Near tragic event!!
I'm not new at this. I have pulled boat trailers since I was 17 and Rv's for the past 16 years. I've owned 3 fifth wheels. My maintenance procedures are second to none in my opinion......up until last Sunday! I'm thorough on wheel bearing maintenance, tire pressure and brake adjustment. Never had a problem! Last Sunday after arriving at my campsite 90 miles from home I got all set up and plugged in. When I started up the steps to enter the camper my eyes were drawn to the most unbelievable site I have ever seen. I stood there looking at it for probably a full minute and could not believe what I saw.
My complete wheel was missing on the front axle!!!!!!!!!! Most of my 90 mile journey was Interstate and I did not notice anything different in towing nor did I hear any noise or vibration. All of the lug bolts were sheared off even with the surface on the drum, the dust cap was missing and obviously the axle was sagging down on that side.
Last August 2019 I performed my yearly maintenance in preparation for a trip West. All wheels removed one at a time, new grease seals, clean bearings and repack, clean and inspect brake shoes & adjust and check tire pressure. We drove 4500 miles through Colorado and New Mexico. In October we had a trip into southern Ky and late October we went to the Smoky Mts. Then this year 2020 in May we went to North Carolina/Virginia and lastly in July we went to the mountains of West Virginia. I'm thinking all these trips were near 5000 miles + of trailer towing. Flawless enjoyable towing and travel. Since we canceled our long range travel this year due to the out of control violence in our nation I had not done any maintenance in 2020 and the season is coming to an end for us until the we feel more secure traveling.
My advice to anyone pulling a trailer is this. Follow instructions on the torque specs on the lug nuts. I've never used a torque wrench on wheels and simply relied on tightening them really good. The only thing I can think of is this particular wheel was not tight and the many miles of travel just allowed them to loosen up, vibrating and shaking, then shearing off the studs. I also thought of the possibility of someone loosening the lug nuts. I hate to think of anyone doing this but in today's world it's hard to comprehend what we see going on everywhere. Had I failed to tighten the lug nuts in August 2019 how did I travel 5000+ miles with no problem?? I suppose it would take that long to begin to loosen up the nuts?? If this had been on a passenger vehicle you would feel the vibration or noise and stop to check it out. On a trailer you hear or feel nothing !!! I checked the other three wheels on my return yesterday using a torque wrench and all were between 90-110 pounds. I took one day to remove the brake drum and take it to a local tire shop where new studs were pressed into the wheel and put the spare on for my trip home. I did not come back on three wheels!!
One last observation. Last year I put 4 new Goodyear Endurance tires on and removed the China Bomb Westlakes. I truly believe that the single Endurance carrying the entire load for how ever many miles after this happened enabled me to arrive safely. The Westlake or any China bomb would have blown under the increased load it was temporarily carrying. The wheel could have come off in the first part of my 90 mile trip or toward the end, I have no idea.
CHECK LUG NUT TORQUE AS PART OF YOUR MAINTENANCE !! Even if you do not do any maintenance on your axles you can at least put a lug wrench on your wheels and check for tightness. Do it often. My procedure now will be after removing a wheel I will tighten to proper specs with a torque wrench......then check again after driving a few miles.
My complete wheel was missing on the front axle!!!!!!!!!! Most of my 90 mile journey was Interstate and I did not notice anything different in towing nor did I hear any noise or vibration. All of the lug bolts were sheared off even with the surface on the drum, the dust cap was missing and obviously the axle was sagging down on that side.
Last August 2019 I performed my yearly maintenance in preparation for a trip West. All wheels removed one at a time, new grease seals, clean bearings and repack, clean and inspect brake shoes & adjust and check tire pressure. We drove 4500 miles through Colorado and New Mexico. In October we had a trip into southern Ky and late October we went to the Smoky Mts. Then this year 2020 in May we went to North Carolina/Virginia and lastly in July we went to the mountains of West Virginia. I'm thinking all these trips were near 5000 miles + of trailer towing. Flawless enjoyable towing and travel. Since we canceled our long range travel this year due to the out of control violence in our nation I had not done any maintenance in 2020 and the season is coming to an end for us until the we feel more secure traveling.
My advice to anyone pulling a trailer is this. Follow instructions on the torque specs on the lug nuts. I've never used a torque wrench on wheels and simply relied on tightening them really good. The only thing I can think of is this particular wheel was not tight and the many miles of travel just allowed them to loosen up, vibrating and shaking, then shearing off the studs. I also thought of the possibility of someone loosening the lug nuts. I hate to think of anyone doing this but in today's world it's hard to comprehend what we see going on everywhere. Had I failed to tighten the lug nuts in August 2019 how did I travel 5000+ miles with no problem?? I suppose it would take that long to begin to loosen up the nuts?? If this had been on a passenger vehicle you would feel the vibration or noise and stop to check it out. On a trailer you hear or feel nothing !!! I checked the other three wheels on my return yesterday using a torque wrench and all were between 90-110 pounds. I took one day to remove the brake drum and take it to a local tire shop where new studs were pressed into the wheel and put the spare on for my trip home. I did not come back on three wheels!!
One last observation. Last year I put 4 new Goodyear Endurance tires on and removed the China Bomb Westlakes. I truly believe that the single Endurance carrying the entire load for how ever many miles after this happened enabled me to arrive safely. The Westlake or any China bomb would have blown under the increased load it was temporarily carrying. The wheel could have come off in the first part of my 90 mile trip or toward the end, I have no idea.
CHECK LUG NUT TORQUE AS PART OF YOUR MAINTENANCE !! Even if you do not do any maintenance on your axles you can at least put a lug wrench on your wheels and check for tightness. Do it often. My procedure now will be after removing a wheel I will tighten to proper specs with a torque wrench......then check again after driving a few miles.
