Bearing Buddies

[albany_nomads]

Ive been thinking about fitting a set of Bearing Buddies to my camper trailer..Ive got a question.
How do you know if theres sufficient grease in the bearing set..do you have to wait for the grease to crack out through the bearing seals..say like you would with grease up a universal joint...and also do you have to fit a special hub seals to match up with the bearing buddies.....Thanks in advance..John from the Albany Nomads.

[TrackTrailerTourer]

Personally I think bearing buddies may give you a false sense of security, I just fit a marine seal, check the heat or lack of, of the bearings whenever we stop whilst travelling, and adjust as necessary, and regrease or replace the bearings with good quality bearings from a bearing distributor each year.

Peter

[BigJules]

With nothing at all to point you to, I recall reading that these were not recommended at all for CTs.

Please let me know if I can help further 

[danielhobby]

from memory(a long time ago)you are supposed to use marine seals which allow some grease to leak out to flush out water and other contaminants and foreign matter.by no means am i sure about my memory so someone else will have to confirm this.about 1995 i fitted buddies to my trailer with standard HQ Holden seals and the pressure of grease/grease gun pushed seal out of position slightly.cheers Danny

[Cammo]

albany_nomads

I have used them for over 10 years on 2 large boats and they kept the sea out and bearings lubed. What I do is just every 2 hours when we have a rest stop, walk around and give a squirt on each bearing buddy. I have never been the broken down boat on the side of the road.

You still check the bearings and repack before every big trip but I see no reason why they would not be a good idea on a CT .

Regards

[Squalo]

I have used them for over 10 years on 2 large boats and they kept the sea out and bearings lubed. What I do is just every 2 hours when we have a rest stop, walk around and give a squirt on each bearing buddy. I have never been the broken down boat on the side of the road.

Are you saying you do a wee on each wheel when you stop?  

If so you'd have to be odds-on to win the "Cheapest maintenance tip" competition of the year!

[speewa158]

Just be a bit mindful of how far the caps stick out from the wheels , as they might get knocked off .No cap on the bearings is game over  When the grease is pumped in to create preasure it skuirts out somewhere . This old grease while helping maintain the bearings could collect on the trailer disc brakes . I have used them on boat trailers , worked well . The only downer was the grease on the hull of the boat made a mess .

[Cammo]

Squalo

You can do that if you want, personally I use a small grease gun. The position of the external grease nipple plate being pushed out by the spring lets you know when there is enough as there is an overflow hole for excess grease to worm out.

And to stop external grease spinning off, I use the red bearing buddy caps.

Regards

[achjimmy]

The idea of the bearing buddy is to stop the Ingres of water and loss off grease. Keeping your bearings serviceable for much longer under harsh working environment .

The correct use is to lube up your bearing as normal, pump grease in to the nipple on the buddy until you see the piston ( plate the nipple is mounted too) start to move outwards. You want the piston to be approximately halfway (a bit more on newer buddies) along its travel. Under this situation if the hub heats up the grease expands and nothing escapes, if the hub rapidly cools ( aka water dunking) the grease contracts dragging the piston in not water.

You should not have to keep pumping grease into them. The use of marine seals is required, but IMO they are a better seal anyway, regardless of using bearing buddies. Quality marine grease is important as well. Always carry a spare as they get nicked, knocked off, fall off etc.

I don't think they would be necessary on a CT unless you planed on making a zillion salt water water crossing other wise you are just giving yourself a headache on something to keep another eye on.

Even with buddies, I find the best advice even given to me about dunking any trailer or vechile in water was to wait and let everything cool down before it's dunking.

The newer cheaper bearing buddies are not as good as the original more expensive brand. The pistons are pressed and do not work as well. Best brand I have found recently Other than the genuine are "Trojan" from
Repco.

[gibbo301]

The idea of the bearing buddy is to stop the Ingres of water and loss off grease. Keeping your bearings serviceable for much longer under harsh working environment .

The correct use is to lube up your bearing as normal, pump grease in to the nipple on the buddy until you see the piston ( plate the nipple is mounted too) start to move outwards. You want the piston to be approximately halfway (a bit more on newer buddies) along its travel. Under this situation if the hub heats up the grease expands and nothing escapes, if the hub rapidly cools ( aka water dunking) the grease contracts dragging the piston in not water.

You should not have to keep pumping grease into them. The use of marine seals is required, but IMO they are a better seal anyway, regardless of using bearing buddies. Quality marine grease is important as well. Always carry a spare as they get nicked, knocked off, fall off etc.

I don't think they would be necessary on a CT unless you planed on making a zillion salt water water crossing other wise you are just giving yourself a headache on something to keep another eye on.

Even with buddies, I find the best advice even given to me about dunking any trailer or vechile in water was to wait and let everything cool down before it's dunking.

The newer cheaper bearing buddies are not as good as the original more expensive brand. The pistons are pressed and do not work as well. Best brand I have found recently Other than the genuine are "Trojan" from
Repco.

X2

[Aaron Schubert]

I know they fall off regularly!

Aaron

[Murray]

I have been told that bearing buddies are good for short trips as the bearings need air to cool. Bearing buddies fills the entire space with grease, thus removing the air and increasing the possibility of bearings overheating. Good for boat trailers - not good for CTs doing extended driving, unless as achjimmy said: good if you are doing a zillion salt river crossings. I'm sure there are a few engineers or fitters out there who can confirm or deny this view.

Yarrum

[Brett B]

good for boat trailers not good for cts
when grease gets passed the seal on dirt roads and tracks the dust and dirt sticks to the grease
and slowly eats the seal and letting out more grease
when grease gets hot it turns into like a thick runny honey and with worn seals will leak out then eventually
there will be lubrication properties left
As for air in side the hub would not make any difference
if you have repacked your bearings and put to much in when driving it will push the excess out wipe the excess of
the trick is to adjust so they wont get hot warm is ok but this does not apply to the braked  hubs as they get very hot
Hope this makes sense
 
Brett