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Ron A · 05-13-2015, 07:26 AM

1. Does anyone use bearing buddy on their airstream?
2. Can someone help me understand what the pros and cons are?
3. Would the bearing buddy not keep bearings better lubricated?
I have read where some say no on the airstream but okay on other travel trailers. I do not understand the difference. My understanding is they keep water, dirt, prevent corrosion and pitting on the bearings. The more I read the more I get confused about bearing buddy, not sure I understand why they would not work well on the airstream to keep bearings lubricated. Can someone help clarify?

Thank you,

AWCHIEF · 05-13-2015, 07:58 AM

Bearing Buddies are designed to keep standing water out of bearings as in boat trailers. Not really an issue with travel trailers under conditions of normal use.
I was under the impression that newer Airstreams use sealed never lube bearings.

dwightdi · 05-13-2015, 08:24 AM

If you over fill bearing buddies on a boat trailer the excess grease exits through the grease seals. Not a problem if the trailer has no brakes. Our trailers usually have drum brakes. If you over fill the grease gets in the brake drum and on the brake shoes. therefore the brakes become non-functional. Not a good idea to put brake or bearing buddies on an Airstream.

Ron A · 05-13-2015, 04:49 PM

Thank you for the replies. I was not aware of it being a problem with bearing grease getting on your breaks, however, I can see where that would not be a good thing.
I have a 2015 Sport 16 ft, however, does not have sealed bearings.

Ron
2015 Sport 16'
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perryg114 · 05-13-2015, 04:54 PM

If you have disk brakes it is not so much an issue. If you remove the grease cap once a year and look for signs of water and corrosion. If you find it, the clean and repack. I am not in the pack once a year crowd. I think packing that often caused more problems than it solves. The chances of a mechanic missing something or messing something up is large. Many repack jobs are done with too little grease.

Perry

Perry

Ron A · 05-13-2015, 06:53 PM

Thank you Perry. I've spoken with someone else that says they were not fond of repacking wheelbearings ever year. I guess that's what made me think about the bearing buddies.

Ron
2015 Sport 16'
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perryg114 · 05-14-2015, 08:09 AM

If you don't let your trailer sit for years at a time the need to pack bearings every year goes away. Also best to make sure grease hubs are covered to prevent water getting in there directly.

Perry

biyak269 · 05-14-2015, 11:42 AM

Grease the bearings. Forget the bearing buddy.

Here's a story about our nearly new Airstream that had a catastrophic wheel bearing failure. We bought a new 28 a few years ago - probably 2007. About 7 months after we bought it the unit had a catastrophic wheel bearing failure; the driver's side rear bearing/brake drum/tire/wheel came off and disappeared somewhere, the unit oscillated and swung the entire rig across a 4-lane median to stop facing oncoming traffic, and the Airstream wrinkled up like a beer can, the interior splintered from the distortion. No injuries. The truck was fine.

I called the Airstream factory to squawk about it and claim the damage under warranty, and was asked if I had the repacked the bearings after 6 months as specified in the manual. I said no, but the unit was only 7 months old. They said sorry, that I had voided the warranty.

I replaced that bent AS with a '99 25, and grease the bearings every spring,before any trips. Apparently the bearing loadings caused by the trailer and the rubbery axles is hard on bearings; I just replaced an outer bearing this spring that was only 1 year old and was about to fail.

This AS bearing situation is a pain. Recently we have been looking at Elkhart offerings. All of the trailers have beam axles that have grease zerks on the ends of the axles, not requiring disassembly to relube the bearings. Much better solution.

Sodbust · 05-14-2015, 12:32 PM

Semi trucks and trailers use oil filled hubs and they last a million miles or more.. As I am dealing with bad bearings on my farming tools and trailers I am slowly converting them all over to oil bath hubs.. Several companies sell hub caps with a plastic window so you can monitor the oil level in the hubs.

To do the job right one needs to update the hub seal to a higher grade seal. Most stock seals are single lip type,, and most can be converted to the 3 lip type with a spring holding tension too the hub spindle.

The thing is,, going down the road at speed the oil slings too the outside of the inner hub and the bearings run flooded in sync. gear oil all the time. The hubs I have converted ,, have worked great.. Sodbust

tjdonahoe · 05-14-2015, 03:50 PM

My as has life time packed bearings,may be good or may be a problem , 2 years and 16000 miles so far so good, my car trailer has a grease zerk in the end of the axles one pump and it's good for a year

r carl · 05-14-2015, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron A

1. Does anyone use bearing buddy on their airstream?
2. Can someone help me understand what the pros and cons are?
3. Would the bearing buddy not keep bearings better lubricated?
I have read where some say no on the airstream but okay on other travel trailers. I do not understand the difference. My understanding is they keep water, dirt, prevent corrosion and pitting on the bearings. The more I read the more I get confused about bearing buddy, not sure I understand why they would not work well on the airstream to keep bearings lubricated. Can someone help clarify?

