Anyone use Oil Bath hubs?

Peltz · 05-22-2009, 09:52 AM

I am considering converting my trailer from standard grease hubs to oil bath hubs. I did a search and found conflicting opinions about them. Some people love them and others say they leak. Most of the posts in the search were several years old so I am wondering if the hub design and seals have been improved to the point where the leakage problem is now resolved. Thanks

rarebreed · 05-22-2009, 10:54 AM

I would love to know because I am tired of repacking grease hubs every couple of years and worrying about them on long trips.

acarr495 · 05-22-2009, 11:04 AM

I have a 2002 Loadmaster trailer with oil bath hubs. I have had no problems with four of the hubs but the other two have leaked. When I called Loadmaster after first having the problem, they told me to take the cap off and grease them. I believe they discontinues their use but am not sure. I saw a new style hub and seal at the Miami boat show which takes about 6-10 lbs. of air to keep the water out but don't remember the mfg. name. I believe they were about $25/hub.

beenie · 05-22-2009, 11:07 AM

I don't have them and don't know anyone that does have them on a boat trailer. Having said that, I want to tell you a little story. A semi trailer with 44,000 lbs on it had a leaking seal and was low on oil and the bearing was getting warm. The trailer was traveling from Birmingham to Houston. I put STP in the reservoir and the truck went on the last 225 miles to Houston. The driver stopped several times along the way to inspect the oil level and check for heat. The bearing never even got warm and the trailer was sent back to Birmingham for repairs.
So, if you get oil bath, keep a can of STP handy.
Mike

Bamaskeetshooter · 05-22-2009, 03:09 PM

Oil hubs are a great idea that only work sometimes. While some people have had good luck, I think you will find the majority prefer grease

HTV · 05-22-2009, 04:01 PM

Oil bath hubs are great for trailers that get a lot of use and not sitting up for any length of time. Problem with them on RV type trailers is that they may sit for months during off-season which leaves the top half of your bearing and spindle exposed whereas a grease packed hub encapsulates the whole bearing and spindle when idle. Or if per chance you have a leaker and water has infiltrated the hub, oil would rise and the water will settle on the bottom of your bearing.

I believe proper and routine repacking and inspecting bearings is by far the way to avoid problems. When you use bearing buddies, after pumping the grease make a habit to look on the back side of the hub and make sure you haven't blown out the grease seal.

Monkey Butler · 05-22-2009, 06:11 PM

I've used them for two years now. When I first put them on one leaked but it turned out I had fudged up the seal on installation. I like them as its really easy to see what's going on witth your bearings. I use synthetic lube and after sitting five months over the winter all the surfaces on the bearing still had a good layer of lube on them.

05-23-2009, 04:06 AM

I've had turbo lube hubs made by tie down engineering on my Ranger tandem axle trailer for two years, no leaks, no worries. Just checked them the other day and all is still fine. Boat is dipped at least a couple times a week year-round - so the hubs see a lot of water time. www.tiedown.com

fishingmark · 05-28-2009, 08:51 PM

I have the turbo lube hubs also by tiedown for the past 4 years. I like the fact that you can visualy check for leaking or water intrusion they offer less rolling resistance than grease . The draw backs are that the seal be at least double lip and not damaged when installed.

Its All Good · 06-06-2009, 12:01 PM

I wrestled with this as my new break assemblies came with the oil bath. After much consideration I decided that is I had an unknown blowout of SOME sort on the seal/cover, at least I would get home with grease. Not so much for oil. After a leak, it would be all downhill. Grease might be messy but it does offer an additional protection.

Tim43 · 06-06-2009, 03:16 PM

I have a 4 year old ezloader with oil hubs. I've had no problems with leaks or water entering the hubs. I do check the oil level and condition every time I take the boat out. which I think is easier to inspect than greased bearings. I do plan to change the seals and o rings and inspect the bearings this year. I do believe I've had better luck than some.

bboxall · 06-09-2009, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Its All Good

I wrestled with this as my new break assemblies came with the oil bath. After much consideration I decided that is I had an unknown blowout of SOME sort on the seal/cover, at least I would get home with grease. Not so much for oil. After a leak, it would be all downhill. Grease might be messy but it does offer an additional protection.

I have lost a Bearing Buddy before and had a enough grease stay in the hub to make it another 200 miles. If that had been an oil hub I would have lost all my lube pretty quickly. I know that the oil hubs thread so they aren't as likely to come out but the ones I've seen are plastic. I think I would rather have a metal housing with a protecting sight glass.

RiverRat1969 · 06-13-2009, 02:05 AM

Go with the oil bath hubs. UPS uses them on their trailers, and they hold up very well. About the only complaint I have is when checking them in sub freezing temperatures...........something you probably won't be doing, pulling a boat. When it gets really cold, the rubber plugs get hard; prying them out to check hub oil, removing the frozen hard rubber plugs broke two housings, that had to be repaired before towing. Only two broken plastic housings due to extreme cold in 27 years...........I'm talking about checking hubs on double trailers, and the front wheels on our tractors.........24 minimum hub checks per day, 5 days per week, for 27 years. My calculator comes up with checking 168,480 hubs with only two crapping out. Use synthetic oil, check them every time you roll, and you'll likely never have any problems with them, except for adding some oil once in a while.

Bob's Cay · 06-17-2009, 08:13 AM

I had the oil bath hubs on my Loadmaster but ended up switching them out. I had a problem with a slow leak on two and eventually had the plaastic cover break on another. Decided to go back to the tried and true style with grease.

One thing I did notice. My tows were generally from Atlanta to South Florida so they were about 700 miles. It seemed I did get slightly better gas mileage (maybe 1/2 to 1 mpg better) with the oil bath. The hub temps were also a few degrees cooler.

Jared H · 06-17-2009, 10:48 AM

Me experience with oil baths on an EZ load trailer has been good when using a full synthetic 75W90 gear oil in them such as Mobil 1. However, using the recommended conventional motor oil in them caused problems (Note that my trailer is ~4.5 yrs old and they may have changed their recommended oil for it now). Problems being oil wanting to push out past the seals and then the hubs wanting to suck water in when lauching the boat.

The problems disappeared with the M1. M1 keeps the bearings cool to the touch even if trailering 3.5hrs which is important for reasons besides bearing wear ... it keeps the air pocket in the hub from wanting to expand excessively and blow the oil out past the seals. It also prevents the hubs from trying to suck water in (due to rapid cooling of the hub) when you dowse the trailer launching your boat after a long run on the highway.

I just changed the oil in my hubs last weekend and will be making a 200 mile trip this weekend ... I don't expect any issues.

blueh20pc · 06-18-2009, 08:10 PM

I've got a brand new set of oil bath hubs from Tie down, 1 3/8 by 1/16 with 5 lugs on 4.5 centers that I didn't use this spring. I'd sell 'em to you for 60 and ten bucks shipping. Paid a hundred for em.