What trailer bearing grease is best?

Black Snow Slide

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I use the West Marine brand and it is ok but I need to repack every season. I use bearing buddies. Looking to upgrade to better grease.
 

H20Rat

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

The kind that is in the bearings...

It really doesn't make a difference unless you are towing 10k+ miles a year. If you are repacking yearly, it isn't because the grease broke down, but that you got water in there somehow.
 

robert graham

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

I use the green Walmart "Marine Grease" in my trailer wheel bearings, seems to stay fresh and liquidy, don't set up hard, dry. My trailer has those Accu-Lube spindles with the zerk fitting in the ends, so you pump grease in and the old grease comes right out and you can wipe it off and inspect it for water or contamination. Every time I dunk the trailer in the river(especially saltwater) I pump once or twice into each zerk just to drive out any water that might have leaked in past a seal. My trailer is a 1999 and I've never removed a hub...no problems!:)
 

Black Snow Slide

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Grease is grease just doesn't cut it. There are different brands and grades. The are synthetic and dyno. I am sure people have used some brands and said to themselves ," this stuff just didn't hold up as well as the last that I used."

It's why you don't see an MBA player wearing Converse canvass basketball sneakers. A sneaker isn't just a sneaker. There is a difference.
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

WTH is MBA?

Grease REALLY IS grease..... I've never had to repack anything more than once.... I've used all sorts of grease over the years and never noticed any that didn't do the job....
 

oldjeep

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

I just buy whatever they happen to have at the auto parts store when I do a repack and make sure to clean out all the old stuff. I do tend to use the marine stuff in all my trailers, but no particular brand. Havn't ever taken them apart for a repack and thought - jeez I should have bought different grease. They all get repacked every 2-3 years and I don't pump any extra grease into them except during the initial install.
 

bigdee

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

For many years I have used aluminium complex white food grade grease simply because it was available to me.......as long as the label states that it is certified to meet industry specs who cares what brand it is?
 

Mark42

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

I agree that "marine" grade grease is better than traditional wheel bearing grease. Just for the reason that many studies show that marine grade grease keeps leaking water in total suspension, rather than letting it collect in pockets of water that will trash bearings.

Just what I read, and what I do. So far no problems. The cost is just 2 or 3 dollars more a year.
 

H20Rat

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Grease is grease just doesn't cut it. There are different brands and grades. The are synthetic and dyno. I am sure people have used some brands and said to themselves ," this stuff just didn't hold up as well as the last that I used."

It's why you don't see an MBA player wearing Converse canvass basketball sneakers. A sneaker isn't just a sneaker. There is a difference.

Yes, for high pressure, heat, specific tolerances, and very high rpm, you need specialized grease. Lets not complicate it, wheel bearings are about as low stress as you can get. The tolerances are huge, the temperatures are relatively low, and the rpms are almost non-existent in comparison. (i've got electric motors that spin 30,000 rpm, your average trailer tire spins 1,200 at 75 mph)

Pretty much any cheap grease that you buy at walmart will hold up exactly as well as the most expensive stuff you can find. Get water in either, and they both will have problems.
 

sschefer

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

West Marine grease is fine. It meets all the standards that it needs to. Repacking once a year is a ritual and not something you should regard as excessive. I've got oil in my new trailer hubs. Seems to work just fine too but my hubs are designed to use it. I've heard bad reports by people that have tried to convert to it.
 

Mark42

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Yes, for high pressure, heat, specific tolerances, and very high rpm, you need specialized grease. Lets not complicate it, wheel bearings are about as low stress as you can get. The tolerances are huge, the temperatures are relatively low, and the rpms are almost non-existent in comparison. (i've got electric motors that spin 30,000 rpm, your average trailer tire spins 1,200 at 75 mph)

Pretty much any cheap grease that you buy at walmart will hold up exactly as well as the most expensive stuff you can find. Get water in either, and they both will have problems.

Yes, I agree, trailer bearings are relatively low rpm bearings compared to some industrial machine bearings. But accordingly, they are fairly loose in comparison. I think the seals play a more important role, keeping out the water that will cause bearing failure . Even low grade grease will work fine on a lawn service trailer for years. But the same grease will not work so well if stuck in water. That is why I go for marine grease. Just a little more, and keeps water in suspension.
 

Silverbullet555

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Mercury 2-4-C

I could be wrong and just my personal opinion, but that is probably about the only grease I would shy away from for wheel bearings. My understanding is that it is more for sliding movement and less for roller bearings. I know a lot of shops use it for everything, but that doesn't mean its right.

For the last several years I have been running Evinrude EP wheel bearing grease. Since it is good for the gimbal on a VP, I only need one grease gun for everything on the boat and trailer.
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

It occurred to me that we might look for a reason that O/P has to repack so often.... too much preload maybe?
 

chriscraft254

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Like others have said, grease is grease when it comes to trailer hubs. No need for anything special here! Op, you should be happy about that, not trying to make it harder! Only way you can ruin grease is drying it out, moisture, or burn. The trailer is not going to burn it and the chances of it drying or getting wet are far more likely if you have a bad hub seal. Synthetec grease has its place, but regular old grease does just fine for a trailer.
 

MH Hawker

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

I also have the safty lub hubs and I flushed them out completly to start off the season this year but normal is at the end of the year , and once a year just cause, and will pump in a bit ever now and then just because I like to look at seal condition, and I use the cheepie marine grease from advance auto, I know is not needed at all but I like to watch for a color change in the grease just because it is so easy to do and this trailer is new to me bought it his year.
 

bigdee

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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

This may be extreme but if you want the very best use NLGI#2 white food grade industrial grease......it beats marine grease in water resistance and the ability to fight rust and corrosion. It is expensive at $20 a tube but it is the best grease for wheel bearings. I use it on everything including my LU.
 

roscoe

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21,657
Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Texaco StarPlex 4



crimp - solder

petro - synth.
 

Hank496

Seaman
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Jun 13, 2010
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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

Chevron Delo Synthetic SF is probably the best that you can use on a trailer wheel bearing.
 

1BadTitan

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Oct 15, 2011
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Re: What trailer bearing grease is best?

I use the LUCAS brand green in all my trailers and ATV bearings... Seems to repel water quite well.
 
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