Bearing Buddies

[VeggieBullet]

Hi guys,
Just wondering what is your input on the Buddy Bearings.
We use them on the boat trailers and any other trailers with really good results, especially on real long distance trips where we like to grease them at least every 500 miles.

[perryg114]

If you have good grease seals they are fine. Otherwise they are going to pump grease into your drums. If you have disk brakes a little grease leak is not so bad.

Perry

[VeggieBullet]

Hi Perry
Well that is true, but if the seals are bad that wouldn't that be causing leaks anyways and therefore bearings & spindle issues?

[masseyfarm]

Bearing Buddies ?

Some of my buddies are unbearable -- real a&^ho*#$!

[Action]

Leaky seals are tested to a greater degree with any product like the bearing buddies. Bearing buddies and other similar products create a pressure inside the hub. (through heating and cooling action and a spring) Only for a few pounds of pressure however this is greater pressure than no bearing buddy. In a non-pressureized system the grease does not tend to pass through a seal as much and there is less grease in the system. The issue becomes when enough grease passes through the seal and on to fricton material. (Braking surfaces)

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[azflycaster]

Bearing Buddies are used primarily on boat trailers. They provide a pressurized cavity for the bearings and grease that prevents water from getting in when the trailer is submerged while launching and removing the boat from the water. I do not see any advantage to having them on a travel trailer.

You mentioned adding grease every 500 miles. If the Bearing Buddy is working correctly, you should not be able to add any grease since the area is. If you can add grease, where is the old grease going? Most likely out the rear seal and all over the trailer. Also when you are adding grease it is pushing the dirty grease out of the inner bearing and eventually into the inner bearing.

A periodic packing of the bearings not only ensures that the bearings will last a very long time, bit also gives you the opportunity to inspect the brake components.

[Ag&Au]

I installed Bearing Buddies on my last travel trailer (21' Bigfoot). I used that trailer for 9 1/2 years with no hub maintenance except periodically adding grease to the bearing buddies. If I was not very careful about cleanup afterwards, I would have a little grease slung onto the wheels. That would wipe right off with a rag. It sure beat 9 x 4=36 wheel bearing repacking jobs.

That is real experience not "I heard someone say once that .........."

Ken

P.S. I would recommend using the Bearing Bra accessory dust covers with them.

[barts]

Bearing Buddies aren't really needed on trailers that don't go in the water, otherwise cars would have them. Wheel bearings last a long long time if not abused (usually setup too tight, but sometimes overloaded), and adding more grease doesn't help with either of the above.

Boat trailers (I have one w/ bearing buddies) need to keep water out of the bearing spaces.

In my opinion the primary benefit of repacking bearings is catching problems before they cause on the road issues. The actual utility of replacing the grease frequently is pretty low.

- Bart

[Inland RV Center, In]

The problem with bearing buddies, is that you have no way of knowing when the drum cavity is filled with grease, "UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE".

Small boat trailers do not have brakes, therefore it makes no difference if excessive grease is released from the drum.

Granted, there is usually an exception to every rule, and certainly for those that know exactly what's going on with the grease quantity.

Andy

[perryg114]

Well bearing buddies are for folks that don't know how to launch a boat. The trailer has rollers and a winch for a reason. I have never had to submerge a trailer to get a boat on and off.

I would think that they might be good for trailers that sit a lot to keep moisture out of the bearings. Those stock grease caps are not all that water tight.

Perry

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by barts

Bearing Buddies aren't really needed on trailers that don't go in the water, otherwise cars would have them. Wheel bearings last a long long time if not abused (usually setup too tight, but sometimes overloaded), and adding more grease doesn't help with either of the above.

Boat trailers (I have one w/ bearing buddies) need to keep water out of the bearing spaces.

In my opinion the primary benefit of repacking bearings is catching problems before they cause on the road issues. The actual utility of replacing the grease frequently is pretty low.

- Bart

Bart.

We totally agree.

It's amazing, how many times someone calls to purchase grease seals, that tell us of other problems they found after they removed the drums.

Things like, worn out magnets, busted wires, fractured brake shoes, brake adjuster spring broken, scored drums, etc.

To us, "ASSUMING" what is behind a brake drum, is like kicking safety, to the curb.

Owners should be at all times, totally aware of exactly the condition of the running gear, whenever the trailer is being towed.

That, is easily done, when the bearings are repacked.

Andy

[VeggieBullet]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

The problem with bearing buddies, is that you have no way of knowing when the drum cavity is filled with grease, "UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE".

Small boat trailers do not have brakes, therefore it makes no difference if excessive grease is released from the drum.

Granted, there is usually an exception to every rule, and certainly for those that know exactly what's going on with the grease quantity.

Andy

Hi Andy
You can probably be a big help here also.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f349...ml#post1099534

[63air]

I use them on my boat trailer as the constant pressure will keep water out and I would use them on a small trailer without brakes. I don't use them on my Airstream because no matter what I want to inspect everything at least once a year.

[Cracker]

Originally Posted by perryg114

Well bearing buddies are for folks that don't know how to launch a boat. The trailer has rollers and a winch for a reason. I have never had to submerge a trailer to get a boat on and off.

I would think that they might be good for trailers that sit a lot to keep moisture out of the bearings. Those stock grease caps are not all that water tight.

Perry

Perry:

You may get a lot of flack with your boat ramp comment! Ever tried to launch a 24' (---or longer) pontoon boat off a trailer with dry bunks and a less-than-perfect ramp slope??? Many boat owners (---and not just pontoon boat owners) wouldn't have a trailer with roller bunks. At the same time I know a lot of boaters (---myself included) who launch off a shallow beach rather than a ramp. It can be done with a roller-equipped, tilt-bed trailer - but it's hard with dry bunks without submerging the wheels.

