# What’s your trailer maintenance routine?



## Norcalcoastie (Jan 4, 2019)

What’s up buzzards. Oddly enough - It’s been a good year to be a rafting family and we have racked up some miles.

We purchased a new rig and trailer last year and was wondering what most folks do to maintain their trailer each year. My axle and wheel bearings have been submerged several times over the last year to float the raft off.

Specifically, what do y’all do for wheel bearings & tires?


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

you have acculube axles, pry that little rubber cap off, put a grease gun on the zerk fitting under the rubber cap, i like Lucas red and tacky grease, pump the gun till clean grease comes out and you're good to go, replace the rubber cap. 
Every 4 or 5 years, depending on mileage, replace the bearings and races to be sure you don't have any undue wear. I usually carry a spare hub and bearing assembly with me anyway, but never had to use it...


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

Repack yearly or prepare to suffer breakdowns and start wildfires. The choice is yours.


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## Riverratton (Aug 19, 2015)

i have the same axels, they're the best. But I thought like M you just pump them up until grease comes out. Be careful not to put more than 4 or 5 pumps into them without spinning them, you risk blowing out the rear seal "like I did" You can jack up the trailer, pump, spin the wheel a few times, pump up a couple of times, spin. Until the grease comes out. It aint a big deal to change the seals and bearings, but why?


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

Pumping grease does not allow to inspect the bearings. Greasing before every trip is advisable but if you don’t pull them apart you only find out you have a problem when the wheel passes you on the freeway and ends your trip.
It’s no sweat off my nuts so do what you want. I’ll continue to be “vigilant” and not risk loosing trips or starting a brush fire.
Stay safe out there.


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## Norcalcoastie (Jan 4, 2019)

Thanks for all of the good advice! I’ve read some of the horror stories, and don‘t want to have the same fate.


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## John_in_Loveland (Jun 9, 2011)

I'm lazy and don't have a good way to clean the hubs and bearings. I just bite the bullet and take them to my local shop to service at the beginning of the seaaon. Yeah its $200 but that is good insurance. And they have found some rusted bearings in the b past.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Whitewater Worthy Equip said:


> Pumping grease does not allow to inspect the bearings. Greasing before every trip is advisable but if you don’t pull them apart you only find out you have a problem when the wheel passes you on the freeway and ends your trip.
> It’s no sweat off my nuts so do what you want. I’ll continue to be “vigilant” and not risk loosing trips or starting a brush fire.
> Stay safe out there.


 let me let me preface this by saying I've built over 400 trailers, as long as the bearings are greased, they run cool... If I run cool and are greaseds, never had a failure and each time I disassembled the bearings and looked at them I replace them simply because it was taken apart, not because there was anything wrong it's highly unlikely they're going to fail... My personal trailer has over 25,000 miles on it in and out of put ins and take outs and never an issue. Neither have I blown out a seal with my grease gun, and its an air operated one, but good advice on spinning the wheel...


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

I I apologize for the auto incorrect, I'm replying on my phone as I broke my foot riding dual sport motorcycle in Moab 3 weeks ago and can't get to my computer LOL


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## Marshfly (Jul 8, 2020)

How many miles is "racking up some miles?" Us serious fishermen with boats on the Gulf Coast put many thousands of miles on our trailers and they get dunked in the salt every time. Once or twice a week, twice a trip. We lube our hubs a few times a year, maybe quarterly or every other month for the guides doing this daily and they last forever.

A light raft trailer towed at moderate speeds that gets dunked only occasionally in fresh water, hit it with a few pumps every few month and call it good. Yank the hub every couple of years to inspect If you are having that many issues with bearings or seals failing and such, stop buying junk or stop buying trailers from manufacturers that use junk. That's ridiculous.

However, if you abuse your trailer by letting it sit in the snow all winter, repack every spring. And buy tire covers for next winter to keep your hubs out of the snow.


