Ken, I’ve been preaching this same message about hub bearings to all my friends who’ve asked me about bearing buddies and hub service for decades. Do not use bearing buddies and do not overfill the hub with grease. I’ve been fishing from the same boat, a 1996 Astro S-18B, since October of 1997 and I’ve never had a bearing failure nor have I ever had a tire failure. That’s nearly twenty four years. I service my hubs about every five years and usually replace the bearings, races and seals during that service. Same goes for the 1996 Mercury 150 XR6 hanging on the back. It’s still all original from the power head to the lower unit with the only failure being a voltage regulator. All maintenance and rigging since my date of purchase handled by yours truly. With most things if you maintain it properly and don’t abuse it, it will last. Keep up the great content!
I’m so glad I bought a BassCat boat for my first and only bass boat years ago. “2001” It was pure luck! I had no idea this guy was thinking about all these details that I didn’t know squat about. Thanks Rick. You saved my butt.
@@KenSmithFishing still all stock and original boat and motor. I put new seats and padded carpet and Ultrex , stereo, electronics and deck and transom lighting. The list goes on. But boat and motor solid original.
15 years ago I found out how trailer hubs work and never greased again. I have never lost one either. I know many that have and they grease all the time. If you have bearing buddies you only want to put as much grease as it takes to make the spring compress about a 1/4" and that's it.
Hey Ken this is Matt from 3poundfishing. Based on your bass boat reviews. And a few other factors I have decided to purchase a basket. Going through their website I don’t really see an easy way of choosing different options. Did you find a resource that was easy to identify the options available on the links? A.k.a. lighting package music package etc. Any help you can give me I appreciate it. Great job on those videos for sure.
The easiest way to option out your BassCat is through the brochure. They have a brochure link on the website. As far as pricing goes, you’ll have to check with a dealer. Hope this helps a little. And welcome to the family!
I do to but I don't depend on bearing buddies. I have a grease fitting on the end of my axle and I pump the grease gun very slowly so I don't blow out a seal.
You are never ever supposed to grease axle bearings. Bearing buddies and similar set ups are a flawed design. Rick didn’t give the best advice for that either. Grease breaks down!!!! Depending how many miles you put on your boat trailer a year you are supposed to repack your bearings at least once a year. My 30 year old trailer that my Astro sets on still has the original bearings on it.
Ken, I agree with Rick on greasing anything, over greasing by far has caused more bearing failures than anything else. I spent several years evaluating, developing, and setting up lubrication programs to support industrial preventive maintenance programs. My 1995 BCB Pantera came with Bearing Buddies, the secret to using BB’s is never over fill with grease and use a very high quality grease with a high washout rating, Althicon makes a great one. I have hubs/ bearings that have 10 yrs between a complete strip down, clean, new seals, repack, fresh grease, fill BB hub to about midway, and I spin the wheel several revolutions to consolidate the grease in the hub. By having the BB grease filled midway there is adequate internal spring pressure on the grease when a hot hub is submerged in cold water, as well as adequate internal area to allow for some slight expansion so the inner lip seal is never damaged. The extra step I take when installing seals and BB’s is to wipe the OD of the seals/ BB’s and ID of the hub seal/BB mating surfaces with a rag that is damp with denatured alcohol, then apply a thin coat of Blue RTV to the seal/BB mating surfaces. My 2018 BCB Cougar FTD has Vault hubs, so next winter’s project is to convert to replace the seals, repack bearings, and add BB’s
You are never ever supposed to grease axle bearings with a grease gun. Bearing buddies and similar designs are a flawed design. You are supposed to repack at least once a year depending on how many miles you put on a trailer. Grease breaks down also! My 30 year old Astro still has the same bearings and seals. I laughed when Rick said he likes grease over oil bath hubs. I have 20 year old equipment trailers with over a million miles on them with oil bath hubs. They are way far superior than grease bearings.
I’ve been guilty of over greasing, just seems so weird to just leave them alone, guess my years greasing Equiptment in the timber business has stuck with me
Before you made the final decision on a boat, I was dead set on getting a Falcon (mainly because I wanted Seadeck). After watching to all your one on one videos with Rick and seeing how much he knows about the bass boat industry which leads to why he does this and why he does that, I am now strongly considering a Bass Cat. Did Rick mention if they were thinking about having a complete Seadeck option in the future?
I have heard that it's in the works. There is a pro testing it this year. I can't remember his name right now because it's past my bedtime. If you go to Bass Boat Central, I'm pretty sure there is a thread there about it.
since i grew up in the auto parts business and a full machine shop, i grew up with change to disc brake. vast improvement over drum brake. so, rick if you think drum stops better, then why is every race car running disc. they do so because of the superior stopping power, and cool off quicker. drum brakes remain hot and expand the drum which causes brake fade. also, the big over the road trucks have mostly switched to disc for the same reason, better stopping power.
