Vault Bearing

[steepz]

Fellow Tige Owners,

one of the Vault Bearing Buddies has fallen off at some point over last summer. In speaking with the manufacturer the trailer is still under warranty so they sent me the parts to install a new Vault Bearing.

My first question is do i need to take the hub apart and re-pack the bearings etc?

Also the instructions that the manufacturer sent over includes a zerk fitting to grease everything but my axle doesnt include threads for the zerk. the manufacturer responded- "Only about ½ of the spindles are welded, the others are just hand packed. The zerk was sent just in case yours was drilled. Keep it or toss it."

as the instructions show your supposed to be able to apply a zerk fitting to the front of the axle but mine doesnt have any threads. should i just follow the instructions other then adding more grease through zerk?

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated as i am very confused and dont want this thing to fall apart on the road.

The VAULT Filling Insts 12-14-07.JPG

[Joeprunc]

I would repack the bearings, when I towed I would do it every fall, this also allowed me to inspect the bearing, spindle, and hub. I would especially do it if you put your boat in and out of the water without a cover you can easily buy those covers, one of the other more popular ones are called Bearing Buddies. The Bearing Buddies have a zerk fitting on the piston so you can add more grease from the end of the cover. I like the idea of having a zerk fitting to apply additional grease which is rarely needed.

Sometimes the hub ID becomes slightly larger which doesn't allow the cover to press on securely. One of my hubs was like that where the bearing buddy would back out 1/4" after an hour ride. I brought a mallet and made sure it was on tight before putting the trailer in the water, and whenever we stopped.