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## Pinchecharlie (Jul 27, 2017)

Another lesson some learn (me on a 15hr drive) is to check and tighten all your bolts! Sounds dumb but I have a tilt trailer and I looked in the rear view and she was catywhampass. Quickly pulled over and discovered I had lost a bolt in the pivot joint! Was almost a disaster! Lock washers and loctite!! Just because it's well made doesnt mean it cant rattle loose. 2cents


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## Marshfly (Jul 8, 2020)

Pinchecharlie said:


> Another lesson some learn (me on a 15hr drive) is to check and tighten all your bolts! Sounds dumb but I have a tilt trailer and I looked in the rear view and she was catywhampass. Quickly pulled over and discovered I had lost a bolt in the pivot joint! Was almost a disaster! Lock washers and loctite!! Just because it's well made doesnt mean it cant rattle loose. 2cents


While you are at it, loosen and retorque the lug nuts. I bought a boat once and got a flat on the way home. My 4 way wouldn't budge the nuts. Had to limp to a nearby Walmart and use their 3ft breaker bar to remove the lugs. My next stop was a Northern tool next door for a 30" breaker bar and sockets that fit the truck and trailer. Since then I have that in the truck and any new trailer I buy has the socket that fits in a bg behind my rear seat.


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## Riverwild (Jun 19, 2015)

This is a picture of my trailer wheel on my Sawtooth Welding trailer. So can I just pry this little cap off to get to the grease valve? Please excuse my ignorance I've never done this before but after reading this it seems like adding new grease is something I should definitely be doing this routinely. I'm also guessing that re-packing the bearings would be a good idea as I'm not really sure if this has been done since it was purchased by the original owner. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

your your axle is not an Accu Lube axle, you have to take that dust cap off and then disassemble, pack your bearings and replace the seal and then reassemble. it's not a difficult thing to do, but it helps to have somebody that's done it before show you how you need to do it. most Trailer Service Centers will do it for you in prices ranging from 50 to $100 per wheel if you're not up to it yourself


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

Riverwild said:


> So can I just pry this little cap off to get to the grease valve?


Yes pry it off. No you probably wont find a grease zerk in there just nut and bearings that have to be repacked for sure if youve never done yet. Replace those caps with some grease caps (Bearing Buddies) from Autozone and get a grease gun. I replaced mine a few years ago after a hassle on the way to the Smith. And squirt full of grease every so often. No problems since then.


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## MontanaLaz (Feb 15, 2018)

Yep, pry it off. Disassemble and inspect. Also check tires for even wear. Solid axles have a natural bend to them and the tires will wear more on the outside.


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## B4otter (Apr 20, 2009)

Riverwild: no one mentioned to jack your trailer up _before_ you disassemble the hub/pull bearings, check races' faces,etc... if you don't, you'll have pro'lems... and it's a messy job, have rags and paper towels handy. If you don't know what you're looking at (Youtube is your friend) you can always put the parts in a hubcap or coffee can and take to a shop. They will know if bearings need replacement, etc. If you are going to keep your trailer for awhile, worth learning how to do AND good advice to carry a spare hub assembly "just in case."
The best way to keep bearings/hubs happy is to check 'em after 10-15 minutes on the road, long enough to heat everything up. You should check your tie down/boat/whatever anyway, so pull onto the shoulder or get off the road and put your hand on the hub or cover. If it's HOT you have a problem, and it won't get better by itself... Low inflation of tires can also wear on your bearings/cause things to get hot, so always inflate to operating pressure before driving.


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## GeoRon (Jun 24, 2015)

Pinchecharlie said:


> Another lesson some learn (me on a 15hr drive) is to check and tighten all your bolts! Sounds dumb but I have a tilt trailer and I looked in the rear view and she was catywhampass. Quickly pulled over and discovered I had lost a bolt in the pivot joint! Was almost a disaster! Lock washers and loctite!! Just because it's well made doesnt mean it cant rattle loose. 2cents


How much slop did you have in your pivot joint? I recently had to rebuilt the two exterior pivots(there is also a middle pivot bolt) because they had wobbled out to be substantially larger than the pivot bolt. Over a quarter inch larger. This wear is the result of the steel bolt being harder than the aluminum frame it passes through. Hence, the tilt bed was free to rattle extremely excessively especially when empty going down a dirt road. 

