Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

[luckyinkentucky]

I came across this site while doing a search. "http://www.tiedown.com/aturbo.html"

Supposedly people are pretty pleased with their system, and are switching from the old 'bearing packing' days. Has anyone here used them? It relies on an oil bath system instead of the standard grease that may or may not be in the area of your bearings. Plus, you can change the oil when you feel like it needs it.

 

[bgbass.1]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

Ive had them on my trailer for a couple of years the only problem i had was one of the caps had a small crack and was letting water in.

 

[rndn]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

They have a plstic see through cap so you can monitor the oil level and quality. My brother has had them on his new boat for four months now and they seem to work great. He just moved to Wisconsin from New York and he said the hub stayed nice and cool even after 70mph on the highway for an extended period.

 

[srothfuss]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

I looked at them when I was shopping for rebuilt parts for my hubs. But the 5-lug hubs are 5 on 5" instead of 5 on 4.5" which makes them not fit most of the rims available.

 

[j442w30]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

I like the idea but they do not fit the small rims on my trailer. I have heard that they are better for trailers that are used frequently and that regular grease packed hubs are best for trailers that tend to sit for an extended periods of time. Also if you lose the plastic cap on this turbo lube system then all of the oil goes out and your out of luck, a standard grease packed hub will still work if the cap is lost.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

OTR 80,000 lb trucks use them exclusively. Must be a pretty good idea if done correctly.

Mark

 

[dingbat]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

OTR 80,000 lb trucks use them exclusively. Must be a pretty good idea if done correctly.

How often do trucks back down a boat ramp and drown their axles for 5-10 minute at a time?

How often go you grease the wheel bearings in your car?

Grease is a safe and effective way to lube bearings. Not much is going to happen if you keep any grease at all in the hub. Dropping a bearing buddy or blowing out a rear axle seal on the way to or from the ramp may be messy but it shouldn’t leave you on the side of the road.

On the other hand if you blow a rear seal or crack an oil cap on the oil system you’re faced with an immediate and catastrophic failure of the bearing. The oil will almost immediately drain out of the hub and your done.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

I like the idea of them being oil bath hubs and I have ony seen them in the more common 5 on 4.5" pattern. I am more concerned with the durability of the plastic cap, I have had other grease lubed type hubs with plastic hub centers and have had several break or crack. They are by far more fragile than a metal dust cap.

I have a set on a construction type trailer with 8 lug wheels, but they are not made by Turbo Lube. I'm not sure of the brand of those but the axles are Dexter brand.

The Turbo Lube hubs also have a large diameter hub center, they won't fit the most common boat trailer wheels regardless of the lug pattern. They will only fit wheels with the very large 2.75" hub center hole. Most 2000 lb axles use a 2 to 2.5" hub diameter. They are pretty much only good for the largest of trailers.
If you are outfitting a complete set of axles, then they may be an option, you would just have to make sure your wheels can fit the larger centers.

 

[Wotam]

Re: Anyone Use 'Turbo Lube' Oilers for their hubs?

IMHO stuff: If you feel like changing to a better setup, get 'spindle-lube' axles. Fresh grease goes in through a hole the end of the axle to the rear of the bearing assembly and pushes the old stuff out the front.

Jack up the wheel and spin it while giving it some grease. Wipe off the old grease that's ejected and put the rubber cap back on the bearing cover.

Do the above on a regular basis and the bearings will last a loooooong time.