After a 2 month stay at the Canadian border with the fifth wheel (2006 Cardinal TSL33) we headed home on the 14th of August. A stop at a rest area 45 minutes in to the journey was uneventful. Everything was good on the Fiver during a walk around. Resumed the trip and headed down the I5 toward southern California. 10 minutes down the road a van puled beside us and got my attention, a glance in the mirror was horrific. Fire and smoke was streaming from the driver side rear axle. pulled over immediately in heavy traffic in Bellingham Wa. Jumped out and grabbed the gallon of water from the bed of the truck, the center hub cover was gone and was shooting fire from the hole. I jammed the open bottle in the hole and squeezed in a bunch of water which doused the fire but smoke was billowing out from under the rig and the alarm was screaming inside the trailer. Added some more water and got the fire out and situation under control. The bearing had disintegrated and destroyed the axle, hub, brakes and spindle. I put a jack under and the wheel and hub (still attached to wheel) just fell away from rig after I removed just 1 lug nut. Called for road side assistance (USAA, 4 hours to get some help). Mechanic chained up the axle and I limped the rig 3 miles to a shop. (Motor Weld). 3 days later and $1300 (new Axle, brakes, 1 hub, and new bearings all wheels) back on the road to Cali. the rest of the trip was uneventful. Another 10 seconds and we probably would have lost the wheel, had a rig on fire and who know what else.

lucyloo wrote:After a 2 month stay at the Canadian border with the fifth wheel (2006 Cardinal TSL33) we headed home on the 14th of August. A stop at a rest area 45 minutes in to the journey was uneventful. Everything was good on the Fiver during a walk around. Resumed the trip and headed down the I5 toward southern California. 10 minutes down the road a van puled beside us and got my attention, a glance in the mirror was horrific. Fire and smoke was streaming from the driver side rear axle. pulled over immediately in heavy traffic in Bellingham Wa. Jumped out and grabbed the gallon of water from the bed of the truck, the center hub cover was gone and was shooting fire from the hole. I jammed the open bottle in the hole and squeezed in a bunch of water which doused the fire but smoke was billowing out from under the rig and the alarm was screaming inside the trailer. Added some more water and got the fire out and situation under control. The bearing had disintegrated and destroyed the axle, hub, brakes and spindle. I put a jack under and the wheel and hub (still attached to wheel) just fell away from rig after I removed just 1 lug nut. Called for road side assistance (USAA, 4 hours to get some help). Mechanic chained up the axle and I limped the rig 3 miles to a shop. (Motor Weld). 3 days later and $1300 (new Axle, brakes, 1 hub, and new bearings all wheels) back on the road to Cali. the rest of the trip was uneventful. Another 10 seconds and we probably would have lost the wheel, had a rig on fire and who know what else.Glad nobody was hurt, your rig survived and you made it home safely. That said, I have 2 general, non-critical, comments. First, you should have a dry fire extinguisher in your truck for just this type of occurrence. (Personally, I forget mine on occasion, but I do have one.) Second, you didn't mention anything about the tires, but you'd sure want to replace the other tire on the same side, as it was severely overloaded by chaining up the other axle. If you did, this is moot, but it's something to think about if you didn't. Also, an IR thermometer is a cheap and handy tool to do a quick check of tires and hubs as you do a walk-around.Lyle

You might check with Forest River. I know they have provided some financial assistance with bearing failures. You don't say but were your bearings the Nev-R-Lube. I know those bearings have been particularly problematic.Another quick and easy check on your bearings is to place your hand on the hub every time you stop for gas, breaks, etc. It may feel a little warm to touch but if you can't hold your hand on there, you have a problem.

How long had it been since the bearings were serviced or replaced?