In my case, the tilt bed mechanics were not well made considering it lacked bushings or reinforcement through which the pivot bolt passed through the aluminum frame.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

LSB said:


> Yes pry it off. No you probably wont find a grease zerk in there just nut and bearings that have to be repacked for sure if youve never done yet. Replace those caps with some grease caps (Bearing Buddies) from Autozone and get a grease gun. I replaced mine a few years ago after a hassle on the way to the Smith. And squirt full of grease every so often. No problems since then.


Also to get to the bearing (this looks the same as my little trailer) in the back you will have to pull the seal out. Hard to know which one it is until you get it out and either read the number or take it to the parts house with you.


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

"Pry off the cap" no phrase has ever been said so nonchalantly with the effort being either huge or detrimental to the cap. I've never been able to get that dumb cap off or on without beating it to pieces. With all the advancements in the world today, you would think there's a tool for removal and replacement. Maybe there is one and I've never found it. Or OR, make an easy handling cap.

My suggestion, don't have any grease on your hands when you attempt to pry off.

Stepping off soap box.


Sidenote - Damn MNichols! Drink more milk.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

Yep, and calcium citrate lol!. Try a pair of water pump pliers, commonly referred to as "Channellocks" , wiggle the cap back and forth and it'll pop right off. Reinstall with a rubber mallet. Works well and doesn't deform the cap!


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

carvedog said:


> Also to get to the bearing (this looks the same as my little trailer) in the back you will have to pull the seal out. Hard to know which one it is until you get it out and either read the number or take it to the parts house with you.


Gotta destroy an $8 seal to get at the $5 bearing to get its part number. haha.

Buy an extra and keep it in your rig--it's a spare for the road, and also the part numbers for inner/outer seals/bearings for the next time!


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## jeffro (Oct 13, 2003)

I didn't know that trailer bearing maintenance was so controversial. I reckon everything is now though. I disassemble and repack the bearings in the spring. Replace bearings if necessary.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

If you pull your trailer one mile and have a huge tire with a circumference of one mile around the tire on your trailer, the wheel bearing and wheel will only go around once, if your tire has a circumference of a half a mile around the tire, the wheel bearing and tire will go around twice, so the tire bearings and tires will work and ware twice as much than with the bigger tire. If your trailer weighs 10,000 pounds the bearings are carrying the whole 10,000 pounds on them, that's alot of stress on those little 30 dollar bearings, if you put a set of dry bearings(no grease) on the left side of your trailer and a pair of well greased bearings on the right side of the trailer, the dry bearings will burn out very quickly do to high friction from lack of lubrication. So I would clean and pack my bearings once a year and put new ones in every two years, very cheep insurance. I have had trailer bearing fail on drives with commercial trips, like my trailer tire pass me on the highway like it was last call at the bar. That's all I know about trailer bearings and tire size.


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## yesimapirate (Oct 18, 2010)

Please share images of this 1 mile circumference tire.


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## raymo (Aug 10, 2008)

yesimapirate, I tried my best, this is the best I could do with my wide angle lens.


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## dsrtrat (May 29, 2011)

Try a pair of Channel Lock 440's next time. Grip and wiggle it off.


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## BenSlaughter (Jun 16, 2017)

yesimapirate said:


> "Pry off the cap" no phrase has ever been said so nonchalantly with the effort being either huge or detrimental to the cap. I've never been able to get that dumb cap off or on without beating it to pieces. With all the advancements in the world today, you would think there's a tool for removal and replacement. Maybe there is one and I've never found it. Or OR, make an easy handling cap.
> 
> My suggestion, don't have any grease on your hands when you attempt to pry off.
> 
> ...


