Trailer bearings

[shiggin]

How do you know when you need to replace the oil in the reservoir in the wheel hub, how often should it be done and what's involved? Thanks for your input. (Note 2005 Boatmate Trailer for 21V)

[kklupenger]

I have the same trailer and I have just finished with some maintenance on mine. The Bearing buddy manual said to change the oil every 20,000 miles or every 2 years, whichever comes first.

I can't remember if the manual said when to refill when you can see it is getting low.

The windows on my hubs aren't really clear enough for me to see when the level is low.

One thing to watch for though. I was finding oil all over my wheels. I thought the seal was broken. Turns out it was just the allen nut on the spindle had loosened up and was seeping oil out.

Make sure those are tight if you start seeing oil on your wheels.

Hope this helped.

[IndyMatt]

with the bath style of bearings, the maintenance schedule greatly depends on use more than time. If you cant see through the window pull some oil out and inspect, if it looks more like used motor oil than new (out of the bottle) or if you have any water/ moisture condensation then replace. If you find that you have had a loose allen nut, be sure to replace oil as you probably have accumulated some water as you launched or loaded your boat.

[jklaus]

Looked in my owners manual (2005 boatmate for 2005 22'ssv) and it talks about the inspection window that you guys are talking about.

I cant find the window - I can find the hex nut.

Where/how do you drain and refil the oil from - the hex nut?

Cheers, Jeff

[IndyMatt]

The 'window' is actually the acrylic hub cover on the hub (very center of the wheel inside the lug nuts) the window on my 04 boatmate trailer is amber in color & you kinda have to get down and look close to see the oil level. The allen (fill) nut is on the side of the hub, if you dont see it right off you can either run your hand around the hub and locate or watch the hub as someone slowly (creep) advances the trailer until the drain plug is visable. Good luck.

[jklaus]

Thanks for the help. It seems my trailer is a bit different - where the window is supposed to be is actually made of metal - no window to see through. Kinda strange. Also is there only the one fill/drain hole? I guess rotate the wheel with hole down to drain and then rotate to up position to fill?

Cheers, Jeff