend to be cheaper to repack professionally (think $100-$200), but don’t underestimate the power of the upsells a mechanic might try to give you. If you’re serious about cash, you can likely save a few bucks by repacking your bearings yourself.

Do bearing buddies keep water out?

Bearing buddies DO NOT keep water out, they help. All they do is spring load a supply of pressurized grease into the hub, which aids in keeping water out and pushing grease to the bearings. Bearings will still wear, water will always get in eventually.

How much grease do you put in a boat trailer hub?

It is equally important to retain the grease around the bearing. For traditional greases (NLGI Nos. 1 and 2), pump a ring of grease into the entire circumference of the wheel hub and coat the hub cap inner wall. The housing should only be half full of grease.

How do you know when to replace trailer bearings?

Jack up the trailer and secure it on adequate capacity jack stands. Check wheels for side-to-side looseness – There should be a very slight amount of play in the wheel, typically 1/8-inch or less. If the wheels are loose or spin with a wobble, the bearings must be serviced or replaced.

How much grease should you put in a bearing?

Open angular contact thrust ball bearings for screw drives should be lubricated with a grease quantity that fills ~ 25 to 35% of the free space in the bearing. Freshly greased bearings should be operated at low speeds during the running-in period.

How long does it take to repack trailer bearings?

How many trailers have you seen on the side of the road this year with one wheel propped up? Don’t let it happen to you. If you haven’t checked your wheel bearings lately, read this article. You can complete this simple task in about an hour and save yourself a big repair bill.

Are bearing buddies a good idea?

Bearing Buddies are a great way to keep grease in a trailer hub. I recommend them as long as you are aware that it’s very easy to put too much grease in a hub with these which will blow out the seal. They have no problem being used on longer road trips so the would work well for you.

How do I know when my bearing buddies are full?

The air pockets inside the hub cavity and Bearing Buddy® will work their way out past the piston (or blue ring) on the Bearing Buddy®. You should see the piston extend out or the blue ring past the front of the Bearing Buddy® when it’s properly filled.

Do you still need to repack bearings with bearing buddies?

Expert Reply: When you use the Bearing Buddy Bearing Protectors like # BB2441, so you do not need to take apart the wheel hub and repack the bearings. As you maintain the grease in the Bearing Buddy, it continues to fill the bore, so your bearings and spindle stay properly lubricated for proper function.

Do bearing buddies need caps?

Expert Reply: The Bearing Buddies will act as a substitute for a dust cap on a boat trailer axle, but the bras for them that just cover up the fitting would not. If the hub that you have has a bore of 1.98 inches the correct Bearing Buddy you’d need is the part # BB1980A.

Do bearing buddies work on boat trailers?

Bearing buddies are really designed for boat trailers, since they go thru the thermal expansion/ contraction cycles much quicker then other trailers.