Tires are 10 ply (E) rated, yes that tire was stressed and I will replace them all soon. As to when the Axles were serviced last, never by me, had the rig about a year. They have never been too hot to keep my hand on, but they will be an item I pay much closer attention to in the future. A note on road side assistance with a fifth wheel: expect some push back from towing companies if the rig needs to be trailered or put on dollies in Washington State. Recent bridge incidents on the I5 have tightened up the height restrictions for towing. In fact, 3 companies would not help me, they just pushed me off to another company. The USAA rep finally found a shop that was able to help.

rjxj wrote:How long had it been since the bearings were serviced or replaced?There is no servicing for the NEV-R Lubes just replacing. You should check the wheels by jacking them up before the trip and doing the wheel shake test. A lot of people carry a spare hub with a new bearing already pressed in with them. They are known to fail catastrophically with little warning. Happened to us just north of SLC and I had to replace the brakes and get new bearings pressed in. It took three days and a lot of running around the area trying to find parts. Someone flagged us down from a passing vehicle before we had a fire but the wheel was smoking.BK

Nasty Bearing Failure | Good Sam Community

lucyloo
Explorer
Aug 24, 2015
Tires are 10 ply (E) rated, yes that tire was stressed and I will replace them all soon. As to when the Axles were serviced last, never by me, had the rig about a year. They have never been too hot to keep my hand on, but they will be an item I pay much closer attention to in the future. A note on road side assistance with a fifth wheel: expect some push back from towing companies if the rig needs to be trailered or put on dollies in Washington State. Recent bridge incidents on the I5 have tightened up the height restrictions for towing. In fact, 3 companies would not help me, they just pushed me off to another company. The USAA rep finally found a shop that was able to help.
azrving
Explorer
Aug 24, 2015
How long had it been since the bearings were serviced or replaced?
jrs1871
Explorer
Aug 24, 2015
You might check with Forest River. I know they have provided some financial assistance with bearing failures. You don't say but were your bearings the Nev-R-Lube. I know those bearings have been particularly problematic.
Another quick and easy check on your bearings is to place your hand on the hub every time you stop for gas, breaks, etc. It may feel a little warm to touch but if you can't hold your hand on there, you have a problem.
laknox
Nomad
Aug 24, 2015
lucyloo wrote:
After a 2 month stay at the Canadian border with the fifth wheel (2006 Cardinal TSL33) we headed home on the 14th of August. A stop at a rest area 45 minutes in to the journey was uneventful. Everything was good on the Fiver during a walk around. Resumed the trip and headed down the I5 toward southern California. 10 minutes down the road a van puled beside us and got my attention, a glance in the mirror was horrific. Fire and smoke was streaming from the driver side rear axle. pulled over immediately in heavy traffic in Bellingham Wa. Jumped out and grabbed the gallon of water from the bed of the truck, the center hub cover was gone and was shooting fire from the hole. I jammed the open bottle in the hole and squeezed in a bunch of water which doused the fire but smoke was billowing out from under the rig and the alarm was screaming inside the trailer. Added some more water and got the fire out and situation under control. The bearing had disintegrated and destroyed the axle, hub, brakes and spindle. I put a jack under and the wheel and hub (still attached to wheel) just fell away from rig after I removed just 1 lug nut. Called for road side assistance (USAA, 4 hours to get some help). Mechanic chained up the axle and I limped the rig 3 miles to a shop. (Motor Weld). 3 days later and $1300 (new Axle, brakes, 1 hub, and new bearings all wheels) back on the road to Cali. the rest of the trip was uneventful. Another 10 seconds and we probably would have lost the wheel, had a rig on fire and who know what else.

Glad nobody was hurt, your rig survived and you made it home safely. That said, I have 2 general, non-critical, comments. First, you should have a dry fire extinguisher in your truck for just this type of occurrence. (Personally, I forget mine on occasion, but I do have one.) Second, you didn't mention anything about the tires, but you'd sure want to replace the other tire on the same side, as it was severely overloaded by chaining up the other axle. If you did, this is moot, but it's something to think about if you didn't. Also, an IR thermometer is a cheap and handy tool to do a quick check of tires and hubs as you do a walk-around.

Lyle

Forum Discussion

Nasty Bearing Failure

About Fifth Wheel Group

Related Content

Catastrophic Bearing Failure

Bearings packed

Ram Cummins/Aisin Failures

Wheel Bearings

Bearing Failure Memorial Day Weekend