not having any issues but how can I avoid them in the future ? And what exactly happens if it goes out while you are going 65mph ?

Preventive maintenance is your friend.


A number of things can go wrong if you have a bearing go out. Tire can come off, bearing can become "welded" to spindle and probably some things I have not seen. Bearings get real hot real fast when they don't have enough grease on them or they start going bad


It is not fun to repack the bearings but it beats the heck out of doing it in the dark on the side of the road or having a tire come off the trailer.

they make a sealed bearing with a heavey wieght oil inside of it instead of grease. dont have them personally but have seen them but it seems like a great idea. might wanna check em out.

I blew my wheel bearing and didn't even notice it turns out I had two different types of hubs on there from McClain they gave me a new axle b/c when the bearing froze I bent the spindle PITA!! check your bearings regularly! I grease every couple of trips to the ramp.

just what I said.

BB's are good for keeping water out for the most part. They do this by maintaining a constant pressure in the hub.


They do not however take the place of routine removal, cleaning and repacking of wheel bearings.

this is ironic to read this now, lol

friday morning at 3 am on the way to the landing my bearings blew out on my trailer. i never noticed it, well i got to the landing and come to find out the bearings, the races and the axle nut came out of the outter hub side and the inner bearings blew out too. the only reason the tire stayed on there was because the fender held it on. after we hunted we spent 2 hours repairing the bearings in an orielys parking lot and we was back on the road.

just for your info. if you loose your axle nut and cant find one anywhere to get you home, measure the size and go take a nut off a trailer ball that you buy at the local auto parts store. they will get you back on the road to get your rig home. not a permanent fix by anymeans but it will work.

I am thinking about another scenario too. I have heard of a few guys having their bearing buddys stolen in the parking lot. Of course they did not notice. Grease slinging everywhere except on the bearings on the way home and bearings burnt up. Roadside whether they like it or not, all thanks to thieves.

I was lucky enough to make it down to my beach house before realizing it... inner bearing still good outer was bad and blew grease out all over wheel...Not sweat I'll change it fix problem.

I WAS WRONG!

Bent spindle, two different type of hub assemblies... 1 buddy bearing 1 regular inner / outer (ACademy brand)

1 phone call to McClain Tuesday (holiday monday) I had a new axle built and dropped old one replaced with new... They put in a "kick" in it (slight bend) to help distribute the weight... Axle was 2 months 3 months old!

McClain did fix the problem new axle but a PITA going back and forth to Academy, O-Reily just to find I can't even get outer bearing on b/c she's bent... Hammered it on got boat back on trailer and left her at the house... Luckily I was at the house I'd hate to leave my rig sitting somewhere on the side of the road.

I never noticed a tire wobble or anything never heard any weird noises either...

You'd notice if your buddy bearing was missing... You'd have no Tire!! or Wheel lugs!!!!

I doubt you'd be laughing though.....

thanks fellas for the info

I need pics, Im not all together with it sometimes.

how do I know what to buy, Ive had my trailer for four years and have never doen a thing to it, zero, ziltch and nada.


wtf is a bearing buddy ?

Get you an old peanut butter jar , an extra set of bearings , races , nut , washer , cotterpin ,rear seal , and buddy bearing and keep it in your boat. Pack your extra bearings prior to putting them in the jar. Adda little extra grease to the jar so you have some with you if you happen to be on da side of the rd w/o a grease gun. Or do like da rich man and add a spendle to youe trailer with an extra hub assembly ready to go . Multi purpose it also acts as a spair tire carrier. and carry around a grease gun.

I run the Bearing Buddys but you still need to pull the hubs and repack. Its possible to have a clogg or rear seal go out and you may loose grease or not get grease to the rear bearings. The rear bearings seems to go bad faster than outside bearings. Only sure way I know of is to have the spindles with the zert that allows grease to flow to the rear through ports in the spindle itself. When I had my new axle built I didn't know about these spindles till I went to pick up my trailer. Otherwise I would have had then installed. You would still have to pull the grease cap to get to the zert but the critical area is the rear bearings.