edges to bind, and it takes more than 3 lbs. pressure to move the disc. There goes the rear seal again. They simply  recommend changing the grease every 2000 miles and forget about it.  The trailer supply store agrees, but with the addition of the clear lexan bearing buddies, so you can always observe the  color of the grease for water contamination. The trailer store also recommends never reusing bearings or races, as well as  never reusing rear seals. Here's their reasoning. Today, all the trailer bearings and races are cheap Asian imports. They  aren't built to last. They are inexpensive to replace. The bearings, races, and seals come as a set in a plastic bag. In  addition, the trailer bearings live in a horrible environment, compared to the bearings in your tow vehicle. The trailer  wheels aren't balanced. The springs are stiff and there are no shock absorbers. The smaller trailer wheels turn faster than  your tow vehicles, so the bearings also run hotter. It just makes good sense to replace them. Similar arguments apply to  the hubs. They get exposed to the additional forces of driving out the old bearing races and driving in new ones. The cheap,  imported cast iron hubs can be prone to cracking from their working environment as well as having their races changed.  They recommend changing the hub, bearings, races, and rear seal as a complete unit every other bearing change (every  4000 miles or so.)  There are two general types of trailer bearing grease. The blue marine type has an aluminum base. The tan type has a  calcium base. The two don't mix. They precipitate. You must stick with the type you have, or thoroughly clean everything  with a solvent like kerosene and dry with paper towels before changing types. The blue aluminum base has a breakdown  temperature a couple of hundred degrees higher than the tan calcium type. The trailer supply store says that difference  isn't enough to matter. The blue aluminum type is usually more expensive and harder to find. The trailer supply store only  stocks the tan calcium type. It's cheaper and perfectly adequate if you're changing your grease every 2000 miles or so.  I believe in two other things for trouble free life with your trailer. They are LED lights and soldered electrical connections.  I'm almost exclusively a fresh water boater, but I always had trouble with "waterproof" trailer light housings and plug in  bulbs. Since I switched to the factory sealed LED lights, I haven't had a single problem. I also use only soldered electrical  connections. No clip ons. I like to seal the soldered (rosin core solder only) area with clear silicone sealant/adhesive or low  temp hot melt glue. I then slide heat shrink tubing over the sealed solder joint and shrink with a heat gun. You can get  expensive marine grade heat shrink tubes with the sealant already inside, but there's no Nordstrom's for Mariners (West  Marine) around here, so I mostly shop at the big blue box (Lowe's) and make do.  I never do the float off/on anymore unless there's some reason I have to. I back in only until the water is up on the lower  part of the tire, at or near the wheel rim. I always keep my bearings dry. The problem comes when you launch with  bearings that are still warm, that is, warmer than the water temperature. The sudden cooling causes the remaining air  inside the hub (there is always some) to contract and cause a vacuum. You may suck some grease out of the BB, if the disc  is free to move, or you may suck water in through the rear seal. Using the tilt mechanism is so easy for me, I simply  choose not to take the risk.  I had an interesting discussion with my trailer parts dealer this spring. He no longer carries Timken bearings, just the  "Made in China" ones. His point is, trailer wheels and tires are not finely balanced, like car wheels and tires. They are also  a lot smaller, therefore turn a lot faster, and run hotter. It's a horrible environment for any bearings, and will destroy the  expensive ones just as quickly as the cheap ones. He recommends using the cheap bearings and races and replacing them  every time you repack. That extra hub should be less than $30, as well. Cheap insurance against late night or weekend  bearing failure on a trip, as far as I'm concerned.  I drove the suncat 5o miles the other day to sail on Lake Champlain and when I arrived at the marina the wheel hub was  smoking. Luckily I was at the ramp and have been able to dock the boat while repairing the trailer. I've heard two theories  so far on why this may have happened. One was that I should have greased it at least twice this season. The other was  that it had too much grease. Given that I did not put any grease in this year i think the former is the more likely  explanation but will know more after the other hub is dismantled. Problem is Performance trailers (the marine ones!)  seem to be out of business. Any tips on where to order replacement parts? Any thoughts other than I was lucky the whole  thing didn't fall apart on the highway at 65mph!  Both theories as to why they are bad could be correct. If you don't pump grease into them, they can run out of lubrication.  Most had "bearing buddies" which are just a spring-loaded piston which keeps squeezing grease into the hub. The idea is  to assure lubrication and also to create positive pressure inside the hub to counteract the water pressure trying to force  water inside during launching. If you run out of grease, water will come in and corrode the bearings. Do I continue to float the boat rather than tilting the trailer?  Posted by Graham Parker,answeredby Tom Ray  Performance Trailer Question  Bad Bearings Answer  99