Do I need bearing buddys?

[Cyberfish]

My new hubs came with dust covers, will that be good enough to keep water out?

[Surface Tension]

Yes they will keep water out. Bearing are packed already I'd imagine. You really don't want to mix grease but its better then not having enough. Fill the hub with waterproof wheelbearing grease after you slide it in. For piece of mind at least pull the dust cap off and check for water once a year and a complete clean and repack every 2 years. Good Luck.

[pj4]

many yaers ago, i had a boat trailer with dust caps. every year i replaced at least 1 or all bearings due to pits, also new seals each year. got buddy bearings, been 15 years and i replaced my first bearing this year. was told the problem is, after long trips the hubs are warm. when u back into water , it cools fast and the internal pressue drops and sucks water in. the buddy bearing keeps constant pressure so this wont happen. i say YES to buddy bearings. paid for themselves. keep one grease gun filled with waterproof grease for trailers, snowmobiels,boat motor,4 wheelers, ect.

[marine_man]

When I used to work for a marine dealer I was responsible for evaluating trade in boats, motors & trailers. At least 80% of all the trailers that came in for trade that had dust caps on needed to have the bearings replaced. Very rarely did the bearings on a trailer that had bearing buddies on need to be replaced.

Like Surface Tension said... if you take good care of your bearings you can get by without bearing buddies pretty easily... but in my opinion it's nice to have the piece of mind...

Good luck, whatever you decide!

marine_man

[IFallsRon]

I'd be pretty suspicious that something was wrong with the bearings or quality of grease if the hubs were warm.

[kwkfsh]

Warm is a relative term. If the bearings are very warm or hot to the touch they need to be pulled apart and gone thru. However even if the bearings warm up 10 deg. when the temp is 80 and are backed into 65 deg. water they can have a tendency to pull in water as they cool.