Dexter Nev-R LubeTM Bearings – Will bearing replacement be necessary on the road?

[jd1923]

8 hours ago, Patriot said:

At the time of my swap out, I believe there were over 200 trailers sold with the Neverlube bearings. None the less still always an inspection items along with the brake system.

We can only hope these never lube bearings are never fail. 😊

David, what you wrote is usually my frame of mind. I am generally more of a care-free person vs. being the worrier. I do required maintenance, but if they say annually for me it's going to be every two years.

Oliver has had a 3-year history with these bearings. And yes, I imagine it's a good 200 trailers and likely 300 by now. This is a small sample and Oliver owners tow less miles per year than commercial trailers. There are many forums citing failures like the Airstream owner I quoted above. Being safe, conservative and preventive, I would not count on your last sentence always being true.

It could be said that a 7K LB Oliver will run much longer without failure on a bearing designed to support much heavier trailers. Installing these axles is over-engineering and they should work as designed for years, even longer on our relatively light and aerodynamic Olivers.

At a minimum, I suggest Oliver Owners with Nev-R Lube bearings should get online with RockAuto, Summit (links above) or another auto parts store and spend <$100 for 2 replacement bearings to have onboard. The secondary parts, snap-rings and washer will be reusable except in rare cases and investment in tools is another step. Each of us will decide on the amount of protection, where we feel comfortable.

A few parts and perhaps tools is a small amount of insurance so that one day, on some future cross-country trip, we are not stuck somewhere waiting days without having this critical part on-hand. What Don wrote above is seriously true, though many of us carry extra water pumps too! 🤣

On 8/20/2025 at 9:38 PM, dhaig said:

Failure of wheel bearings is among the few potentially disabling items on the trailer.  Failure of other items, such as water pumps may be inconvenient, but not likely to prevent returning home.

Edited August 22, 2025 by jd1923

[Patriot]

I can’t think of a report on here or the FB Oliver page where an Oliver owner has even had a standard wheel bearing failure.
That said, it never hurts to carry spares when practical and do regular maintenance.
Anything to help owners sleep better and not be left flapping. 

Long live the Neverlubes! 😄

Edited August 22, 2025 by Patriot

[jd1923]

On 8/20/2025 at 8:44 AM, T-Oliver said:

Any suggestions for the size of the snap ring pliers?

Sorry for not posting this sooner. An Oliver friend was at Harbor Freight today asking me the same question, so I went out to my garage and measured.

The large snap ring has holes 0.11" ID and they are 1 1/4" apart. The snap-ring pliers I used for this has pins 0.07" OD and has a reach of about 1 1/2".

The very small snap ring has holes about 0.05" and are only 1/4" apart. The snap-ring pliers I used for this has pins 0.04" OD.

These are the tools I used. Zoom in to see tool part numbers.

Edited September 26, 2025 by jd1923
Added pic

[Geronimo John]

JD:
Thank you for taking the time to summarize in detail what is needed for a Never-Lube axle bearing change.  

At my vintage, I would like the long time benefit of the Never-Lube bearings and the larger brakes too.  Not to mention saving the time, grease and seals I use every year on my OEM's.  

I also feel the need to check in on the brake system.  Doing annual service on the bearings allowed me to do that.  If I went with the 5200's and Never-lube I would still want to look in on the Drum Brakes occasionally.

If so, do we need all the above tools for just physically checking the drum brakes?

thanks

GJ

[jd1923]

On 11/27/2025 at 2:36 PM, Geronimo John said:

If so, do we need all the above tools for just physically checking the drum brakes?

You’d need the smaller snap-ring pliers, a 1 7/16” socket and breaker bar to service the brakes. Then a torque wrench at 150# to reinstall. Dexter via Alcan replied the spindle nuts are reusable. Easy job, no grease to mess with! 😎

Edited December 3, 2025 by jd1923
The larger snap-ring pliers is only needed when pulling the bearing.

[Geronimo John]

5 hours ago, jd1923 said:

You’d need the smaller snap-ring pliers, a 1 7/16” socket and breaker bar to service the brakes. Then a torque wrench at 150# to reinstall. Dexter via Alcan replied the spindle nuts are reusable. Easy job, no grease to mess with! 😎

Music to my ears! Add to that the 20V Impact tool and lug nut socket for off/on of the wheels... Gosh, I already have the kit on board. 

thanks

GJ  

[DanielBoondock]

The TrailerSmith has a video on the Dexter Nev-R-Lube, notes

• He's only seen these in the case that the bearing cartridge has failed, nobody brings them in for inspection (big surprise)
• It truly is a zero maintenance drum, you can't perform any maintenance 
• Read the owners manual - you have to inspect it every 12k miles or annually
  • Jack the trailer and check for end play (wiggle the tire and spin, if you can wiggle it that's end play)
  • If there's any end play, the cartridge needs to be replaced
• Assuming no premature failure (e.g. end play) it should perform just fine for ...
• It has a five year, 100k warranty
  • Therefore, replace the cartridge and possibly the entire drum before every five years (or 100k) regardless of the end play
• "I will tell you, if the bearing cartridge keeps its grease and is maintained properly, you will get all your years of service out of it ... pretty much guaranteed"
• "The problem is, people don't do their service checks, even if you haven't driven it much, maybe some moisture has gotten in there, check it annually"
• A failure most common with these is with horse trailers which are heavy. If you overuse the brakes the heat transmits through the hub and can boil out the grease. If you see the paint peeling off or heat damaged, pop the cap, if you see grease then you have boiled it out and the cartridge needs replacing
• Unfortunately OTT doesn't have Dexter manuals in the university, but here's the flyer for Nev-R-Lube where it makes clear the maintenance free (not inspection free!) five year 100k service life. 

My take: as long as you're doing the regular maintenance (end play check) you should be fine on the road. Bringing along a tool kit is definitely 'belt and suspenders', but instead I'll just do the maintenance checks and replace in five years. 

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by DanielBoondock