Water Crossings

....."Boat trailers are without a doubt the most overlooked piece of equipment in a boating anglers arsenal and it’s usually not till a wheel bearing gives way, a spring breaks, a winch cable parts, the chassis shows signs of cancerous rust or we’re issued a defective notice when ‘submersible’ lights fail that we consider repair and preventative maintenance duties.

Simple things like not submersing the wheel bearings in water – fresh or salt – will go a long way to prolonging the life of a wheel bearing.

Of course this is not always possible, particularly with larger craft, and an ideal scenario would then have the boatie leave the rig stand for a while allowing the bearings too cool before submersion.

Hot bearings submersed in the wet stuff will cool rapidly with the contracting process of grease, air and to a lesser degree metal, quickly inviting water into the system.

As the bearing does the hard yards along the highway, most greases including designated wheel bearing greases lose their viscosity, basically meaning they actually become thinner.

Rubber seals on the axle side of the bearing halts much of this thinner grease from escaping and stops the intrusion of dust and grime.

Keep an eye on these seals for signs of deterioration.

A set of ‘Bearing Buddies’ allows a continuous reservoir of high temperature grease to lubricate the bearings while a grease nipple ensures a simple application of the grease.

Standard leaf springs are prone to rust when they invariably enter the water well before the bearing even comes close.

Galvanised springs will last a lot longer while standard springs can be treated with fish oils or lanolin grease..........

Eric,

You can buy bearing buddies with a little window, and a grub screw. These are used with oil, and would have to be better than grease. Most roadtrains use a similar setup for their trailers these days, well in Qld and NT at least.

Hooroo...