Oil lubed bearings pros cons

[Lowlysubaruguy]

My new boat has oil lubed bearings six of them. I have a customers boat trailer in with oil slung all over his wheel. Two years ago he had a similar issue. Fishing line had damaged the seal. The seals were made from unobtainium I matched one up to a Subaru axle seal little tighter fit but it worked. Today the plastic lens and cover was cracked he hit something ran it long enough the bearings are shot. Again a week to get parts. I spent a great deal of time trying to locate them, there all on the east coast and in wharehouses with less than prompt shipping options. Makes me wonder if I want anything like that as I travel with my new boat. Were going cross country and spending a week in the middle of nowhere waiting on trailer parts is not something I’d like to do. What’s the general consensus here.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Buddy in Racine has had them for past 6 years. Trailer did come from east coast. He loves them. However he also does have a complete spare hub and bearings if needed with him.

I say, plan ahead for a breakdown and you wont ever need to worry on your trip

 

[superbenk]

I have them & have had a seal go on a long trip. No way to find a replacement locally so I had to hire a flatbed to get the boat back home. Drove all over & finally found the seal at a horse trailer dealer. So now I carry extra everything & tools to fix stuff.

That said, I tend to like them. They’re much easier to maintain - no more repacking bearings regularly, no more nasty grease stuck at the back of the hub, easy to top off as needed (just uses straight 30-weight oil). They do run cooler too. If you have a clear cap then checking levels is simple but even my caps with the rubber plugs are easy to check.

Pros & cons either way. I still put a hand on the hubs at every pit stop to be sure nothing is wrong. Carry extra parts (whole spare hub is a good idea). Carry an extra quart of oil with a nozzle tip to refill as needed. I would do the same for either greased or oiled hubs though.

 

[ahicks]

One of the "tricks" I've seen is to set you spare tire carrier up in a manner that allows an entire hub to be carried as a spare as well.

 

[superbenk]

Great idea!

 

[Sprig]

People I know who have them like them and have reported no problems. But if you are traveling far from home and the fail you are up the proverbial creek. Definitely need to carry spare parts. I’ve been using bearing buddy's and grease for 50 years, never a problem. I’m old school, I’ll stick with grease.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

Id imagine converting all six hubs to normal grease isnt worth the efforts until I see an issue. I like the idea of making my spare mount out of a new huge loaded and ready to go. Ill get one ordered and make myself a mount for it. Thanks sounds simple enough. Ill probably order a spare seal and cap while im at it. Ive been using bearing buddies since the 70s without any issues other than what goes wrong when things go wrong but have always been able to find parts fast.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[jimmbo]

I was going to switch a couple of years ago, but realized that if I lose the integrity of the cap, cap seal, or the axle seal, I will be sitting on the road picking up pieces. If any of the same happens with greased hubs, it can still go quite a ways. I've watch trailers with the dust caps missing being dunked, towed away, and back next weekend for a repeat performance, still without a dust cap.

 

[superbenk]

As I stated above I’ve come to like the oil bath hubs I have for their pros but I agree with the people preferring grease-filled hubs. I wouldn’t go through any trouble to switch one way or the other but if I were given the option from the get-go I’d probably end up with grease-filled just for the peace of mind on longer trips. But I wouldn’t switch what you have.