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dznf0g · 04-19-2013, 09:43 AM

Bob,

What's that one off of? I see 8 lugs on that hub.

I got this one a couple years ago. Small and accurate. It lives in my center console, so it's always handy at gas stops.

Amazon.com: ThermoHAWK 420 Touchless Infrared Thermometer: Health & Personal Care

ROBERT CROSS · 04-19-2013, 10:26 AM

Rich,

If the grey cells are working it was a 30' fifth wheel.

There's a good deal on Amazon, Fluke 62 IR.

Bob

Bluto · 04-19-2013, 10:27 AM

Thanks guys for posting the IR thermometers you use. They are pretty small and the price is not bad at all.

Jammer · 04-19-2013, 10:31 AM

I have the nev-r-lube bearings on my trailer and haven't had any real trouble with them. There was some excess grease that escaped and ran radially out on the wheel when they were brand new but that may well have been assembly grease and not anything from the bearings themselves. The dealer who looked at it under warranty said there wasn't a problem.

In Minnesota, with cars and trucks having unitized bearing assemblies, it is my experience that they typically have to be replaced once during the life of the car. Sometimes hub and rotor corrosion leading to an unusual amount of force being required to remove the rotor from the hub contributes to this. For cars there are some cheap aftermarket replacement bearing/hub assemblies that don't hold up for long but the OEM ones seem to go for around 100,000 miles or so if properly installed and not sent to an early grave by the application of the 16 pound sledge, air hammer, or torch.

It is also my experience that, with cars and trucks, the unitized bearing assemblies give plenty of advance warning when they fail -- noise, play, and heat. More warning than traditional roller bearings, in my experience.

Jammer · 04-19-2013, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by polarlyse

I'm another vote for the old style bearings. Easy to service. Easy to replace and can be done at the side of the road with minimum tools when necessary. Try to do that with the sealed units. NOOooooo. Not for me. I love new technology but until they get it right I'll stick with the old.

If I wanted to be able to replace nev-r-lube bearings by the side of the road I would bring a drum with a new bearing already pressed into it as a spare. Dexter sells drums this way and they have reasonable availability --- Airstream isn't the only one using them.

The main problem, as I see it, is that the parts are expensive. A standard hub and drum assembly is $85 (street) while the nev-r-lube assembly is $350 (street).

dznf0g · 04-19-2013, 10:56 AM

I just carry an extra bearing assembly. If I had to hobble along to the next town on three, I'd find a press and reinstall there. Not a big deal in my book. I really don't like working by the side of the road anyway. Don't trust all you guys not to run me over.

dznf0g · 04-25-2013, 07:26 AM

FYI, I decided I should probably carry a socket for the spindle nut as well. Couldn't find the size online, so I contacted Dexter. The reply was 1-1/4" for the disc setup with Nev-r-lubes.

Jim Clark · 04-25-2013, 07:36 AM

Nice big Cresent wrench and a few extra cotter pins, side cutters are handy also. Crescent wrench is much more versital and spindle castle nuts are not known for being overly tight. My choice for a lug wrench is a 1/2 " drive break over bar and also carry a torque wrench with a few 1/2" drive extensions so adding an 1" 1/4 socket would not hurt, I am sure I have a few. Garage sales are your friend.

SteveH · 04-25-2013, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

FYI, I decided I should probably carry a socket for the spindle nut as well. Couldn't find the size online, so I contacted Dexter. The reply was 1-1/4" for the disc setup with Nev-r-lubes.

I don't have discs, but did actually measure mine at 1 7/16" with a caliper.

These nuts are not Castle nuts, and I don't think a big "All 1/16" wrench will work/reach into where the nut is, and there is no cotter pin, only a circle clip that prevents the nut from ever falling off the spindle. The nut is supposed to be torqued to 140 lb. ft.

