Bearing Buddy's - worth fitting ?

[Tafflad]

I have a Karavan Trailer ... and it has the alloy cup with a press in rubber cap ... covering the bearing.

I could of course fit Bearing Buddy's ... never used these - are they worth it, do they work ?

Read a few posts - that people have lost 'one' do they not stay put ?


If I do go for these - should I get the 'Buddy Bra' to go with them.
Do you have to remove these to top up the grease ?

 

[dgopetactical]

Re: Bearing Buddy's - worth fitting ?

I have a Karavan Trailer ... and it has the alloy cup with a press in rubber cap ... covering the bearing.

I could of course fit Bearing Buddy's ... never used these - are they worth it, do they work ?

Read a few posts - that people have lost 'one' do they not stay put ?


If I do go for these - should I get the 'Buddy Bra' to go with them.
Do you have to remove these to top up the grease ?

I recomend bearing budddies 100% and to me they are woth every penny. They do help keep the water out and give me the extra insurance that bearings are lubricated.

You should still do your regular bearing maintenance and before you go on a trip shoot a couple of shots of grease in the zerks and be on your way.

As far as these falling off, I have not had any issues and never personally witnessed this happening. As long as you get the right size you will be fine..

Yes, I would also purchase the buddie bra's. They will keep the overflow grease from slinging on your wheels and will make the wheel look complete.

The bra is just a fitted rubber sleeve that slides over the buddie. Yes you must slip them off to grease the buddie takes 1 second very easy.

I hope this helps your decision.

Denny

 

[CharlieB]

Re: Bearing Buddy's - worth fitting ?

Bearing Buddy's can be great, IF,,,,, they are installed and maintained correctly.

Balance your wheels, they CAN be shaken off by unbalanced wheels. Balancing also prolongs the life of your bearings and tires, saving them of the severe beating of bouncing along the roadway.

Take a grease gun along. Grease warms during the drive, the BB flattens out, does anyone wait for those warm hubs to cool before launching their boat? Not me, I want to get in the water! That's the perfect time to ensure that they are pump just enough to have spring/grease pressure so as the hub cools it draws in grease, not water.

 

[xxxflhrci]

Re: Bearing Buddy's - worth fitting ?

I have Bearing Buddies on one trailer and Red Eye brand two trailers. I prefer the Red Eye brand. They don't sling out grease like BB's sometimes do, so they don't need a "bra". In addition, they seem to work smoother.

 

[srothfuss]

Re: Bearing Buddy's - worth fitting ?

I had them originally on my trailer and stopped using them since I repack the bearings every winter anyway and don't like hammering the bearing buddy out each and every time.

i'm a dust cap kind of guy these days.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Bearing Buddy's - worth fitting ?

I am going to assume you use your Karavan Trailer by dunking it in the water with a boat on it right?

Before you put on a Bearing Buddy or similar product, make sure you have a double lipped seal. Most boat trailer axles have these already.

Don't make the mistake many do by giving the bearing buddy a couple extra pumps of grease right before you leave. Once the hub is full of grease and the bearing buddy spring has slightly compressed, you are full. Adding more grease is going to either blow out your rear seal and ruin your brakes or its going to go out the relief passage on the front of the bearing buddy. It is true that when putting the trailer in the water that it is possible to suck in water if the hub is not full of grease and the bearing buddy spring is not slightly compressed. If you start out properly, when the trailer is cold, there is no need to add more grease right before launching. Again, you are just overfilling the hub.