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After reading the oil vs. grease hub thread I'm conserned with my hubs. My boat came with oil bath and I haven't had any problems yet. I understand the theory that if a leak occurs that the oil will drain and there will be no protection left.
Does anyone have experience with these oil bath bearings failing? Like I said I understand the potential, but I wan't to hear from people that actually had them fail.
I know some have had problems and I do believe that they need some maintainence.
When rinsing the boat after salt water use, I always spray the front and back of the wheels to remove any salt from the axils near the seal as well as the springs so they will last longer. I spray Corrosion X on the back seals as needed to keep any corrosion off the shafts and wipe them clean. Hopefully they will last as advertised.
I have a three month old set of Tie Down brand hubs which are working just fine. My trailer goes in the water 5 days a week. I was losing at least one greased bearing a year from seepage. I carried spare caps for the greased hubs because the caps do fall off. I now carry a spare plastic cap, but have had no problems.
Every over the road truck has oil hubs, so I think the technology should be there to make them work. Time will tell.
I purchased a new King Trailer (Seattle area company) this year and asked about the new oil bath type bearing protectors. I was told the company's engineers viewed them with suspicion and doubted their reliability and chose not to offer them with their trailers.
I run an EZ Loader trailer that has the Relieable hub oil system with the clear plexi hub caps and an Allen screw oil port. The trailer is a year old now and has about 27,000 miles on it (Last year was slow due to two hurricanes and many cancellations...). Although it's only a single axle trailer, here's what I've experienced. Every day that I'm booked (skiff guide) my normal day includes almost 200 miles on the highway here in south Florida. It's all interstate with no hills and lots of hot weather. Because I'm running a roller style trailer I'm able to launch each day without ever dunking the hubs - a big plus as far as I'm concerned. I've been pleased so far with the hub system although I had my misgivings at first. One hub has remained tight from the start and has never lost a drop of oil, the other does have a slight leak and needs to be topped off every two to three months. Just like a normal grease hub the seal doesn't fail completely over night... A visual check each day that I tow along with a visual check after I launch covers me. I know that some of the oil bath hub systems have very bad reputations, the one that I'm running seems to be just fine. I change out the oil every six months by simply removing the clear cap, allowing the small amount of oil to drain into a plastic tub, then replace and re-fill. That's a job that most would only need to do every two years or so. With the clear hubs you can also see if you're getting any water as well..
Here's a few tips for anyone running one of these systems... You won't be able to unscrew that clear cap with your hands and a pipe wrench will chew one up (ask me how I know...). I now carry a strap wrench, the kind designed to remove very small oil filters to remove the cap. I always carry extra oil (50wt) with me in case of trouble on the road but the small allen socket oil fill won't allow you to pour oil into the hub. I carry a squeeze bottle with a tapered spout just for that purpose. An old honey or catsup squeeze bottle will do, mine's an auto tranny additive bottle... Hope this helps any trying to decide whether the oil hubs are worth having. I've been happy with mine. Of course I also carry a complete new hub assembly for roadside emergencies...
__________________ Tight Lines
Capt Bob LeMay
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Thanks again. I've had mine for about a year with no problems, but very low milage. I think I'll just run the ones I have. If problems occur then I'll replace them.
Oil Bath Hubs 