Just got bearings packed on my horse trailer which has Dexter Air ride as well. They said the bearings won't need to be serviced for 100k-125k miles. 5-10 years is about right. I see so many issues with the Vault Hubs, I will not buy a trailer with them, no thanks!
A lot of variables missing that Rick didn’t touch upon when it comes to brakes. Drum brakes are ok when you live in flat country and don’t have to worry about heat build up that causes brake fade. I really can’t believe he even talked about drum brakes to be honest with you. Yes the same size drum will stop better than the same size disc but that argument is irrelevant if you know anything about brakes. The only good thing about a drum brake is that it is good for a parking brake. Oil bath hubs are way superior than greased bearings also. I have 3 equipment trailers over 20 years old with millions of miles on the bearings. The reason is I can always keep the oil clean and changed out. Bearings are wear parts. Rick didn’t give good advice on that either. I can go on and on about greasing bearings, packing bearings and so forth.
@@KenSmithFishing There’s nothing wrong with over greasing like you mentioned on equipment that doesn’t have something like a sealed bearing. I make sure all of our equipment like the dozers, excavators and so forth gets greased at least once every 10 hours and certain wear parts gets greased twice a day.
Ken I'm like u I like Allison but I think bass don't swim that fast but I will tell yea what ever 80,000 boat we own their will be a time where a 3,000 aluminum boat with the biggest bag of tournament he say all that shine don't catch fish and he or she will 100% correct but I say u can't take it with you or a armor truck behind a funeral line
This content is boring as hell. Glad you did your homework. Glad you picked a phenomenal Boat! Now that your Bass Cat commercial is over, when are you going to put something on worth watching?
Ken, I’ve been preaching this same message about hub bearings to all my friends who’ve asked me about bearing buddies and hub service for decades. Do not use bearing buddies and do not overfill the hub with grease. I’ve been fishing from the same boat, a 1996 Astro S-18B, since October of 1997 and I’ve never had a bearing failure nor have I ever had a tire failure. That’s nearly twenty four years. I service my hubs about every five years and usually replace the bearings, races and seals during that service. Same goes for the 1996 Mercury 150 XR6 hanging on the back. It’s still all original from the power head to the lower unit with the only failure being a voltage regulator. All maintenance and rigging since my date of purchase handled by yours truly. With most things if you maintain it properly and don’t abuse it, it will last. Keep up the great content!
Good stuff David!!
Ken, I have to say this is a great video. Love this kind of information. Keep it coming.
Thanks Randy
I’m so glad I bought a BassCat boat for my first and only bass boat years ago. “2001”
It was pure luck! I had no idea this guy was thinking about all these details that I didn’t know squat about. Thanks Rick. You saved my butt.
Still on the water after 20?
@@KenSmithFishing still all stock and original boat and motor. I put new seats and padded carpet and Ultrex , stereo, electronics and deck and transom lighting. The list goes on. But boat and motor solid original.
Enjoyed this one! Mr Pierce and I think the same way when it comes to hub/grease based on the vehicles we drive!
Thanks Will
Great video! I was an over greaser for years on boat and atv trailers. I stopped doing that and haven’t had an issue since.
Most of us were
15 years ago I found out how trailer hubs work and never greased again. I have never lost one either. I know many that have and they grease all the time. If you have bearing buddies you only want to put as much grease as it takes to make the spring compress about a 1/4" and that's it.
Roger that
Hey Ken this is Matt from 3poundfishing. Based on your bass boat reviews. And a few other factors I have decided to purchase a basket. Going through their website I don’t really see an easy way of choosing different options. Did you find a resource that was easy to identify the options available on the links? A.k.a. lighting package music package etc. Any help you can give me I appreciate it. Great job on those videos for sure.
The easiest way to option out your BassCat is through the brochure. They have a brochure link on the website. As far as pricing goes, you’ll have to check with a dealer. Hope this helps a little. And welcome to the family!
I really leaned in Andrew at Ross, he even helped me pick the colors as I was worried what would go with what
Have always greased bearings annually, very enlightening
I do to but I don't depend on bearing buddies. I have a grease fitting on the end of my axle and I pump the grease gun very slowly so I don't blow out a seal.
Same here
You are never ever supposed to grease axle bearings. Bearing buddies and similar set ups are a flawed design. Rick didn’t give the best advice for that either. Grease breaks down!!!! Depending how many miles you put on your boat trailer a year you are supposed to repack your bearings at least once a year. My 30 year old trailer that my Astro sets on still has the original bearings on it.
Agreed
very informational
Glad you think so!
Trucking been using oil bath hubs for ever. 90w
Yep
Awesome video would like to learn more about hubs and breaks
Ok
Ken, I agree with Rick on greasing anything, over greasing by far has caused more bearing failures than anything else. I spent several years evaluating, developing, and setting up lubrication programs to support industrial preventive maintenance programs.