Thank you,

Looong story short, this is the direction you want to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=200&v=qtGMDFksf64

JCWDCW · 05-14-2015, 07:20 PM

I've often wondered why my truck front hubs go for 1000's of miles without attention and the AS (or any other SOB) require at least checking and change every two years. Can Am suggests change every 10,000 miles but I have seen the grease looking pretty black long before that. Grease is cheaper than bearings or failure and loss of a wheel, so I just do it!

guskmg · 05-15-2015, 12:10 AM

I have used Bearing Buddies (BB) for years with drum surge brakes. I never repack them, but the secret is to install them along with Spindle Seals. This is a stainless steel sleeve that fits over spindle on the inside bearing surface. It comes with a seal that is high grade and rides on the stainless steel sleeve. Every so often when the BB piston has moved in some, give it a shot of grease. If you use (BB) Bras you will eliminate any grease that slings out of the BB onto the wheel. I am also thinking about putting them on my Airstream.

Ron A · 05-15-2015, 05:43 AM

I did read on bearing buddies website about there spindle seals to be used with any trailer with brakes.
biyak269 thank you for sharing your story. I'm glad you and family were not injured in the accident. I can certainly see were bearing failure and tire coming off could be dangerous and scary.

Ron
2015 Sport 16'
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perryg114 · 05-15-2015, 06:12 AM

I have been packing bearings for about 40 yrs and never had a problem from one I packed. It is a real good idea to pack new bearing because you never know if the guy at the factory did it right or used enough grease. If they save $100 on grease on 1000 axles then they look at that as profit. Yes cars last years between repacks and they are usually used often so it bakes all the water out of the bearings. Also you don't want Chinese made bearings that can fail because they did not heat treat the metal properly. Also it it your responsibility as an owner to monitor things. Bearings don't just fail immediately. They start running hot and making noise etc long before they seize. Get in a habit of feeling of tires and hubs or taking IR measurements every time you stop. The hand test works for me and you don't have to worry about dead batteries. If you don't pack the bearings your self or watch them being packed you don't know what they did. If they get them too tight they will overheat. The bearing guys here at NASA tell me that a loose bearing is much better than one that is too tight. As a bearing heats up it expands making the pressures on the bearings go way up. Now add the trailer loads to that and you have a problem. Always replace bearings and races as a set. I have seen races with different angles on them relative to the race that lead to rapid failure. Look for signs of bearing failure when you pack them, pitting, galling, rust, discoloration.

Perry

Ron A · 05-15-2015, 06:32 AM

Thank you Perry. My preference would be to do it myself, however, as a confidence builder would like to see someone else do it or have someone assist me the first time. YouTube videos are great but still like to have someone I can communicate with. I have a brother that is one of those NASA guys here in Huntsville. Says it should be an easy job. I just need to gain enough knowledge to build my confidence level.

Ron
2015 Sport 16'
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perryg114 · 05-15-2015, 10:44 AM

I can show you how to pack them. Dealing with the brakes is the hard part. If you only have 2 wheels to deal with, then that is pretty easy. Best way I have found is to get one of these tools for a grease gun. You also need a grease gun. I use Valvoline moly based bearing grease. You wipe most of the grease off the bearing put it in this thing and it pumps new grease through. You put some extra grease in the hub and a little in the grease cup. When you get the nut back on, you spin the wheel while tightening the nut. This seats the bearings. Now you back off about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. Now you put the split pin back on and bend the legs around the nut. This is assuming you don't have a never lube axle or something like that. It is messy more than anything. You go through lots of paper towels.

Perry

Ron A · 05-15-2015, 10:56 AM

Perry. I do most of the routine maintenance on the vehicles. I guess I'm no different than most it's always nice to have someone hold your hand the first time. Your instructions seem extremely easy to do and follow. I truly appreciate your replies. Should you ever get around Huntsville AL please look me up.

Ron
2015 Sport 16'
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featherbedder · 05-17-2015, 07:59 PM

I have towed trailers of all kinds, including boat trailers that immerse when backing into water or loading plus cars and trucks from 1/2 ton to semis, & trailers for well over 55 yrs. Never EVER repacked NEVER EVER HAVE had bearing failure, plus they all have many miles of use.

perryg114 · 05-18-2015, 05:59 AM

Well bearings do need maintenance. They don't need it every year unless it is a new trailer and you are relying on the factory to pack them properly. When they fail it ain't pretty.

Perry

Quote:

Originally Posted by featherbedder

I have towed trailers of all kinds, including boat trailers that immerse when backing into water or loading plus cars and trucks from 1/2 ton to semis, & trailers for well over 55 yrs. Never EVER repacked NEVER EVER HAVE had bearing failure, plus they all have many miles of use.