Those caps are only a couple bucks, I just wrench em off with a pair of channel locks, pick up new ones from my local trailer supply place, or auto parts.


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## whip (Oct 23, 2003)

UH, run as many trips as I can and when the wheel falls off have it towed to Ark Welding? As a side note I had 5 peoples gear on my single axle heading to the Grand. All the lug nuts on the drivers side loosened and stripped the wheel lugs as I pulled into Kayenta. Apparently an overloaded trailer will cause this due to centrifugal forces. Some friendly natives who worked for the tribe stopped and put 4-5 washers on each lug and we limped to Napa. They had a rolling display case with about every lug made. all in all about a 2 hour delay. If you're pulling an over loaded trailer check your lugs. I budgeted 10 cases of beer myself for the trip so I can't imagine how much weight I was pulling.


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## Fly By Night (Oct 31, 2018)

If a bearing is going in the water or may go in the water I prefer to use marine grease, it is made to get wet, regular grease doesn't like getting water mixed into it.

My procedure is to install bearing buddy's, they replace sheet metal cap mentioned above and keep bearings wet with lightly pressurised grease. I keep the bearing buddy's topped off with grease as needed and monitor my wheel bearing temps, when they start getting 5-10° above ambient after a stint on the highway it's time for new parts. 

A utility trailer in the fleet I manage is due for bearings right now, it's got to have atleast 10k, maybe even 20k miles and 5+ years on it since any of it's bearings have seen the light of day. The repacking annually thing always seems extreme to me.


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## SlipShot (Mar 26, 2018)

said already, repack every year. Your right side will go faster than you left if you live anywhere that you have to use roundabouts.


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## BenSlaughter (Jun 16, 2017)

I'm certainly not condoning this behavior, but my raft trailer has, I'd guess, 50k miles on it, the hubs have been buried in rivers in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and California. In 18 years, I've never done more than squirt a lil grease in the bearing buddies every few years, and if I remember, I'll check to make sure they're not getting warm on a long trip.
My raft is always loaded heavy, and I'm almost always goin at least 15mph over the posted limit.
I suppose I should pull the hubs off before I head back to the Main in a couple weeks...

Good talk, fellas! 🙂

Ben


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## trevor464 (Aug 7, 2019)

BenSlaughter said:


> My raft is always loaded heavy, and I'm almost always goin at least 15mph over the posted limit.


You're pulling that thing at 90 mph?


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## BenSlaughter (Jun 16, 2017)

trevor464 said:


> You're pulling that thing at 90 mph?


Occasionally! 😉


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## Shaft (Aug 7, 2017)

I have found that on my old trailer the part of the axle where the rear seals ride is not completely smooth and wears out the seals prematurely, I now don't dunk the trailer and still pull the hubs off every spring to replace the seals/grease and inspect the bearings/races, to me it's worth a couple hours work once a year to not have trailer problems in the middle of nowhere. I also check the temperature of the hubs every stop.

A friend used a flap disc on an angle grinder to smooth out his axle, I'll try that next spring.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

I'd think a flap wheel in a die grinder would be a better choice than an angle grinder, and a whole lot easier to control and ensure no flat spots on the sealing surface.. ideally you would use a small flat file, will take longer than power tools, but likely a better finished product 😉


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## Whitewater Worthy Equip (Dec 11, 2013)

These are the best solution I’ve found.









McMaster-Carr


McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.




www.mcmaster.com


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

that's a pretty cool Solution, I did the same thing to the crankshaft in my Cummins when I rebuilt it last year. But those were genuine Cummins parts


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## Shaft (Aug 7, 2017)

MNichols said:


> I'd think a flap wheel in a die grinder would be a better choice than an angle grinder, and a whole lot easier to control and ensure no flat spots on the sealing surface.. ideally you would use a small flat file, will take longer than power tools, but likely a better finished product 😉





Whitewater Worthy Equip said:


> These are the best solution I’ve found.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Good suggestions here, I guess I need to get the calipers out to take a crude measurement and decide if the axle is worn enough to sleeve. I don't think I could keep the axle round with the flap disk on an angle grinder as MNichols mentions. Maybe I'll polish it up with emery cloth strips and take some measurements.

