There is a little depression between the bearings in the hub that holds some lube, granted some is going to leak out when the axle is pulled but it will hold enough to lube the wheel bearings (which dont need a whole lot of lube on them) for a reasonable trip. I assumed the friends house was less than 50 miles away and not halfway across the country but if he was to tow it 1400 miles the axles should definatly be pulled and temparary covers be put in their place. Whenever you pull a hub off of a floater rear there is always that little bit of lube left in it that makes a mess when you set it on the floor.