BNelson - 8/30/2010 10:27 AM

when you are on the road, traveling at 75 mph on a 500 mile trip...do you stop and check your seals/oil bath hubs at each gas stop? say one leaks out and then 200 miles down the road you blow your bearings?

Hiya,

Traveling 75 mph down the road pulling a trailer is beyond what one should be doing. Most trailer tires would be rated at most 65mph. Go faster = more heat. More heat leads to more failure of components throughout the hub and tire combination. Most of us go over that due to conditions on the highway, but...it leads to premature wear and tear. Sometimes we cannot avoid it in traffic.

And...at every stop everyone SHOULD be checking for heat on the hub. too hot is a bad sign. If people are not doing that, a bad issue could have been avoided....not a guarantee, but that 3 seconds to check can be the difference between a seized hub or one that could be quickly fixed. If there is a leak, it will show...a problem waiting to happen. Lack of paying attention to those things leads to problems...

There is no guarantee with either style system...they are all mechanical and at some point will need to be replaced and/or fail. Granted, certain conditions can lead to bearing failure, but that can happen with both styles... I'm not promoting either one...they both work great and will give you many hours of great service. If you like the idea of just changing oil at the end of the season, or if you would rather use grease, go for it....it is much a matter of what you are most comfortable with. Go with what you feel most confident in.

Steve