Thanks guys.


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## MT4Runner (Apr 6, 2012)

I've used the emery cloth strip solution for rough spots on the spindle.


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## SlipShot (Mar 26, 2018)

BenSlaughter said:


> I'm certainly not condoning this behavior, but my raft trailer has, I'd guess, 50k miles on it, the hubs have been buried in rivers in Arizona, Idaho, Oregon and California. In 18 years, I've never done more than squirt a lil grease in the bearing buddies every few years, and if I remember, I'll check to make sure they're not getting warm on a long trip.
> My raft is always loaded heavy, and I'm almost always goin at least 15mph over the posted limit.
> I suppose I should pull the hubs off before I head back to the Main in a couple weeks...
> 
> ...


*I ran my trailer for years without servicing the bearings until it happen. My trailer is a dual use and a couple years ago towing my ATV, the bearings failed. luckily I was able to get the trailer off the road. It was bad not only did I have to replace the bearing the spindle and hub were wasted. I can't remember the full cost but in was around $400 just in parts; I did the work myself. I'm a hard learner, but the time and money it took to fix this, I make it a priority to repack every year. In truth, I could push it off a season, but not worth the risk. *


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

yesimapirate said:


> I've never been able to get that dumb cap off or on without beating it to pieces.
> 
> Sidenote - Damn MNichols! Drink more milk.


yeah I had to pound the grease caps on with a 3 pound maul. I was worried about beating them up too but they held up.


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## missesess (Oct 7, 2013)

OK Here's my 10¢ worth ................
As a kid, the family did a lot of boating in the ocean ....... salt water stuff!
.......... I used to watch my dad re-packing the wheel bearings on a regular basis. This became a regular maintenance item AFTER a wheel came off on the way home one evening. I recall it was quite an experience feeling the car suddenly 'jolt' at 50+ mph and seeing a yuuuuuge (hat tip to Pres.) shower of sparks until we were able to slow and pull over. Interesting to also witness the 15" wheel complete with it's heavy cast-iron brake hub/drum race past us until finally coming to rest 5 houses down the street from where we stopped, after being arrested by 5 cute picket front yard fences. A lot of energy in that fella!
The case was the 'break-up' of the outer taper-roller bearing. Once the outer bearing breaks up, the inner bearing, which has a larger diameter, is completely free to pass over the remains of the outer bearing, washer, nut and split-pin.
Several things to suggest ..........
If you can, let the bearing hubs cool down from the trip before immersion, but preferably try to not immerse the axle at all is possible. There is air voids in the bearing housing (and there should be!), the air is hot and dunked in the water, the air space contracts and creates a vacuum. If the vacuum is fairly strong, it can easily suck water in through the seal.
(cooling the bearing hub with a few buckets of water on the outside could help the cooling)

Note on re-packing bearings...... Do not over-pack! 
Grease is is oil infused into (normally) clay ('bentone' clay if I remember correctly). As a bearing warms, it melts some nearby 'grease' and oil flows out the clay into the bearing. A over-packed bearing causes heat by having to forcefully push the 'stodge' around. Also, the rear seal can be ejected by pressures caused by over packing.

Do not over tighten the nut before inserting the split-pin. 
A good method is to gently tighten the nut while spinning the wheel. Do not force with a big wrench! Continue to 'gently' tighten until no sideways 'play' can be felt - pulling the top of the wheel to-and-fro. Following that, back-off the nut a 'few flats' (1/4 turn-ish) util a little 'play' can be felt. Don't be too mean with the play though! This play is necessary to allow for expansion of the bearings when hot. .............. no free play causes excess heat and bearing damage. Always a good idea to 'feel' how much play is there when the hub/bearings are hot following a re-build/pack. Some of you may have seen a 'discolored' bearing (rollers/races - yellow-blueish) even though there appeared to be ample grease ........ cause is overheating! (suggest new bearings!)

