Van:  I can honestly say "I feel you pain" having a total of 3 Nev-R-Lub bearing fail, two of which naturally totaled the axle spindles, brakes and ruined the tires.  (Had G114 "H" tires, which never lost air or came apart, or did any damage to the rig. - Another story and another reason for the those tires.)

May I also comment to those reading along, a temperature sensor on a TPMS, monitoring tire temperature, won't do much good when the Nev-R-Lub fails as far as a warning.  Don't count on this to protect you, IMO.  YMMV

The only cure for Nev-R-Lub bearings is to not have them.  They fail totally without warning. Any qualified tech will tell you, other then looking for grease seeping - a judgement call at best - and totally excessive end play - which seldom happens enough to catch - there is not a good way to inspect the Nev-R-Lub sealed bearings because they are sealed.

It was good to hear DRV and others (finally,) not all OEMs, gave up on Nev-R-Lub and oil filled bearings and started supplying standard split bearings which can be serviced, examined and replaced as required.  More trouble?  Yes.  Much more reliable and field serviceable? Absolutely. 

Another note - One can not actually replace Nev-R-Lub bearings on the road.  They are press fitted into the hubs.  So one must carry a spare hub.  I did.  But when the bearing fails it wipes out the spindle and a lot of other stuff as you reported. There isn't anything left to put the new hub on with a bearing.

Just writing all this for perspective and, BTW, MORryde won't even recommend or install Nev-R-Lub bearings unless the owner absolutely insists.  They are that prone to fail and they simply don't want another phone call from a stranded customer in the middle of nowhere. (Ask me how I know this.)

FWIW - Bill

One year ago exactly we spent 10 days in Terrace BC having all the Nev-R-Lub bearings replaced and one axle taken off and rebuilt due to a seize up. We had to cut off the hub in the middle of nowhere with a Dremel tool, hammer, and chisel! We had the brakes completely replaced. Cost was over 5K for everything. We had previously scheduled to have all three axles replaced at Ryde Mor in Sept 2016 but didn't make it. For some reason we couldn't get the axles shipped across the border so we had to do a rebuild with Nev-R-Lub bearings. In 4 years we will have all the axles replaced.

VanMar wrote:

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Bill,

I guess it's not necessary for me to learn a lesson here since the whole suspension system is being replaced anyway.  I didn't mention that another bearing was replaced two years ago when I had it in the shop for an alignment.  The tech found a rough one.  

I figured surely as hot as the rotor was it would have raised the temp in the tire enough to set off some kind of alarm.  I slowly poured a gallon of water on the rotor and it vaporized the entire gallon.  The wheel was too hot to touch.  

Any way, we're residents of Ft Nelson, BC for the duration...probably three weeks.  

I'm still trying to line up tires from anywhere.  The 17.5" ones are hard to find up here. 

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  Vance, I cut and pasted from two of your posts above -   Yea, we know Ft. Nelson, BC pretty well.  Good thing you are there and not further up the Alcan.  As to the temp on the bearing - my point sort of is - IMO - by the time the temps start increasing enough to trigger an alarm its already too late.  The bearing is gone. One might save the axle - doubt it - but the bearing is still gone and probably has done some spindle damage.

There are people who have gone many, many years with Nev-R-Lubs and then I know of people who haven't many times over.  The overall point is they simply are a crap shoot.  One can not check them reliably.  I've seen them last 50,000+ miles and I've had one go in 3,500 miles.  One just never knows.  That's why on our previous rig we replaced them after #3 failed and ordered split bearings when we ordered the New Horizons.  As a bit of a joke, when the order for the axles came in from NH to MORryde, the shop manager called me on the phone to ask if we just had just ordered a New Horizons rig.  "Yep," I said. Then he responded, "I thought so. You know better, don't you."  That was about 4 years ago.

As to the tires:  Had the same issue in Whitehorse finding a 17.5" "H".  I wanted an additional "H" spare for the trip up to Inuvik, NWT.  Found one but not a G114.  But it was a 17.5" tire and fine for a second spare just in case.  I was warned about how bad the Dempster Highway was from Dawson City up to Inuvik.  Totally unnecessary purchase.  Didn't have any tire trouble with the G114's.  Can't say that for others on that trip.

