Bearing Buddies on Boat Trailer...

[taxid]

Getting ready to inspect and repack bearings on my boat trailer before going on vacation.  Thinking of putting Bearing Buddies on this time or a similar product. I seem to remember a few here don't like the Bearing Buddies but don't remember why.

Who likes them here and who doesn't and why or why not?

Thanks in advance!

[rgfixit]

Don’t bother. They collect too much grease and dirt  over time…. it just turns to gunk. Way better off just repacking them every 3-4 years or maybe 5 years . If your seals go bad, you’ll  have grease everywhere from over greasing them. Over packing  them with those “Buddies” will just exacerbate the problem.

Had them….didn’t see any advantage to them. Never had a wheel bearing go bad…only 50 years….guess it’s just  MHO. (As the kids say)

[Mac Attack]

I like them.
They work well if you read the instructions and use them as you are supposed to.
However, most people continue pumping grease into them, and like Bob said, it blows past the seal on the inside of the hub.
You are supposed to simply pump grease until it collapses the spring slightly.
That's it.

When towing, the bearings and hub heat up and the grease expands, further compressing the spring.
Then, when you submerge the wheel bearing into the cold water, the cooling hubs and grease contracts.
The spring pressure counteracts this and keeps water and dirt from being sucked into the bearings.

If you only launch your boat 1 or 2 times a year, Bob is correct, don't bother.
The amount of dirt, water, etc. can be cleaned out with a thorough cleaning and repacking every 2-3 yrs.
If you use your boat frequently, and don't want to repack wheel bearings, get bearing buddies.
And if you trailer any significant miles, get bearing buddies.

I have spun wheel bearings and repaired them on the side of the road.
It's not fun.
As a matter of fact, these days I carry a spare hub, with already packed bearings on longer trips.

BTW, there are other alternatives.
Check out this link -

https://www.dexteraxle.com/Products/Hub-Hub-Drum/Grease--Oil-Caps

[rgfixit]

Well there’s two diametrically opposed opinions
Guess I’m  look and see and he other is a wait and see…l.no offense bud

[taxid]

Well there’s two diametrically opposed opinions
Guess I’m  look and see and he other is a wait and see…l.no offense bud

No worries I prefer to get differing opinions. A friend that hauls fish hundreds of miles from Arkansas to Indiana for a living just told me he swears by the bearing buddies.

Reminds me of the what I see in reviews sometimes. You'll get people that think a product is the best thing since the invention of the wheel and someone else will say it's junk.

On a funny note the wife and I were trying to decide on which small sliding panel windows to get for our spa room. Was reading the reviews and in one review one guy said the windows were crap because his kept falling open. Someone else replied and said, "you idiot you installed them vertically instead of horizontally!" 

[SizeMatters]

I'm in the Mac school of thought having had three bearing failures on the road over the years.  I don't go as far as fast as I used to but have never had a problem on a trailer with Bearing Buddies.  I replace bearings every 2-3 years on my boat trailer whether needed or not and give it a shot of grease a couple times a summer.  Just enough to move the spring.  Add the "bra" to keep it clean if it doesn't come with it.  I use a bearing packer to make it simple and less of a mess but it's easy enough to do by hand.  I also carry a spare hub and/or already greased bearings, nut and cotter pin if I'm towing more than a couple hours from home.  If you have 'em you'll never need 'em.

[fishinator]

I like them. They work on a pretty simple principle.  If the grease is under a slight pressure from the spring, water can't get in. They do make one heck of a mess when you have a seal let go though.

[Jethro]

I've got them on my snowmobile trailer that sees at least 5000 miles a year. The key to them is like said above, don't overgrease. ONE SINGLE PUMP twice a year is what the salesman told me to do and it's worked for me. Every 5 years I take them apart and manually repack and check seals. Never had an issue.

My boat trailer has oil bath hubs which I like way better for boats.

[Mac Attack]

My boat trailer has oil bath hubs which I like way better for boats.

Yup!!!!!

Just like a semi

[lowaccord66]

I have them as well.  Tows range from 2 minutes to 4 and a half hours 1 way.  Same experiences as others.  Dont over grease and good to go.

[krispcritter]

Tried on one of my trailers. Previous owner changed a hub and the buddy did not fit tight enough to stay on.
Never used them after that.

[Mac Attack]

Tried on one of my trailers. Previous owner changed a hub and the buddy did not fit tight enough to stay on.
Never used them after that.

Yea, I had one that would do that.
I fixed it by using an old wheel bearing trick my father taught to me.
The ID of the hub was larger than the OD of the outer race of a wheel bearing on my 57 chevy.
This was back in 72-73.
Anyway, my dad showed me that you could use a center punch and hammer to put little dimples on that ID bearing area of the hub.
You simply keep punching dimples all the way around inside that area where the outer bearing gets pressed into.
When you create the dimple, the center goes in, but on the outside of the dimple it raises slightly, creating a slightly higher ridge around the dimples.
This allows the bearing race to be held more securely so it doesn't spin.
We also then used locktite.

So I did the same thing and that bearing buddy never worked its way out.
After that incident, I always used locktite to install all of my bearing buddies.
A side note - be sure to clean both metal surfaces with a good solvent before using locktite to insure it does its job properly.

[fishinator]

Had to go talking about bearings and seals. Blew a seal on way home. Bearing buddy shoved a lot of grease out. Found a big wad of heavy mono wrapped around the seal seat. 2 cans of brake clean and a roll of towels. Fun fun

[wolverine]

Should never be considered a fail safe as most people I know do. Still must check every so often as I know some that had bearing problems with buddies. I carry a couple plastic bags with spare hub for greasy mess if change is needed away from home, experienced that mess with a friend. Makes you wonder how it ever got in the places you find it.

[Raquettedacker]