Damn trailer bearings!

[DJ Sound Technique]

I really hope someone can give me some hints here!
2002 competitive trailer, dual axle surge disk brakes on 1 axle. Bearing buddies on all 4 hubs.
Worked fine for the longest time, pumped a little blue grease into them before long hauls to the river just enough to move the piston so you could rock it side to side.
All perfect until end of season last year when we decided to take to boat to Big Bear in early October. Coming home the axles with the brakes overheated, shot the bearing buddy grease caps off and spun all the grease out of the hubs with the brakes. We drove slow coming down, never over 45 mph even on the straights. I had never had trouble on the Cajon, Chiriaco etc
SO.. I get it home from Big Bear tear both hubs apart that have the brakes replace all the grease seals and bearings (they had some heat marks but no scoring and the races did not come apart) packed the bearing with blue grease filled the hubs with grease, stuck them back on and topped off the grease to get the pistons on the bearing buddies rocking.
First trip out, both sides shoot off the bearing buddy grease caps and spin grease everywhere and the pistons are not moving. So I pump grease back into them on the next trip same thing happened. I figured there must have been some air in the hubs and it was releasing the air when the grease got hot. It finally stops and I have 2 trips to Havasu with no trouble.
This last weekend, went to silverwood and one hub shot off the cap and was really hot. Took it apart tonight and the hub was full of a water grease combination, the outer bearing had been hot and discolored but the inner bearing looks like brand new...
The hubs without brakes have never had an issue since day one!
Any pointers anyone could share? We were planning to go to Havasu this weekend!!

[YeLLowBoaT]

Well 2 things come to mind:
1. your brakes are draging and cuasing too much heat. makeing the barring get hot.
2. Your trailer is not level while towing cuasing 2 much weight to be on one axle. ( If I was a betting man, I would put my money on this one.)
Is your trailer leaf spirngs to torsion? Also have you ever checked to see if the trailer is siting level when it its full of gas/ gear and on the back of the truck? This is VERY important if you have torsion axles.
there are a few other things that it "could be",but those are not very commen so your chances of it being a prob are less then 10%.

[doesitfloat?]

Well 2 things come to mind:
1. your brakes are draging and cuasing too much heat. makeing the barring get hot.
2. Your trailer is not level while towing cuasing 2 much weight to be on one axle. ( If I was a betting man, I would put my money on this one.)
Is your trailer leaf spirngs to torsion? Also have you ever checked to see if the trailer is siting level when it its full of gas/ gear and on the back of the truck? This is VERY important if you have torsion axles.
there are a few other things that it "could be",but those are not very commen so your chances of it being a prob are less then 10%.
My bet's on #1. Happened to us towing a flat bottom in Minnesota.
Me: What's that sound, Dad?
Dad: Brakes dragging, no big deal.
Me: Are you sure...what about heat?
Dad: No biggeee (he might have told me to STFU at this point)
About a half hour later, I see major smoke coming from said wheel.
Needless to say, the entire hub was a melted mess.

[DJ Sound Technique]

The trailer has leaf springs with a rocker between the axles.
It is damn near level when towing, possibly 1" too high at the hitch.
If the brakes are dragging which is entirely possible, would you suspect the surge mechanism in the hitch or the wheel cylinders? I have done hundreds of car brake jobs over the years even replacing lines from the master cylinders all the way down, but this is a new animal to me!
Well 2 things come to mind:
1. your brakes are draging and cuasing too much heat. makeing the barring get hot.
2. Your trailer is not level while towing cuasing 2 much weight to be on one axle. ( If I was a betting man, I would put my money on this one.)
Is your trailer leaf spirngs to torsion? Also have you ever checked to see if the trailer is siting level when it its full of gas/ gear and on the back of the truck? This is VERY important if you have torsion axles.
there are a few other things that it "could be",but those are not very commen so your chances of it being a prob are less then 10%.

[YeLLowBoaT]

Disks don't like to drag unless you have a bad caliper, having it happen on both sides would indacate the prob is with the surge. It could be adjusted wrong, "stuck" or the spirngs are broke/weak.

[Jordy]

You say you pumped them full of grease to get them "rockin." Does that mean you left no expansion in the bearing buddy??? My experience, as noted in another thread about grease guns and bearing buddies, is that you want to pump them about halfway full to allow for expansion due to heat as well as not allowing spring pressure to push the bearing buddies or the seal out of place.

[DJ Sound Technique]

Yes I put just enough to where the piston started to come forward and that was it. They say on them to grease just until the piston will rock side to side.
It would come MUCH further out if you kept pumping it. I would think that if you did not have some time of pressure in there, the water could get in.
You say you pumped them full of grease to get them "rockin." Does that mean you left no expansion in the bearing buddy??? My experience, as noted in another thread about grease guns and bearing buddies, is that you want to pump them about halfway full to allow for expansion due to heat as well as not allowing spring pressure to push the bearing buddies or the seal out of place.

[Trailer Park Casanova]

Well 2 things come to mind:
2. Your trailer is not level while towing cuasing 2 much weight to be on one axle. ( If I was a betting man, I would put my money on this one.)
Yea, I agree on this, was my problem once. Level is huge, a real BFD.
Are you using a load equalizing hitch?, If so is it at a slight angle before hook up so when ya tighten the chains the rig and trailer sits level???
A BFD,, really. A very level set up is important.

[HM]

You could also have an airbubble in the brake line causing the brakes to engage - this happened to me on a trailer. I actually cut the brake line as that was my only option to get the trailer moving.

[rrrr]

It's the brakes. My POS trailer has the same problem, we blew both tires a coupla weeks ago. They were weakened by the extreme heat.
Not my only beef with the trailer, though. Trying to get the dealer to fix the damn thing, prolly has all of 1,000 miles on it......