I was also told some years ago that it is not advisable to switch races and rollers. This is because they are manufactured as a 'set'. There may be slight, but significant differences between bearings even by the same maker and/or bearing number.

Final tip about bearings ....... Never, never hit shafts etc. where ball/roller bearings will transmit the shock. This can cause 'divots' (brinelling) in the 'races' where the balls/rollers were when struck. This will cause the heat treated skin of the races to disintegrate over time and in extreme cases, complete failure.

Phew!

That's all the 'doom' I can muster up for the moment  ............... happy floating.
(I think that was at least $1.20s worth!)


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## [email protected] (Jul 1, 2019)

Norcalcoastie said:


> What’s up buzzards. Oddly enough - It’s been a good year to be a rafting family and we have racked up some miles.
> 
> We purchased a new rig and trailer last year and was wondering what most folks do to maintain their trailer each year. My axle and wheel bearings have been submerged several times over the last year to float the raft off.
> 
> ...


Repack yearly if used a lot. You can check them when you're on the road to see if they're warm, if hot, time for a repack(or a seriously overloaded trailer!) you can do it yourself,but a shop usually is under $50.


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## LJPurvis (Apr 12, 2017)

I back my trailer into the water when possible to float the raft on/off. I drove my trailer for many years without maintenance. (Crazy!)
I took it to Les Schwab this spring to have the bearings repacked. Not too surprisingly they told me that they needed to be replaced (after 10 years of no maintenance). So I paid for the total bearing replacement. Then, for the first time ever, my rig was at the takeout after a Main Salmon but no trailer. My left bearing seized up. The shuttle service, Salmon River Shuttles, had it repaired and delivered to the ramp the day I took out, just a few hours after we reached the ramp.
Maintenance is important! Not too happy that my old bearings lasted over 10 years without me doing anything and my new bearings lasted less than a season. But I do suggest annual repacking at a minimum.


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## tBatt (May 18, 2020)

I pulled my hubs this fall to check the condition on a new-to-me trailer. The trailer came with Bearing Buddies but to my surprise there were grease zerks on the end of the axles behind the BBs. It appears to be an EZ lube system by the hole in the axle near the rear bearing. Is there any reason to leave the BBs on? Which is a better system? Will the EZ lube create enough positive pressure to keep water from absorbing into the warm hubs and grease? Should I keep a grease gun in the truck and give it a pump or two every time it comes out of the river? I generally submerge the axles floating the raft on/off if possible.


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## MNichols (Nov 20, 2015)

The EZ lube system is superior to bearing buddies, which are better than nothing, but lacking. The EZ or Accu lube system has a journal for the grease to flow thru to the inside bearing, where it travels down the spindle, thru the front bearing and out the cap. There's no reason to put the bearing buddies back on other than you likely don't have the dust covers with the rubber plug in them. You can easily buy replacements though. As far as greasing every time you take out, if your seals are good, you don't get any water into the axle, so no need to over grease. 

The acculube system fills the hub cavity with grease, so even if water could get in there, there's no place for it to be. Use a quality grease, I've been using Lucas red and tacky for years as it has a 500+ degree drop point, nothing in the axle will ever get that hot, so it will always stay "grease".


https://smile.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-10005-Tacky-Grease/dp/B000ARPVO8/ref=sr_1_5?crid=VFVITH4LBSUS&dchild=1&keywords=lucas+red+and+tacky+grease&qid=1605437048&sprefix=lucas+red%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-5


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## tBatt (May 18, 2020)

Awesome, that's what I was thinking. Thanks MN!


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