Repack wheel bearings; OR, Bearing Buddies???

[KeithC]

Andy hit it the nail on the head.

Buddy Bearing products were not designed to be use on travel trailers with break systems. If you find published material otherwise, I would love to read the source material. I love Buddy Bearing products and have used them products for years.

I've owned several boats / trailers and have installed Buddy Bearings on my trailers because they are so good, they are great for single axel trailers no braking system.

I would never use Buddy Bearing on a trailer heavy enough that I depended on the trailer's braking system for safety.

I know eventually my wife, my girlfriend, my kids, myself, or some other fool will over pressure and blow a grease seal, which would push grease into the break system, which would cause he brakes to fail.

The bottom line is, if can you stop your trailer safely with just your tow vehicle's braking system, don't use Berring Buddy type grease pressure systems.

[BWH-Utah]

No bearing buddies on your Airstream.

They work well on boat trailers because as 'Action' described above grease expands when it heats up and pushing out against the spring on the bearing buddy. Now think about it, what is the first thing you do with your boat trailer after you drive it all the way to the lake. Yah, you back those nice hot bearings into the nice cool water. Oooh, now is where the problem starts. That nice hot grease cool down and contracts. With bearing buddies the spring pushes back in and all is well, hopefully. With out bearing buddies the grease contrasts and, because those hubs are now under-water, water gets sucked in. Not what you want!

With your Airstream the grease can expand as it pleases while you dive it to the campground. When you arrive, that nice hot grease can cool down and contract. The difference is, that the only thing that will get sucked in here is some nice fresh mountain air, which isn't a problem. After all you drove all the way up there just so you could suck in some of that nice mountain air. Let your hubs enjoy some too.

Other considerations: 1) Some people think that every time the squirt a little grease into their bearing-buddy equipped hubs it's like giving them a quick grease job. NO WAY. The only grease that counts inside your hubs is the stuff right on the surfaces of the moving parts of the bearings, the balls or rollers. All that extra grease inside does nothing more than heat up and expand. When you give bearing buddies a squirt none of that grease ever gets near the moving parts. No quick grease job, sorry.

Happy bearings are like happy pets, they like a little attention now and then!
Join the SPCB (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Bearings).

Bronson