Made it about 100 miles from home when I heard people honking at the merge after the Delaware Memorial Bridge, on our way to Cecil County for our first race of the year......

Well, when I put 6 new tires on the trailer over the winter, I used my trusty Milwaukee impact gun to get them tight, then went over them all later with a 1/2 breaker bar. Guess I missed a wheel..........

Luckily it did not come off! That could have killed someone at speed on the highway.

Since it is a tri axle and weighs less than my Gooseneck with two axles I felt safe getting it to the track on 5 wheels, though I wouldn't go above 50......

SO, check your stuff boys and girls! This could have been very, very ugly!

PS: There is a sticker on the front of my trailer that tells you CHECK THE LUGS AFTER 25, 50, 75 MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go buy a lottery ticket...

That is good advice and glad you did not have a really big problem.

Mike your torque wrench is your friend---I hit the lugs and check the air before every trip and if a long trip every time I stop. I also USUALLY check the lugs on the race car before every race----I went all the way to Norwalk last year and didn't torque the race car and sheared off 1 lug bolt 2nd round, found it while checking air for 3rd round......Made for a long ride back to NC. I once removed both center wheels for a couple hundred miles. Another benefit of 3 axels.

quote:

There is a sticker on the front of my trailer that tells you CHECK THE LUGS AFTER 25, 50, 75 MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got one of these but it goes on to say "or if you should have a panic stop"

mike I got to ohio one time and found one of my wheels had completely sheered off..meaning nuts and studs,flush to the drum.

I was mind boggled on that one until two years later my son confessed that my ex wife had loosened the lugs,but ran out of energy after doing the one

quote:

Originally posted by jenavet:
mike I got to ohio one time and found one of my wheels had completely sheered off..meaning nuts and studs,flush to the drum.

I was mind boggled on that one until two years later my son confessed that my ex wife had loosened the lugs,but ran out of energy after doing the one

That wasn't nice.......

But worse than that, a tire and wheel coming off at speed can and has killed people.

I retorqued all of them at the track and we found one more loose, but the rest were at least 120ft/lbs.

And I have to give thanks to the Delaware Police that blocked traffic for us once I got it ready to go during rush hour.

Will never make that mistake again!

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Beck:

quote:

Originally posted by jenavet:
mike I got to ohio one time and found one of my wheels had completely sheered off..meaning nuts and studs,flush to the drum.

I was mind boggled on that one until two years later my son confessed that my ex wife had loosened the lugs,but ran out of energy after doing the one

That wasn't nice.......

But worse than that, a tire and wheel coming off at speed can and has killed people.

I retorqued all of them at the track and we found one more loose, but the rest were at least 120ft/lbs.

And I have to give thanks to the Delaware Police that blocked traffic for us once I got it ready to go during rush hour.

Will never make that mistake again!

Wow.. that can really get turned into a felony with bodily injury and or death.They just had a
Fatal last month here where a set of duals came off a trailer and then the drum came off and killed a pregnant woman in the opposite lane. She was 7 months pregnant. The brake drum came right into the drivers windshield. She was only 27.

The real issue is when these guys do these truck tires and use the 1' gun and exceed the stretch and yield of the studs>> SNAP. I couldn't tell you how many calls i go on in the year where as there is a loss of single and duals come clear off the vehicle.

I just can't enforce this picture enough with the deadly out come. The importance of proper torque with a torque wrench. The large impacts can and will put out 1000-1200 Lbs of torque. Far exceeds the stretch and yield of the studs.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TD3550,

I had the same experience back in 2007. One wheel gone the other one was just flopping around in the wheel well holding up the trailer. Talk about a punch in the stomach feeling when you walk back at 10pm at night along I-95 in Georgia and find no studs left on that side! So I have a breaker bar and socket hung right inside my door and it is used every time I travel since 2007!

Had this happen a few years back on a friends trailer on the way back from Moroso. Stopped for gas and noticed we only had 5 wheels, have no idea where or when it left. I think the aluminum wheels are more prone to this - they can be slightly c o c k e d on the hub and not flush against the drum so you torque it properly but as soon as you drive a few miles it works its way loose.

Another issue i see all the time is where as there is scaling on the drum face and or oxidation of the aluminum wheel on the inside. On a scary note,
I can't count how many truck/trailers are out there on the road with heat cracked brake drums. Had service calls many times where the drum was completely gone. Only remaining part was the mounting face of the drum in back of the wheel.

Couple years ago my friends father bought a brand new (dual axle) 28' enclosed trailer. Put his race car in it and headed for the track. Arrived at the track to find 3 wheels on the trailer and the studs sheared off on the one that was missing.

It then made sense why someone honked at them on the way up. Lucky that tire/wheel didn't go through someone's windshield! They looked but didn't find the wheel.

Check your lugs!!!

Too many calls where i never found them also. What is real frighting is at night time is where as what is crossing the middle grass divider in a lot of areas where there is no center divider protection. I'm constantly at night trying to keep my eyes peeled there. Dangerous highways all the time.

quote:

Originally posted by BD104X:
Had this happen a few years back on a friends trailer on the way back from Moroso. Stopped for gas and noticed we only had 5 wheels, have no idea where or when it left. I think the aluminum wheels are more prone to this - they can be slightly c o c k e d on the hub and not flush against the drum so you torque it properly but as soon as you drive a few miles it works its way loose.

That is probably why they have the sticker on the front of my trailer. I am sure others have the same sticker. Lesson learned! When checking the tire pressure before a trip, it won't hurt to check a few lugs, or all of them, while you're at it.

Righty tighty don't loose your nut's save your cash for Dilly Bars

I keep a torque wrench in the trailer and ck the cars wheels periodically and also ck the trailer often. After removal I ck them often and they do require a little torque even with steel wheels. People retrofit aluminum wheels and never pay attention to the cone of the nut compared to the wheel and end up with mismatch nuts.

We have had a couple of incidents like this over the years.
It is a miracle we never hurt anybody or did any major damage.
Our trailer tire/wheel/wheel bearing program has evolved over the years.

Regular air pressure checks

TPMS system

Wheel bearing re-packing at 2 years even if it seems it does not need it.

I came up with a spare hub, I keep it in the trailer with the bearings packed and ready for install. Also have a spare set of bearing packed and ready with some cotter pins or snap rings just in case.

I also have blocks made to drive on, makes it easier if there is a problem out on the road.

We live in TX, we travel many days when it's approaching 100, we keep a Raytek thermometer handy for periodic checking of wheel bearing temps.

Remember, some trailer fires start at the wheel bearings, don't overlook the wheel bearings.
Out of sight and out of mind. The grease won't last forever.

As others have said, take the time to do the work needed for safe and hassle free travel.

So I am not only one this time. Had a axle break on way back from Nebraska.We should have broken hub rest the way off.Wait we did but at 75 mph and it went across a feild.Lucky number one.

Had a left wheel come off going thru Georgia and it cleared a Trans Am's hood coming oppisite way by foot or two while in flight. Somes lucky comes in a non Lottery way.Wait does it come in a Lottery way.

No such thing as too much maintenance on anything with wheels!

Dexter Nev-R-Lube hubs. Problem solved!

Never lube is a misnomer ..people pump grease in the hubs and never have a thought of where all the excess goes ...lol...it doesn't disappear . Excess grease is forced out the hubs by the seals and gets on the brake hardware and opens a avenue for fire . Pulling the hubs and removing excess grease and packing the bearings properly is the only way imo