George

[Kamiak]

I agree with the "no Bearing Buddy on the AS" crowd for exactly the reasons mentioned: inspections are important, and your drum will fill with grease long before you see external evidence. It's one of those lessons I've learned the hard way.

I do have BB's on my boat trailer. It's not really that they're under pressure with the BB, it's that you try to keep it full of grease. When immersed, a hot hub will tend to draw water inside, so keeping it full of grease makes it difficult for the water to find a home. I pull the drum and inspect at the beginning of every boating season, then carefully squeeze a partial pump or so into the BB prior to taking the boat out, watching the compression on the spring. It's very easy to pump too much.

Incidentally, In all my years as a boat owner, I've never been able to launch or retrieve my boat without getting the wheels wet. In my boat, the water line has to be just about level with the top of the fenders for easy launch and retrieval.

[Action]

Originally Posted by barts

Bearing Buddies aren't really needed on trailers that don't go in the water, otherwise cars would have them. - Bart

Most domestic cars manufactured in the last 15 to 20 years have non-serviceable wheel bearings. So in a sense cars do have them now!

Also contrary to what has been stated above bearing buddies are not limited to small boat trailers with no brakes. I have a 1997 27' express cruiser that weighes in at 7400#s in ready to tow trim. All four wheels have brakes and all four hubs have bearing buddies. Those bearing buddies do not remove the responsibility of brake inspections. They just help in keeping the presure on the grease so water does not enter the bearings. Brake inspections and servicing is still important. It is a temporary technology until disc brakes with removeable rotors are installed.

I personally don't have issues with bearing buddies on trailers that only see land applications. It is a tighter system for keeping out debris from the bearings. And auto manufactures realize this as well. That is why auto manufactures have permanently sealed wheel bearings and removeable disc brake rotors.* What has been discovered is what has been stated above, more damage has occurred with servicable wheel bearings than non-servicable wheel bearings through improper seating and debris entering the through the dust cap, past the spindle seal or during the re-packing proceedure. The trailer industry has not caught up with that technology yet and still employs old school drum brakes and repackable bearings.

* My rear wheel drive 1996 Lincoln Mark VIII has 191,000 miles and the front hubs and permanently sealed bearings have never been touched.

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[ROBERT CROSS]

What Action said....

One caveat though...It did take the auto makers awhile to get the sealed bearing thing rite.

The early sealed bearing/abs sensors were definitely not trouble free....and very expensive if out of warranty. Over $850ea on some AWD vehicles.

POI...boat & trailer design and ramp angle have more to do with whether or not my "buddies" get wet... not how accomplished I may or may not be at launching our boat.

Bob

[barts]

Originally Posted by perryg114

Well bearing buddies are for folks that don't know how to launch a boat. The trailer has rollers and a winch for a reason. I have never had to submerge a trailer to get a boat on and off.

I would think that they might be good for trailers that sit a lot to keep moisture out of the bearings. Those stock grease caps are not all that water tight.

Perry

I have a 19' fantail wooden boat with a deep forefoot. When the trailer wheel bearings are just out of the water, perhaps 50% of the weight is on the carpeted bunks rather than on the keel rollers - and not a bit of the boat is touching the water.

There is more than one kind of boat: not all have submerged transoms, and not all trailers have their wheels on either side of the boat; instead some have the wheels underneath the boat, so that the inboard propeller doesn't drag on the ground.

- Bart

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

The problem with bearing buddies, is that you have no way of knowing when the drum cavity is filled with grease, "UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE".


Andy

Andy,
Have you ever used, installed or even read the instructions for bearing buddies? that's not an attack, I am curious about your first hand knowledge.

The front plate is spring loaded and and the procedure calls for grease to be added until the front plate has moved by specified amount. That and periodic checks of the front plate position after the wheel has been turning let you know when there is sufficent grease present.

This portion is directed to all:

I would highly recommend that people who are posting recommendations against using them at least read their website thoroughy first.

http://www.bearingbuddy.com/

I understand the validity of posts from people who say they want to check their wheel bearings yearly. I pesonally feel that is not necessary and a lot of extra work. But to each his own.

I don't have any interest financial or otherwise in Bearing buddies. Therfore, I am annoyed by something. I post my actual experience with this product with the intent to be helpful. It then is followed up by posts from people who don't give any indication that they have ever used or or seen one in action. The posts say that are not good for these purposes with no support that show their concerns are valid. I basically feel like I am being called a liar.

I would like to suggest that when you indirectly discredit what someome else has posted, that you back it up with some actual facts and not just opinions and/or hearsay.

I may have missed something, but I don't remember seeing in any of the Bearing buddy threads, a first hand account of a problem with them when used properly.

Ken

[Action]

I actually have to agree with Ken. If one reads and understands what this product does and then checks the bearing buddy befiore driving away one would know exactly how much grease is in the hub. If some one is constantly filling the bearing buddy there is a problem and no further driving should be done. The system is leaking and it isn't good.

Andy, The same can be said for other maintence items that you constantly harp on. Neglect will take one down the road of an accident or at least a very costly repair. A bearing buddy is a awesome way to understand what is going on inside the hub every trip with out dissassembly.

As to the comment above "Well bearing buddies are for folks that don't know how to launch a boat" This person has only a limited experience of boat launching. There are certain boat/trailer designs that don't allow dry hub launches. And if you are so confident about you declaration above I will reimburse your round trip expenses to Phoenix Arizona from anywhere in the lower 48 plus one nights lodging, meals and $100 pocket change if you can drop my boat off of the trailer into Saguaro lake without damage to the boat and not submerging the hubs. And now would be the time to come the highs are just under 80 and lows are just under 50.

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