Trailer wheel bearing grease

Trickdog · 12 March 2008, 15:46

Has anyone used either of these in their wheel bearings:

Fuchs Renolit Aqua 2 (commonly known as Aqualube) or Star Brite Trailer Wheel Bearing Grease. I have just purchased both (Fuchs £7.19 from Autow.co.uk, Star Brite £3.75 from Looe Chandlery). The Fuchs product is in my (new) De Graaf trailer, complete with bearing savers, and I used the Star Brite product when changing the bearings on my old SIB trailer last weekend.

I don't know why, but the Star Brite product really impressed me. It's burgundy red in colour and has a sort of 'silicone' feel to it. The Fuchs stuff looks and feels like normal grease.

Just wondered if anyone has an opinion on which will perform better.

Nos4r2 · 12 March 2008, 17:13

The Starbrite sounds a bit like the corrosion block stuff I use which is 3 times the price. I'll keep an eye out for it-cheers.

ian parkes · 13 March 2008, 01:41

Bloody hell if the starbright is only £3.75 from Looe chandlery , it is probably only £2.50 anywhere else

I was given a free small tube of blue corrosion block grease on the acf50 stand at the trade bike show , but that stuff was about £16 a tin .

Nos4r2 · 13 March 2008, 03:39

It's a bit cheaper via ebay at £12 inc p&p.

three-rex · 13 March 2008, 13:57

Indespension sell the Fuchs stuff - and I guess they know a bit about trailers ...

DonMacN · 11 April 2009, 19:04

Just bringing this thread back to life because it asks the same question I was going to and wondered if, 12 months on, there were any follow up opinions.

I have to regularly replace the bearings on my trailer. THey seem to show signs of wear after just 3 or 4 trips, although maybe I'm being a bit cautious - but sometimes cleaning all the old grease out seems more trouble than it's worth.

On the diving club RIB ( a Humber Assault) it's such a shallow V hull that it will launch in a saucer of water - the hubs very rarely get dunked. On mine, because it's a deeper V I find I often have to submerge the whole wheel to get enough water for the boat to float.

I do try and leave the bearings as long as possible to cool down, but water always seems to get in.

THis time round I've used the Renolit Aqua stuff (local trailer guy wasn't keen on it when I asked him - don't know why) and I'm going to be interested to see if it makes any difference.

Has anyone been using it for longer and got any opinions??

cheers

Chris · 11 April 2009, 20:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by three-rex

Indespension sell the Fuchs stuff - and I guess they know a bit about trailers ...

Hmmm having been to one of their ""Service Centres"" I would have to say I think not.

You would be better off dropping your trailer off at the monkey cage in your local zoo!

BogMonster · 11 April 2009, 21:40

I use Castrol SX2 in my trailer bearings, which is a waterproof grease intended for high speed open gears on deck machinery - though the hubs aren't normal ones they are Land Rover Series 3 hubs. I did them about eighteen months ago and had to replace two bearings then (first time since I had the boat which is now just over 3 years), and when I jacked it up for a look a few weeks back only one of the four has got a little bit of play in it so I was quite pleased

will be interesting to see what the grease looks like when it comes out but as I only travel a fairly short distance to where I launch I won't be doing them for a while yet - probably around next Christmas.

DonMacN · 12 April 2009, 09:40

cheers.

I think distance is an important issue (though I'm sure you've got dodgy roads down there!). I regularly tow for a couple of hours on less than smooth tarmac when heading west. Not saying all the roads are dreadful, but once you get off the key routes it can be a bit rough, so the bearing grease does need to be able to cope with regular road use as well as launching.

Hadn't heard of the castrol stuff though.

Is anyone using anything else successfully??

davej · 13 April 2009, 22:30

I use the Fuchs grease and have done successfully for 20yrs without any problems. Two weeks ago my RIB trailer went to Plockton and back probably about 1200miles in one go, 13hours each way, without any problems, although I always have at least one spare hub with me just in case. I actually bought a big pack of the grease tubes direct from the manufacturer (I think in Soke on Trent) a few years ago and still have plenty left, use it on the engine as well.

Davej

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonMacN

cheers.

I think distance is an important issue (though I'm sure you've got dodgy roads down there!). I regularly tow for a couple of hours on less than smooth tarmac when heading west. Not saying all the roads are dreadful, but once you get off the key routes it can be a bit rough, so the bearing grease does need to be able to cope with regular road use as well as launching.

Hadn't heard of the castrol stuff though.

Is anyone using anything else successfully??

DonMacN · 13 April 2009, 22:45

cheers Dave,

That's the sort of 'history' that I was hoping for. Sounds like it's good stuff. Do your hubs get dunked on launching?

OT - were you diving up Plockton way??

spartacus · 28 April 2009, 21:33

I bought new bearings before I ventured out last Sunday for my first fishing trip of 2009. I was genuinely suprised, because the trailer bearings looked as good as new, with absolutely no corrosion. I just needed to adjust the castle nut slightly as there was some slight play, and then renewed the split pin.

I make a regular fishing trip to Rosehearty or Cruden Bay (100 mile round trip), and have 2 weeks on the west coast annually (350 mile round trip). So in 2008, I probably had 8-10 trips (launch and retrievals). On the west coast the boat is moored, so I only retrieve at the end of the holiday. The bearings were fitted new last year by myself, well packed with grease, etc.

I switched to Lubrimatic marine wheel bearing grease. Can't remember the cost, probably under £10 a tub. Fantastic product, I can't recommend highly enough.

Trickdog · 29 April 2009, 21:07

As the starter of the this thread I wish I could offer a useful update, but alas not. I didn't use my SIB at all last season so cannot comment on the effectiveness of the Star Brite product. And only got limited use of the RIB because of work issues.

The RIB trailer bearings, with the Fuchs product, seem fine. Well no play in them anyway. But I do have bearing savers fitted.

I would like to know if anyone has good experience of the Star Bright product. As I said in my original post, it has a 'silicone'-ish texture unlike other greases I've used. I have no supporting evidence but, judging only by it's texture, it seems like it would be very resistant to water.