The Vault liquid trailer hub maintenance

[Inland fisheries advocate]

Who does maintenance & repairs on these hubs. Mine are past the 5year no service period

[Wrknap]

I too have concerns about my hubs. So, I reciently took my trailer to a trailer shop for repairs to the brake selioid located inside the tounge. While there I asked about doing some bearing maintenance. They told me if the hubs are not leaking it's best to leave them alone... mine have not leaked but, is this true?

[toddmc]

Who does maintenance & repairs on these hubs. Mine are past the 5year no service period

Where are you located? Any dealer that sells trailers with these hubs should be able to service them.
I had one side of my single axle brakes on my 2008 Champion 188 trailer that was dragging and it ran a lot hotter. The grease would push through the inside seal and spot on the inside of the wheel. I ended up taking off the brakes for good and getting the hub serviced by Dan at Last Chance Marine in Hemet. He has the parts in stock. Anglers Marine serviced the same side when the boat was new because the outer silver cap popped off on the road. I now carry a spare silver cap, a seal kit, and a tube of the Vault grease for peace of mind. I make the 12 hour drive to Clear Lake every summer and this is a must if you don't want to be stuck for days in the middle of nowhere waiting for parts.
The Vault hubs are good, but seals on anything only last so long. Check the inner seal and the inside of you wheel for grease often to make sure that the seal isn't leaking. I was told that an occasional drop of grease pushing out of the seal is expected.
They now tell you that the Vault hubs are warrantied for ten years. I would replace the seals and repack every five years to be proactive about maintenance.

[drew]

These are a very simple design. Its basically a bearing buddy with a special low melting point grease. The issue is that most shops do not know about them and want to over charge to cover the unexpected. The other issue is that because they are simple most over look a few subtleties of the design.

Here is some info to be aware of and also for the DIY. These use standard taper roller bearings with a castle washer and cotter pin. The caps are a one time use so new units are needed for every service. They are inexpensive about $15/ea. You also have to use the Vault hybrid oil which has the consistency of a light grease at room temp.

The goal is to be able install the new vault cap and have enough grease in the system that it pre-loads the piston in the cap and pushes it out .1-.2". This is a challenge on the older non drilled spindles. The new spindles are drilled, tapped and crossed drill so after they are assembled before the cap installation a zerk can be installed and the inside cavity between the bearings can be filled with a grease gun. If its an older design its tough. I thread a small diameter (3/16-1/4") piece of tubing on a zerk and fill the inner cavity before I put the outer bearing in. It requires patience.

There can't be any air pockets between the outer bearing to inner bearing/seal. It needs to be packed full of the Hybrid oil. Sounds easy but its the only tough part of the job. The cap needs to be packed full as well. I push the center piston on the cap out and wrap electrical tap around it before packing. Before installing the cap the outer bore of the rotor/hub needs to be clean and red loctite applied to the hub&cap.

If you assemble the cap and a small portion of the loctited area gets grease on it, it will most likely still be fine. The grease wants to push out during the assembly. The loctite is to prevent the hub from falling off, which is common if not done correctly. That is why they are a one time use. They get distorted/yielded from being removed and lose their press fit. If after the installation of the cap if the center piston does not sit proud or stick out then you did not get enough hybrid oil in the hub. At this point you need to remove the cap add more Hybrid oil and replace the cap with a new unit.

FWIW when I do this service I replace everything with new. New rotors, hubs, pads bearings, caliper mounting bolts, Vault caps and seals. It costs about $350 in parts if you do it yourself and a much better value then having the lube topped off for about the same price. Then I keep the best of the old parts for emergency spares. I hope this helps someone.

Who does maintenance & repairs on these hubs. Mine are past the 5year no service period

[mark poulson]

These are a very simple design. Its basically a bearing buddy with a special low melting point grease. The issue is that most shops do not know about them and want to over charge to cover the unexpected. The other issue is that because they are simple most over look a few subtleties of the design.

Here is some info to be aware of and also for the DIY. These use standard taper roller bearings with a castle washer and cotter pin. The caps are a one time use so new units are needed for every service. They are inexpensive about $15/ea. You also have to use the Vault hybrid oil which has the consistency of a light grease at room temp.

The goal is to be able install the new vault cap and have enough grease in the system that it pre-loads the piston in the cap and pushes it out .1-.2". This is a challenge on the older non drilled spindles. The new spindles are drilled, tapped and crossed drill so after they are assembled before the cap installation a zerk can be installed and the inside cavity between the bearings can be filled with a grease gun. If its an older design its tough. I thread a small diameter (3/16-1/4") piece of tubing on a zerk and fill the inner cavity before I put the outer bearing in. It requires patience.

There can't be any air pockets between the outer bearing to inner bearing/seal. It needs to be packed full of the Hybrid oil. Sounds easy but its the only tough part of the job. The cap needs to be packed full as well. I push the center piston on the cap out and wrap electrical tap around it before packing. Before installing the cap the the outer bore of the rotor/hub needs to be clean and red loctite applied to the hub.

If you assemble the cap a small portion of the loctited area gets grease on it will most likely still be fine. The grease wants to push out during the assembly. The loctite is to prevent the hub from falling off, which is common if not done correctly. That is why they are a one time use. They get distorted/yielded from being removed and lose their press fit. If after the installation of the cap if the center does not sit proud or stick out then you did not get enough hybrid oil in the hub. At this point you need to remove the cap add more Hybrid oil and replace the cap with a new unit.

FWIW when I do this service I replace everything with new. New rotors, hubs, pads bearings, caliper mounting bolts, Vault caps and seals. It costs about $350 in parts if you do it yourself and a much better value then having the lube topped off for about the same price. Then I keep the best of the old parts for emergency spares. I hope this helps someone.

Who does maintenance & repairs on these hubs. Mine are past the 5year no service period

Drew,
Great write up!
I have a 2014 trailer with the Vault system. How can I tell if it has the newer drilled spindles?

[drew]

Have to remove the Vault cap assembly to see if the end of the spindle is drilled and tapped.

Drew,
Great write up!
I have a 2014 trailer with the Vault system. How can I tell if it has the newer drilled spindles?

[mark poulson]

Have to remove the Vault cap assembly to see if the end of the spindle is drilled and tapped.

Drew,
Great write up!
I have a 2014 trailer with the Vault system. How can I tell if it has the newer drilled spindles?

Thanks. I think I'll leave that for some else, who actually knows what they're doing.
It's way above my pay grade.

[Brian D.]

you can always call the place where you bought your bote.

[mark poulson]

you can always call the place where you bought your bote.

Will do. Thanks.