People who steal stuff from boats or trailers

[brianm]

I was up Lake Ontario in loc derby for 10 days we finished 1st in salmon division we went to ceramony and my boat trailer has bearing buddy’s on it we left ceramony around 5 got to Erie pa pulled in to get gas checked my trailer hubs noticed wheel was covered in grease no bearing buddy on wheel they just don’t fall off so we were stranded at gas station till next day wheel just pulled off I could’ve killed someone if it fell off on highway so if the person who stole bearing buddy I hope it was worth it to u it could’ve cost someone’s life

 

 

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[hard knox]

Sorry to say this but sounds like it feel off due to bearing failure if i am reading your post correctly .

[fisherdude]

Congrats on the first place finish. Times 2 with hard knocks . He is probably right. Sounds like you took your boat to the ceremony you're there with a bunch of other fishermen that have bunch of money tied up in boats and fishing equipment. I wouldn't think somebody would take a buddy bearing off your trailer.

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[Gill-T]

It has happened to me also. Bearing buddies, trolling motor, stainless screws out of transom, fuel filter. All have happened during a LOC event. 

[Traveling Circus]

One year after new trailer tires and a bearing repack, I was going down the road and looking at the trailer hub in the side mirror when off goes the bearing buddy skipping down the road. The new trailer tires were not balanced and I feel that contributed. I've also noticed that some bearing protectors pound into the hub much harder than others. Tolerances vary, hub to hub and BB to BB.

 

That being said I wouldn't expect it to fall out if it had been installed for some time....... pretty long odds. And you just beat the odds by being at the awards! Congrats!

 

 

[brianm]

I’m not saying it was someone at ceramony bald eagle has a lot of people going in and out my bearing buddy’s had to be pounded on and I check my hubs every time I get gas in truck they are always cool I didn’t check after leaving bald eagle my bad for that I don’t think it just fell off my buddy had 2 stolen parked at another boat ramp someone stole gas from another friend of mine at a boat storage place I just saying there are some disonest fishermen out there


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[iiwhistlerii]

When bearing goes bad everything goes flying off little by little and the bearing cap or bearing buddy is usually the first part to get thrown.  Been there a few times over the years.  Some one stealing the bearing buddy wouldn't cause the bearing to go bad, that's a hell of a coincidence if that is the case.  The bearing going bad would cause the bearing buddy to get tossed tho and that's my guess as to what actually happened.

[brianm]

When u loose a cap or bearing buddy grease comes out of open hub when grease is gone bearing get hot and come apart that I know that’s why I check hubs a lot I checked hubs at least 5 or 6 times week of loc remove your cap on hun see how long u can go without cap


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[iiwhistlerii]

You can go months or years without caps or bearing buddies and not have a bearing fail.  The grease doesnt just magically escape unless the bearing is overheating.  Hell I had a duck boat that I never bothered putting caps over the castle nut and the grease always stayed put.  1 day without a cap didnt cause your bearing to fail.  It failed, everything got hot and u lost your bearing buddy in the process.  It happens, often.

[jimski2]

When my trailer bearing failed I saw in the rear view mirror my trailer tire wobbling loose. I stopped and took the wheel off . Pounded the bearing races off. Picked up a new bearing set at a parts store. The sales guy said take a set of this paste that hardened like a rock it held the race tightly in the wheel hub . I greased the race with blue high temperatures bearing grease. Made it though a couple seasons with the quick fix. The anaerobic compound saved the price of a new axle plus a lot of repair shop time an overhead. The blue disc brake grease is better than the old brown grease that failed.


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[dukhnter8]

I've also lost a bearing buddy/cap. I've also had a failure due to mixing different types of grease. I'd say anyone who trailers a boat will have a issue at sometime. Luckily when mine failed I was just outside Leroy and it was a Saturday so I could get parts.

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[Decoy Hound]

Lost the wheel, hub and brake assembly!

[Kingfisher06]

20 hours ago, Gill-T said:

It has happened to me also. Bearing buddies, trolling motor, stainless screws out of transom, fuel filter. All have happened during a LOC event. 

Someone stole stainless screws from your transom???? WTF

[Traveling Circus]

You read that mixing grease can lead to bearing failure...... what's the theory there?

 

I've always used marine bearing grease for trailers, but have changed brand to brand in the gun, without issues....... 

[MCF]

Not saying that theft doesn't happen but bearing failure will heat that entire hub and that could have dislodged everything.  Bearing buddies will not protect against inner seals failing if too much grease is added.  Inner seal fails, inner bearing gets rusted.  Outer bearings partially protected by the bearing buddy in that scenario.      

[charb]

Bearing buddies are not really your buddy, they do not get proper grease to your inner bearing, and often burp grease out your wheel seal and if this is on your braking wheel it ruins your brake shoes. Proper bearing packing is the best way to maintain your bearings this should be done every year or maybe two....

[dry net]

Had no idea that you could add too much grease, thought that the extra just pushed out. Is there a resource out there to learn maintenance of hubs? I just put three pumps of the gun in after every outing, have been doing that for three years now on the new trailer. Thank you for your reply's,    Matt

[Pete Collin]

I've never been able to keep bearing buddies from falling off.

[hard knox]

I have also seen were i over greased a bearing buddy and it caused it to come off but some how i spotted it when it happened and found it . 

[MCF]

Dry Net:

 

You should not be adding grease every time you put the boat in -that just puts addition pressure on the inner seal causing grease to leak out and seal failure which means water comes in.  If you jack up the trailer and the wheels spin quiet you have no bearing issues.  Any type of roar, that signifies an issue.   

[dukhnter8]

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/31067/grease-mixing-risks

This is one site there are many others if you do a Google search.

When mine failed the grease looked like a green puss, with a thin consistency. I had repacked them a month before then hit the bearing buddies with a synthetic grease. Once I looked at the two different types of grease I used then read about it, I knew what happened.

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[dry net]

Thank you for the replies,    Matt

[jimski2]

Bearing Buddies fail more often than simple grease cups. Jack up your wheel and spin it. If it growls or is noisy, replace it with new fresh packed grease , preferably high temperature disc brake synthetic grease. Over greasing a bearing set causes heat and bearing failures . If you are a “candy ass” who does not like to get your hands dirty, pay someone to do it. Most important stay away from bearing busting buddies.


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[orangediablo]

Good thing you have a few bucks to replace what you need to on the trailer....

[sherman brown]

I lost a complete wheel fender and light on I-75 down in ky about 150 miles from home. used boatus to get trailer towed in. they had a old trailer that they would sell for 500.00 and put my boat on the trailer. the trailer didnt have any cap on it. I towed it home without any cap on it. the grease inside the bearing is what lubes the bearings. yrs ago trailers didnt have bearings. they just packed the bearings and put dust caps on to keep things out of the bearings clean. a missing bearing buddy shouldn't have been a problem.