nev-r-lube bearings

[hellbird503]

I have used my dexter axeles with nev-r-lube bearings for years with no problems. I would like for someone to check them out so I can do what I need to do before I do have a problem. I have called around but nobody seems to have a clue about them. Can someone recommend a place in KY or Indiana or NC to have them serviced. Thanks for your help. Dave

[Vette_Racer]

Slownsy wrote:
They are not easy to replace,has to be pressed in, if you managed to install it without a press your hub is toast.
Frank.

He probably just ordered the hub assy and changed them, not to hard to do but if just changing the bearings they need a 20 ton press to press the old ones out and new ones in.

[Slownsy]

They are not easy to replace,has to be pressed in, if you managed to install it without a press your hub is toast.
Frank.

[Puddles]

Likes to tow wrote:
Always remember that marketing hype exceeds common sense sometimes. Anything easy or maintenance free has got to be a disaster in the making at some point. Bearing and wheel maintenance in general is just another part of the RV experience. If the salesman can tell you part of it is no longer required it will make you want to buy the product. If I had never lube bearings on a trailer I would replace them about every few years or so depending on miles towed. Remember, you are the one beside the road with smoke coming from an axle, not the salesman or engineer!!!

XXX 2

[Likes_to_tow]

Always remember that marketing hype exceeds common sense sometimes. Anything easy or maintenance free has got to be a disaster in the making at some point. Bearing and wheel maintenance in general is just another part of the RV experience. If the salesman can tell you part of it is no longer required it will make you want to buy the product. If I had never lube bearings on a trailer I would replace them about every few years or so depending on miles towed. Remember, you are the one beside the road with smoke coming from an axle, not the salesman or engineer!!!

[jnharley]

We have 8k Moryde IS suspension with 50mm bearings and disc brakes. We really had no warning that there was an issue until a motorist signaled to us. It was a catastrophic failure of that wheel and its components at a low speed (25 mph).

[pcm1959]

jnharley wrote:
They are really easy to replace yourself. We ordered the parts and changed the bearings, brake pad, calipers. We also had to replace the rotor on one wheel. Don’t let them go. Ours had less than 50k miles when one went in. Feb. Thankfully a motorist warned us and we were able to get onto a frontage road and we were traveling at a low spewed when it failed. It ruined everything-tire,rim, brake pad, calipers, warped the rotor, and of course the bearing assembly was gone. We have Moryde IS and once that happens, the suspension is on the ground. Roadside service was able too strap up the suspension and we limped to a parking lot where we sopend the next 8 days awaiting parts. No one carries them. The failure occurred on a Friday afternoon so we had to wait for Monday to order the necessary parts. Once we were repaired and made it to our destination, we changed out the other three bearing assemblies. We were lucky. We could have had a fire or ripped up our living room slide if we had been going interstate speed.

Anyone eith issues.....What size axle and bearings? 7k or 8k? 42mm or 50mm bearings?

[jnharley]

They are really easy to replace yourself. We ordered the parts and changed the bearings, brake pad, calipers. We also had to replace the rotor on one wheel. Don’t let them go. Ours had less than 50k miles when one went in. Feb. Thankfully a motorist warned us and we were able to get onto a frontage road and we were traveling at a low speed when it failed. It ruined everything-tire,rim, brake pad, calipers, warped the rotor, and of course the bearing assembly was gone. We have Moryde IS and once that happens, the suspension is on the ground. Roadside service was able too strap up the suspension and we limped to a parking lot where we sopend the next 8 days awaiting parts. No one carries them. The failure occurred on a Friday afternoon so we had to wait for Monday to order the necessary parts. Once we were repaired and made it to our destination, we changed out the other three bearing assemblies. We were lucky. We could have had a fire or ripped up our living room slide if we had been going interstate speed.

[Vette_Racer]

After running on the interstate on a hot summer day using a IR gun I see temps at the hub around 115-125 and tire temps around 145-150, that is using never lubes and Goodyear G rated tires. AS a point of reference just found a loose wheel bearing at approx. 50k miles and 8 years of age, time to replace all 4.

I normally aim the red dot from the gun at the edge of the wheel next to the chrome hub cover.

[soje]

pcm1959 wrote:
All this is unnerving me. My 2014 fiver came with 8k axles with 50 mm Nev r lube bearings, disc brakes along with 17.5 g114 tires. I checked them yesterday and found no play in any the 4. I'm well under the 8k axles max capacity with only about 6000 pounds on each axle.
I have an IR temp gun and typically check the temp on them and they all run about the same temp.
Finally, what's an acceptable temperature range taken on, let's say the lug nuts?

I don`t think that the 50mm bearings are the problem that the 42mm`s
are.

[Likes_to_tow]

My cousin had never lube bearings on his trailer and after several thousand miles and a few trips into the West he had catastrophic failure in Colorado. He pulled the wheel and somehow tied the axle up as high as he could get it before limping several miles to the nearest town. A new bearing was very hard to find and then he realized a new problem. How to press the bearing into the hub?? It seems this bearing is pressed so tightly that it is impossible to do it without a hydraulic press!!! He was very lucky to have realized the bearing failed and pulled the wheel before it ruined the spindle on the axle.

They were stranded for two days and ended up driving many miles to first find a bearing and then finding a shop with a hydraulic press. After his return home he replaced the other three bearings and bought a spare wheel and bearing assembly. He said he would never again run with sealed bearings because the heat generated by the trailer brakes can eventually destroy the seals on sealed bearings and it happens so slowly that you do not realize it. The ability to pull the wheels, replace seals and inspect or repack bearings is critical!!! Sealed bearings are used on cars and trucks all the time and rarely fail. Apparently on trailers these bearings are smaller and unable to hold up to the heat of braking.

[justme]

I don't know about never lube bearings, but the ol' fashion bearing on 7k axel temp should allow to grasp the hub for an extended time or some where lower than approx. 105 deg. If you can not hold onto the hub because it is too hot, then the bearing are too hot. The tires normally run about 50 deg above ambient after running for over an hour at high way speeds.

[JTrac]

pcm1959 wrote:
JimT, those temps would be tire temps, not hub temps, right.

You're right, hadn't finished my first cup of coffee when I typed that. Those are tire temps which I guess could be affected by an overheating hub. I hope I never find out. Anyway, I did a little research and what I found was basically those temps would be an indicator of something going on with the hubs.

[Durb]

OP has received 10 years of service from his Nev-R-Lube bearings without maintenance. The original purchaser of his trailer paid close to $600 for the Nev-R-Lube option because it is a premium bearing. Had he paid for conventional bearing maintenance over the years the cost would have been $1,000-$1,500, instead he paid nothing. If he is uncomfortable with the lifespan he can buy new bearings off the internet $400-$600 per set of 4 and have a machine shop press them in and enjoy another ten years of trouble free service.

My Nev-R-Lubes run extremely cool. I do a walk around hand check every stop which I would also do with conventional bearings. They are just a little more than ambient which I attribute to brake friction from stopping the rig. I tow my Nev-R-Lubes with confidence rather than anxiety. Mine are also 10 years old and if I was going on a 10k trip I would probably replace the cartridges prior. I have 50mm bearings on a 5,200# axles. If I had 8,000# Nev-R-Lube axles that are most likely overloaded I would consider changing axles. The poster child for Nev-R-Lube disparagement is a YouTube video with an Elite Suites trailer obviously running too heavy for the axles. Owner blamed the bearings, should have blamed DRV for specifying the wrong axles.

[pcm1959]

JimT, those temps would be tire temps, not hub temps, right.