Trailer Question

[dgd]

My 2011 RXT came with a Road Master trailer and "sealed maintenance free wheel bearings". I was wondering how good these maintenance free bearings are or should I consider installing Bearing Buddies.

Anybody have any experience - good or bad - with the maintenance free bearings?

 

[qsilver23t]

I highly recommend getting bearing buddies! It's an inexpensive way to achieve peace of mind. You can easily check and service grease levels. Any bearing seal can fail at any time, especially when going from the road into the water.

 

[Duane72]

My 2011 RXT came with a Road Master trailer and "sealed maintenance free wheel bearings". I was wondering how good these maintenance free bearings are or should I consider installing Bearing Buddies.

Anybody have any experience - good or bad - with the maintenance free bearings?

I've never heard of sealed bearing on a boat/PWC trailer. That's pretty interesting. Sealed bearings have installed permanent seals on both the inner and outer sides of the bearing so grease is contained and dirt/water, etc are kept out. You probably wouldn't be able to install bearing buddies because the grease you pump in wouldn't get into the bearing because of the permanent seals. You would have to change out the whole bearing assembly. Being on a PWC trailer they must be rated for submersion so I would just go with it. If they go while you still own the trailer swap them out for open bearings and install buddies, but I wouldn't waste the money until the bearing needs changing. Sealed bearings can last a long time.

 

[dgd]

I've never heard of sealed bearing on a boat/PWC trailer. That's pretty interesting. Sealed bearings have installed permanent seals on both the inner and outer sides of the bearing so grease is contained and dirt/water, etc are kept out. You probably wouldn't be able to install bearing buddies because the grease you pump in wouldn't get into the bearing because of the permanent seals. You would have to change out the whole bearing assembly. Being on a PWC trailer they must be rated for submersion so I would just go with it. If they go while you still own the trailer swap them out for open bearings and install buddies, but I wouldn't waste the money until the bearing needs changing. Sealed bearings can last a long time.

I'm a little sceptical that these are really sealed bearings so I plan on pulling a hub and checking. If they are sealed, then I will probably leave them as is but will be checking for play and noise on a regular basis.

 

[Duane72]

I'm a little sceptical that these are really sealed bearings so I plan on pulling a hub and checking. If they are sealed, then I will probably leave them as is but will be checking for play and noise on a regular basis.

See if you can find a torque spec on those bearings if you pull the wheel. Unlike regular two piece bearings, sealed bearings rely on the torque to set the pre-load on them. I can repack and just "feel" the right set on typical bearings, but the torque on the sealed ones is usually specific. Just a thought. They are also typically pressed into place.