A boat trailer gets less love than a snake in a wood pile; they’re not glamorous, flashy or something—even boat diehard owners—talk about much. For most they hopefully just get the angler to the water and back home again. They get chipped, sunk in the water, rarely washed and most often are the last thing that gets any TLC. Without them, however, a boat isn’t much use.
There are a couple essential maintenance duties that can add life to the trailer but more importantly keep them functioning like new. One is care of the wiring and lights and the other is care of tires and wheel bearings. Properly lubricated wheel bearings help protect spindles and axles and allow you to roll down the road maintenance free.
Water is a harsh environment and things that see a lot of water time typically rust or do not function as they are designed. Making sure wheel bearings are greased with a high-quality marine grease can really help. Just not any grease works for these conditions and we recommend one that repels water, has a high Timken rating that determines load by “extreme pressure†and can handle high thermal condition variances from the road or in the water in the case of tapered roller bearings.
We use Lucas Marine Grease for our trailers that require grease. It has a Timken Load of 80 pounds and a dropping point of 540 pounds. It exceeds industry standards and will protect wheel bearings while decreasing heat-causing friction; heat is typically what causes bearings to fail. This particular product is a lithium complex grease that has polymers, anti-wear agents and oxidation inhibitors blended in.
Lucas Marine grease is a multi-purpose grease that also works great on trailer winches and motor linkages too to keep them moving smoothly.
You can buy Lucas Marine Grease at Tackle Warehouse and it retails for $5.89 for a 14-ounce tube.
