www.iFourWinns.com

Well I think my season is over. I'm starting to get things in order for the big W. My new trailer has oil bath hubs I have been happy with their performance thus far.

Does any body know If I need to do anything particular for the winter? One of the drawbacks that people point out with oil bath hubs is the fact that the top half of the bearings are not resting in oil. Leaving the possibility of rust if they sit for a long time.

Should I do anything special to prep them for the winter?

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2008 Horizon 260 VP 8.1 Gi

I don't know what the viscosity is of the oil used in those, but I think that problem is unlikely to happen sitting over one winter. If it was sitting longer than that, it would probably be smart to prep them for the long storage.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

A surface coated with oil but sealed against the outside air is unlikely to corrode. It's the oxygen part of the air that causes rust, aka oxidation. I can't imagine the hubs getting rusty when they're inside a sealed system. At least not within the span of anything less than a couple of years.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Just asked the dealer the same question and was told to not worry about it and that nothing needed to be done.

Inside of hub is no different from inside of any engine…… They should be fine for at least 6 month or so…. If you are picky then you could rotate the hub every 3 months or so… just like you want to start the engine once in a while. I would not wary for one winter. I have no plan to do anything to my oil baths until next spring.

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08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

I am coming to the end of my second season with my trailer. I havent really done any real maintenance other than replacing bunk carpet. I have the oil bath hubs too. I feel like I need to be doing something to them to keep them running good...any tips?

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

Once a year I drain the oil from each bath, (unscrewing plastic cover) examine the condition of oil and fill with new lube. Tie Down Engineering is recommending Synthetic 50 W gear lube which is very hard to get. I use 75W90 synthetic gear lube for my hub.

http://www.tiedown.com/pdf/c753.pdf

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08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

So, I assume, jack up trailer, remove wheel. Put an oil catch container below the hub and unscrew the plastic cover. Let it all drain out. Screw back on and fill through the little plug on the plastic cover? How full...till it starts to drip out I assume?

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Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

There is no need to jack trailer up and remove wheel. I just put a container right below the plastic cup,
unscrew the plastic cap,
let oil drain,
screw back plastic cover,
un plug the ruber plug,
fill new oil until it start to pour out,
put rubber plug back on
very easy... and clean most of the time.

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08 H260 VP 8.1Gi DP.....Previous
2013 Crownline E6 Merc 8.2MAG BIIIX, DTS/SC

Thanks for the replies guys. I didn't figure there was much to do but the tie down site doesn't tell you much. I don't have any water in the hubs so I should be ok.

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2008 Horizon 260 VP 8.1 Gi