Best grease for boat trailer bearings?

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We have all seen them, boats on trailers, side of the road with burned up/seized wheel bearings.
I have boated almost all my life, towed a number of boats, I was never one of those people but it always scares the sh+t out of me I could become a victim.
I just dont understand in this day and age why I feel like the trailer bearing issue is still the same as it was 50 years ago when everything else has advanced so much.
There is another thread which mentions Mystik, I didnt want to ruin the guys thread since it was slightly different subject.

SO please, people with knowledge and experience.
What is the best grease for wheel bearings on a boat trailer?
Are there specific ratings?
If there is some super grease out there, does it matter if I dont pull the wheel hub off and just use the new grease in the hub grease fitting? (compatibility)
 
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A marine style grease is best. Most manufacturers make them, but most importantantly the seals need to be in good shape and the grease replaced or added regularly. My trailer has zerk fittings on the cap and it gets greased every once in a while and also at the end of the season. Those guys on the side of the road probably never greased their bearings and were going 80 mph.
 
You can search google for a month and not get an exact answer.. of THE BEST. Some people swear by Green Grease..but its not GC-LB. The Schaeffer and Amsoil guys will say theirs is best. Then Lucas is the best. Mystik #2 is always ranked high as well.

The best answer is really to keep the grease fresh and free of contamination.

I choose Mystik #2 high temp because it is GC-LB certified, readily available and has excellent water washout 2.5% Water Washout, ASTM D1264, % loss @ 175°F

Here are a few that looked good as well.

Sta-Lube Marine Boat Trailer and 4x4 grease- 5% washout.
Lucas Marine- 2.75% washout
WD40 Marine Grease- 3.8% washout
 
Alarmguy- no boat trailers here. dry land trailers and backhoe pins under water. take a peek at TRC paragon 3000. 0.6% water washout as I recall
 
Sta-Lube blue grease. Use bearing buddy. And bearing buddy cap.

I also got some fancy inner seals. Its a package. A SS sleeve that slides over the axle. And a seal that is sized to fit over the SS sleeve. So instead of the seal rubbing around a steel axle its rubbing around a SS sleeve.

The bearing buddy has a spring so the grease is under a slight pressure and will keep the water out. Unless you lowered the trailer into the Mariana Trench.
 
Amsoil's Synthetic Water resistant grease is awesome. GWR is their stock number, their data sheet shows Water Washout, % (ASTM D1264) of just 1.25
 
You see alot of boat trailers because owners neglect maintence.

They pull the trailer out in spring dip it in the water a few times.. then wonder why a dry rotted tire blew or axle burnt up.

At the least a couple pumps of fresh grease wont hurt anything, although that is not the proper way to do it.

Also many of those side of the road people dont have a spare tire or jack & tools for the trailer.. which means a popped tire is a serious issue.
 
I just use green grease with bearing buddies, can't recommend those bearing buddies enough.
 
Bearing buddies always worry me. The ones I have looked at in the past always seem to lubricate only the outer bearing, not the inner.

I have greaseable hubs on one of my trailers, but I still pull them apart every spring and repack the bearings.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
A marine style grease is best. Most manufacturers make them, but most importantantly the seals need to be in good shape and the grease replaced or added regularly. My trailer has zerk fittings on the cap and it gets greased every once in a while and also at the end of the season. Those guys on the side of the road probably never greased their bearings and were going 80 mph.


Makes you wonder if those people realize how fast those little boat trailer wheels / tires are rotating ? Some people are just clueless ! :-(
 
I wouldn't have a boat trailer without bearing buddies. They make sure your hub if full of grease so there is no room for water to get in.
 
Thanks for the comments everyone. Yes, bearing buddies have pretty much always been on my trailers.
Gave up boating around 2009 maybe 10 because the motorcycle faze of my life hit us and kids grown wasnt worth keeping and maintaining for the few times we used it.
But the bike is paid for and keeping it, its just we have done soooo much riding and so many riding vacations over the years, that a change will be nice, we will then have the option of boating or bike depending on weather any given day.
.
To keep things simple, we picked up a small runabout, Chaparral 180 ssi , easy to take care of, easy to trailer, light load and larger then the jet skies we were renting last year :eek:) in order to get out on the lake once again. Our lake is 41 miles long, 14 miles wide at its extremes. Thrilled, this will be the perfect for my wife and I to pop in the water and get out there for the day and also for me, small enough to enjoy working on as I always did my own maintenance no matter how large. Largest was a 28 foot Searay many, many years ago.

Anyway, trailer hubs always bugged me out, was just wondering if any new inventions have come out, I guess my concerns are not justified as I always kept the bearings with bearing buddies greased up. Only up until 12 years ago boating for us was salt water on LI NY. Now down south, its fresh water lake so maybe even less concerning.

Anyway, thanks, will look at the suggestions, and by all means keep more coming! I am slightly partial to Mysik products for no other reason then their JT8 motor oil oil has been a stellar performer in my Harley (posted MANY UOAs in here) but I know that doesnt mean there is nothing better for trailer bearings.

Sometimes I wonder if I should start over since the boat and trailer is used and replace the hubs for the heck of it. Will see, most likely not and I think there maybe bearing buddies on it already, pick it up in the next week.
 
Originally Posted by willbur
Castrol PYROPLEX BLUE


Very interesting and available near me too.
I never paid any attention to grease before (oh great *L*)

Castrol specifically mentions wheel bearing life ect, seems to be designed (or marketed) maybe just for me.

I found this on it - click, any thoughts?

Ugh, maybe not easy to find ...
 
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You want to run the real Bearing buddy lubers and pull the hubs clean and inspect the bearings , relube and install new seals and seal savers of the sealing surface is worn. Over maintaining a boat and the trailer is the best insurance to get the most out of the valuable time that you get to boat.
 
Amsoil marine grease has worked well for me. Tow about 5K miles per year, and do about 40 or 50 saltwater dunks per year. I add grease thru the zerks once or twice a year.
 
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