My 1995 BCB Pantera came with Bearing Buddies, the secret to using BB’s is never over fill with grease and use a very high quality grease with a high washout rating, Althicon makes a great one. I have hubs/ bearings that have 10 yrs between a complete strip down, clean, new seals, repack, fresh grease, fill BB hub to about midway, and I spin the wheel several revolutions to consolidate the grease in the hub. By having the BB grease filled midway there is adequate internal spring pressure on the grease when a hot hub is submerged in cold water, as well as adequate internal area to allow for some slight expansion so the inner lip seal is never damaged.
The extra step I take when installing seals and BB’s is to wipe the OD of the seals/ BB’s and ID of the hub seal/BB mating surfaces with a rag that is damp with denatured alcohol, then apply a thin coat of Blue RTV to the seal/BB mating surfaces.
My 2018 BCB Cougar FTD has Vault hubs, so next winter’s project is to convert to replace the seals, repack bearings, and add BB’s
You are never ever supposed to grease axle bearings with a grease gun. Bearing buddies and similar designs are a flawed design. You are supposed to repack at least once a year depending on how many miles you put on a trailer. Grease breaks down also! My 30 year old Astro still has the same bearings and seals. I laughed when Rick said he likes grease over oil bath hubs. I have 20 year old equipment trailers with over a million miles on them with oil bath hubs. They are way far superior than grease bearings.
I’ve been guilty of over greasing, just seems so weird to just leave them alone, guess my years greasing Equiptment in the timber business has stuck with me
Before you made the final decision on a boat, I was dead set on getting a Falcon (mainly because I wanted Seadeck). After watching to all your one on one videos with Rick and seeing how much he knows about the bass boat industry which leads to why he does this and why he does that, I am now strongly considering a Bass Cat. Did Rick mention if they were thinking about having a complete Seadeck option in the future?
I'm in same situation as you, but my selling point would be to see them cut one open like a ranger and make sure it still floats...
I have heard that it's in the works. There is a pro testing it this year. I can't remember his name right now because it's past my bedtime. If you go to Bass Boat Central, I'm pretty sure there is a thread there about it.
Was posted that the reason they don't currently is today's materials aren't holding up to their standard over years of abuse.
I think we will see sea deck or similar in some of the 22’s, I’d be surprised if the entire boat, but I think it’ll be an option for cockpit floor
since i grew up in the auto parts business and a full machine shop, i grew up with change to disc brake. vast improvement over drum brake. so, rick if you think drum stops better, then why is every race car running disc. they do so because of the superior stopping power, and cool off quicker. drum brakes remain hot and expand the drum which causes brake fade. also, the big over the road trucks have mostly switched to disc for the same reason, better stopping power.
Above my pay grade!
Did this video end prematurely with 'oh you'll see grease...:?
We gotta stop em somewhere!
My 2016 Puma has single axle brakes.
Guilty. I learned this the hard way. I would grease about every 10 trips. No more!!
Ditto
That's an old study on drum brakes. Heavy haul disc brakes are superior and do away with over heating. I'll disagree with Rick on the drum brakes.
Heard that several times now
Darn, you Ken. Now I'm thinking about trading in my Nitro for a Bass Cat
Tell them Ken sent you!
Just got bearings packed on my horse trailer which has Dexter Air ride as well. They said the bearings won't need to be serviced for 100k-125k miles. 5-10 years is about right. I see so many issues with the Vault Hubs, I will not buy a trailer with them, no thanks!
That’s so surprising to me, but I listen to guys that know
11 minutes?
Picking cut off spots is hard!!!!
A lot of variables missing that Rick didn’t touch upon when it comes to brakes. Drum brakes are ok when you live in flat country and don’t have to worry about heat build up that causes brake fade. I really can’t believe he even talked about drum brakes to be honest with you. Yes the same size drum will stop better than the same size disc but that argument is irrelevant if you know anything about brakes. The only good thing about a drum brake is that it is good for a parking brake. Oil bath hubs are way superior than greased bearings also. I have 3 equipment trailers over 20 years old with millions of miles on the bearings. The reason is I can always keep the oil clean and changed out. Bearings are wear parts. Rick didn’t give good advice on that either. I can go on and on about greasing bearings, packing bearings and so forth.
But oil bath in a submerged water service is a while different matter.
@@tannermiller3031 How is that any different if it’s properly sealed?
You guys are beyond me on this stuff
@@KenSmithFishing There’s nothing wrong with over greasing like you mentioned on equipment that doesn’t have something like a sealed bearing. I make sure all of our equipment like the dozers, excavators and so forth gets greased at least once every 10 hours and certain wear parts gets greased twice a day.
Ken I'm like u I like Allison but I think bass don't swim that fast but I will tell yea what ever 80,000 boat we own their will be a time where a 3,000 aluminum boat with the biggest bag of tournament he say all that shine don't catch fish and he or she will 100% correct but I say u can't take it with you or a armor truck behind a funeral line
This used to be a fishing show. Now he just wants everyone to buy a bass cat because he did
This content is boring as hell.
Glad you did your homework.
Glad you picked a phenomenal Boat!
Now that your Bass Cat commercial is over, when are you going to put something on worth watching?
Ouch!