Breaking wheel studs
Thought I would ask the collective for help. I have now had 3 lug nut wheel studs break. Rig is a 34ft, 14,400 GVWR with 16 inch 8 lug aluminum wheels, studs are 9/16"dia. Studs have broken only on...
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I had nearly the same problem last summer. I have Dexter 7200# axles and 16" alum wheels, eight lug. After checking torque at about 12 miles from home and checking for heat only at about 75 miles, we arrived at the campground about 120 miles away.
While backing into the site with mirrors, I noticed the front driver trailer wheel was listing pretty badly. I stopped, got out to look and found the wheel hanging on by three of eight lugs. Three were broken at the wheel, two more had no lug nuts on and one of the remaining three was loose. Of the three other wheels, not one was less than the 100# torque I had set at home.
The only potential cause we could find was the hub was cracked across the braking surface, but it had been for a good while as it was rusted. Now, I have a new hub with studs, another complete extra hub, some extra studs and lug nuts. Thank God, I didn't loose the wheel. I never felt a thing out of the ordinary the whole trip. Even TPMS would not have helped here.
While backing into the site with mirrors, I noticed the front driver trailer wheel was listing pretty badly. I stopped, got out to look and found the wheel hanging on by three of eight lugs. Three were broken at the wheel, two more had no lug nuts on and one of the remaining three was loose. Of the three other wheels, not one was less than the 100# torque I had set at home.
The only potential cause we could find was the hub was cracked across the braking surface, but it had been for a good while as it was rusted. Now, I have a new hub with studs, another complete extra hub, some extra studs and lug nuts. Thank God, I didn't loose the wheel. I never felt a thing out of the ordinary the whole trip. Even TPMS would not have helped here.