FWIW - Some argue, believe it or not even from Ft. Nelson, to drive down to Great Falls, Montana or if further up the Alcan, to drive to Tok, AK and have stuff shipped there if time is an issue.  Yea, costs to travel and motels, etc.  But no customs, etc.  Another one of those - do the math. It depends.  I'm sure you will visit all the hot spots in Ft. Nelson many times.

Bill

Bill,

So the temp alarm would probably go off as the tire/wheel/hub assembly goes rolling off into the bushes! 

Yes, as I was researching Nev-R-Lube bearings, all I could find on the various forums were people who had never had any problems with them and we're happy as larks.  

As for the tires, that's a long story.  I started out three years ago with G114's.  I hit some roads that were bad enough to really knock it out of alignment.  By the time I got it aligned, two tires were ruined.  They were one year old when I replaced them with Hankook TH-10's.  I've used Hankooks before and have confidence in them and they were $250 each compared to $500 for G114's.  One year later I replaced a third tire.   The last remaining G114 will now be a spare.  Believe it or not, here in Ft Nelson, the Michelin LR-J is actually cheaper than the G114's.  Other than those two, I have the choices of Sailun, Double Diamonds, and Lucky 8's!  I think I'll go with the Michelins.  Stay tuned.

Dale and Ruth,

Lippert said it would take 7-10 days before the axles would even ship.  No idea how long it will take to get here.

 As for extended warranty, we found out the hard way that Wholesale Warranty (Pro Trek) is no good in Canada or Alaska.  But that's for another topic.  The fridge went out as soon as we hit Tok.  We blew a seal on a brake caliper between Fairbanks and Cantwell.  The bearing was all it took for Marla to break down.  We were going to hit Jasper and Banff National Parks in BC but I think that's out the window.  We just want to get out of Canada before something else breaks.  

Vance

 

 

Bill
I have a 2017 35 foot NH majestic three axle 7000 pound each fifth. Unloaded weight per axle is 4400 pounds so I am not near max weight. From your research am I any less prone to failure than someone with heavier weights? The more I read the more frustrated I get with NH as it sounds like this problem has been going on for some time. Having had motorhomes before that had possible issues I wanted a very robust fifth with no prone or known failure points. I just can't believe they would keep producing a product with a known failure as critical as bearings. Do you have any idea about how much I would need to spend to convert to regular bearings I can pack? Thanks for any input you can give.

-- Edited by Danj on Monday 7th of August 2017 02:53:21 PM

Bill and Linda wrote:

Comment on the Michelin tires if I may. If you are referring to the Michelin XTA tire - keep in mind that tire has a speed limitation of 62 MPH.  That's why one major OEM discontinued their use.  The G114's are 75 MPH.  Bit more head room from nominal driving speed.  Some offerings in the 17.5" "H" range have quite low speed ratings - especially if not run at full 100% inflation which can be a bit much, per the OEM charts, for an "H" range tire on most RV's.  The G114's speed rating is good at any load / inflation amount per the published Goodyear charts.  Just a couple of reasons I choose them.  They have more then paid fr themselves with the extended mileage, at least for us.

Best of luck,

Bill

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 Bill,

I was going with the Michelins for a couple of reasons but your reply gave me pause to reconsider.  I think I need the extra safety margin of speed rating, even though I cruise at 60 mph, more than the additional load capacity.  And the prices were virtually the same here in Ft Nelson.  So, I should have the tires and wheel by Friday.  Now it's just a waiting game for the axles.  

Vance

We had no problem getting the higher rated tires we needed in BC, they just had to order them. What we wanted for axles was to put disc brake units on and those couldn't get shipped (still don't know why) from the USA to BC. We now have a temperature gun which we check the wheels and bearings with like a hawk. We hope to go until 2021 without replacing the axles as we had them cleanup everything, install new (Nev-R-Lube) bearings, make new spindles for one axle, and install new brake assemblies during our breakdown in BC

We rarely drive over 62 MPH and with a triple axle trailer seem to have more blowouts than a two axle.

Our new axles will be 7K rated with disc brakes installed at MORryde, but that is still planned for 4 years down the road!!

We will never own another rig with Nev-R-Lube bearings!