I have run painted hubs in salt water for now 10 years. not worth the extra cost. I do however use anti sieze on the hub face to prevent rust between the wheel and hub. just paint it on or use grease or something. I do like galvanized wheels.

 

In my mind, 3X the price might be a deal-breaker if we were talking $100 vs $300, but for an extra ~$50ish, if it saves me the time & hassle of not having to replace it just one extra time (at my age, read: never), that's easily worth it.

 

You might shop around for a better price on the galvanized. I'll never own a trailer that has anything non-galvanized again :twocents:

The painted hubs fail at the back axle seal. The mating surface gets so corroded the seals don't seal anymore.

 

This. A quick Google search brought up multiple galvanized options at less than your dealer's painted price. You'd have to pack them yourself, but even if it took you an hour, you'd make/save about $100 in that hour.

 

If your trailer has brakes, the painted hubs will rust in no time. If you have a common bolt pattern, there should be a ton of options for galvanized. They shouldn't be that far apart in price.

I wouldn't want mine prepacked. I'm picky about the grease I use. It doesn't take long to do, even for a tandem axle with brakes.