If your tires are where the rubber meets the road, your hubs—the things you’ve probably never thought about—are where your vehicle meets the spinny bits. Inside are steel bearings carrying the whole rig while the wheel spins. Big job, big heat, so they live in a bath of heavy grease to keep them happy.
What happens when that grease goes bad? For instance, when someone dips the wheel completely under river water several times over a couple months?
Flashback to 2019, solo to Pittsburgh and the Allegheny and Ohio: I may have forgotten to re-grease the hubs. I got as far as King City before the entire hub—bearings, races, seals, spindle, and dirty grease—went up in a cloud of smoke. The nice old fella at the tire store did his best to get me back on the road ASAP, but his brilliant improvisation set the stage for another meltdown six years later.
So here I am: stranded on the side of a Kentucky highway with semis shooting by at 70 mph just inches away. No one can tow an absurdly tall boat and trailer. No mechanics after 5 on a Friday. It looked… hopeless.
I did one of the hardest, most desperate things I’ve done: I unhitched the boat and trailer and left it by the side of the road without a plan. Then I drove off into the evening to find help.
To be continued →
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