I've tried to find an 1 7/16" socket around here in 1/2" drive, but all I can find is 3/4" drive, and would like to stay with 1/2".

dznf0g · 04-25-2013, 08:20 AM

Steve, I found a 1/2 drive, 1 7/16" (which I now have to take back) at a regional chain here called Blaine's Farm and Fleet. (one of my favorite big boy toy stores!) They only had it in an impact socket. Armstrong is the brand. Not sure why this size is so rare?????? It was $19.99.

Apparently there is a difference in Drum vs. Disc setup. I too think you need a socket for this job, due to torque and reach into the hub.

Guess you could order it....

http://www.farmandfleet.com/products...l#.UXk7zEpQ3AI

dznf0g · 04-25-2013, 09:01 AM

wooooopppps, when I asked for clarification, Dexter rep did not make a fat finger mistake on my size question, he just misunderstood my question. This is the sizing for the disc/Nev-r-lube setup.

"No. It has a thread of 1”-14. It takes a 1-7/16” 6 or 12 point socket to remove it."

featherbedder · 04-25-2013, 10:35 AM

If 3/4 drive socket is less money then buy a simple 1/2to 3/4 adapter, they are cheap

overlander63 · 04-25-2013, 10:45 AM

I just ran i to a problem with an SOB fifth wheel using Nev R Lube bearings that I thought I would share.
The issue is the customer replaced his loaded backing plates, and the magnets were of the new oversized oval Dexter variety. The upper edges of the magnets were obstructed by the ridge on the drum where the bearing slips into the hub. The result was the magnets couldn't contact the friction area to apply the brakes.
This is something to look closely at when replacing magnets or loaded backing plates.

overlander63 · 04-25-2013, 10:51 AM

Here is a photo of the old and new brake assemblies. I can't provide a photo of the drums, as they are at the machine shop being turned.

overlander63 · 04-25-2013, 10:52 AM

Okay, I guess the ipad can only attach one photo per post for some reason. Here is a photo of the new one:

Jim Clark · 04-25-2013, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Steve, I found a 1/2 drive, 1 7/16" (which I now have to take back) at a regional chain here called Blaine's Farm and Fleet. (one of my favorite big boy toy stores!) They only had it in an impact socket. Armstrong is the brand. Not sure why this size is so rare?????? It was $19.99.

Apparently there is a difference in Drum vs. Disc setup. I too think you need a socket for this job, due to torque and reach into the hub.

Guess you could order it....

Armstrong 1/2" Drive Deep Impact Socket (Size: 1-7/16") at Blain's Farm & Fleet

Must be the newer trailers, I have never looked at my 28. The 2005 Safari had Castle nuts and cotter pins, I still have a set in a bag. I bent an axle and the new one came with castle nuts.

dznf0g · 04-25-2013, 12:00 PM

For Nev-r-lubes, Jim? Or regular repackable bearings, or Easy lubes?

Jim Clark · 04-25-2013, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

For Nev-r-lubes, Jim? Or regular repackable bearings, or Easy lubes?

The new trailer has the Nev-r-lubes the 2005 Safari had the regular, that is were the Crescent wrench came in. Some days I feel like a fleet mechanic.

dznf0g · 04-25-2013, 12:41 PM

That makes sense. Regular bearings have to have a castellated nut to retain the proper clearance in the bearing set. Nev-r-lubes do not.

Jim Clark · 04-25-2013, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

That makes sense. Regular bearings have to have a castellated nut to retain the proper clearance in the bearing set. Nev-r-lubes do not.

I hate to date myself but I learned to pack wheel bearing about 1966. I have 3 English sports cars 1976,1958,1957, and a tandem boat trailer, I am a wheel bearing packing fool, or a fool packing wheel bearing. I have a good friend from high school who kept burning out wheel bearings on his 59 Chevy. He tells me one day " I found the problem, I forgot to pack the wheel bearings when I replaced them." We both had taken auto mechanics our senior year to fill out our schedule so it was one of those wtf moments.