Fishing Strawberry

[dubob]

I don’t have a ton of experience with oil bath hubs. My only fear with them is with all the expansion and contraction with heating up and dropping the trailer in the water that if a failure does happen a greased hub allows for a little bit of time which is exactly what happened in my situation. I was able to pull apart the hub right on the side of the road and it wasn’t even hot. I could be incorrect and I am inexperienced in this area but on an oil bath you’re going to have a quicker extreme failure versus a breakdown if the oil seal fails? I’m interested in what other fisherman’s routines that pull a boat? What do you do to inspect before launching and after retrieving? Carry a spare hub?

I have an 18.5 foot Thunderjet on a single axel EZ-Loader trailer with oil bath hubs.  I've been hauling it back and forth from Weber County to Flaming Gorge since 2017 when I bought it new.  The clear window on both hubs shows both to be 2/3rds full.  There is no sign of leakage on either hub and I've never had a failure.  Your experience may be different.  If you go with greased hubs, MAKE SURE you clean and repack them every year just before you store it for the winter.  I used TJ Trailers in Ogden for this service on my previous boat trailer.  If you go with oil bath, just check them for leaks on a regular basis.