Something to check

[MSM1970]

So every year I change my wheel bearing, not just grease them I change them, try to do all my checks so i dont end up on the side of the road, I leave the tire attached when I do bearings.

So on my way back from electric lake last sunday my trailer tire comes off rolling down the road and clips another car, every one OK, looking at the rim the lug nuts came loose, studs broke,

Just a good practice to start doing, not just look at the lug nuts BUT put a wrench on them to make sure there tight. I know its in my check list now.
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[UThunting]

Ugh sounds like my luck!!!!

Great to hear everyone was ok.
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[Boatloadakids]

Scares me just thinking about it. Had to run out and check mine just for peace of mind. All okay..

Glad you are okay... could have been much worse. Get 'er fixed and get back on the water.

BLK
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[MSM1970]

Ya need to check em, the tire shop was the last to tighten them, its been a couple years since the new tire.

I'm glad the other people didnt get hurt, I was in a panic running back to check on them.
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[RonPaulFan]

I'm glad no one got hurt! It could have been deadly!

Thank-you for making this a learning opportunity for all of us for us to prevent it from happening with our wheels.

I know how it happened and how to avoid it. The solution is it takes a little more time when installing a wheel to prevent this. It's worth the time.

I've seen it before with one wheel that got away from broken lug nuts and another in the progress of the same. The one in progress held all of the clues.

Relating it to what happened with your wheel is the wallowed out holes on your wheel in picture three.

Here's how it happens:

1. The wheel was put on the studs and the first lug nut was tightened and it didn't center or maybe did and held the others off center.

(In particular don't do any of this: Especially bad is tightening up the first bolt tight with an impact wrench. Even worse is doing it with weight on the wheel that holds the wheel off center. Even when that is done with that lug nut centered, being tight, it can hold the other holes off center.)

2. The remaining lug nuts going onto studs not centered came to a firm stop on the edge of the hole without the taper on the lug nuts fitting into the mating taper on the holes in the wheel. No matter how much they were tightend in this position of the lug nuts not being seated, they will eventually fall into place when the wheel gets the right bump and then the lug nuts are loose.

3. The loose wheel bouncing around against the studs and putting on tremoundous force wallows out the holes in the wheel as it fatigues the studs until they break.

Here is the solution: (the main thing is not taking shortcuts and taking a little more time)

1. Always put on a few or all of the lug nuts with your fingers while watching that each seats into the tapered hole as you wiggle the wheel to feel it go in. Do that with the wheel fully up in the air.

2. Partly tighten each lug nut in a sequence that goes from one to the next on nearly the opposite side. Then repeat with a little more tightening while the wheel is still up in the air.

3. Partly lower just enough to stop it from turning as you tighten with a torque wrench twice with the first time less than proper torque and the second time with the torque wrench set at the proper torque as in the chart.
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[Kent]

Sorry to hear of your accident, but good news that it ended up just being property damage. I came so close to doing the same thing last year, returning from Strawberry. I got stopped just before the wheel was ready to fall off. Strange thing was I pulled over next to another guy pulling a boat who had the exact same problem. I can't blame anyone but myself, because I was the one who forgot to tighten the lug nuts.
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[MSM1970]

The tire shop was the last to touch mine, mostly take a wrench out and make sure nothing has come loose.
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[wiperhunter2]

Not sure if this could have happened to you but I know it happened to me, someone loosened my lug nuts on my truck and as I was driving down the road, the wheel came off. I figured someone was trying to steal the tire or rim and something scared them off, then I lost my tire and rim later the next day. IMO, it is unlikely the tire shop did not tighten you lug nuts correctly, most of them use torque wrenches now days. Even if it did not happen at your place, it could have happened any place you took your boat trailer. Your idea to check your lug nuts is always a good one, especially after going out fishing and leaving your boat trailer in a parking lot while you are out fishing. Glad no one got hurt with your mishap.
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[cdbrc]

Another thing to check out is the cable that holds up the spair tire on your truck. Two years ago I had the cable of my trusty dodge break while towing my fifth wheel. Dropped under the 5th wheel tore EVERYTHING APART. Bent both axles busted all tanks. Luckily it lodged between the two axles and stayed there. A compact car with 4 in it was close behind me and had to quick turn to keep from hitting me. If it had of hit the compact there would be no survives. Check your spare cable to see if it is rusty. A yr. later I found a spare on the shore of Scofield, just below the road, The bracket for the spare was still attached. Check your spare cable!,,,,,
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[MSM1970]

Im thinking along the same lines, the other tires been on longer, I came back form fishing lincoln one day bunch of trailers, noticed I lost a bearing buddy, could happen going down the road, ya know, until I walked around to the other side and that one got lost to sitting in the parking lot to. wish I knew for sure which way it happend , never had lug nuts come loose be for, I can see it happening just after you leave the tire shop, but two years and a lot of miles later is suspicious.
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[RonPaulFan]

Regarding specifically this part:

[quote MSM1970]… got lost to sitting in the parking lot to. wish I knew for sure which way it happened, never had lug nuts come loose be for, I can see it happening just after you leave the tire shop, but two years and a lot of miles later is suspicious.[/quote]

I wonder if this can be related to similarities to the subject being discussed with the topic: Willard Confrontation

Link: http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ead#unread

Those who have such poor ethics as to do some of those things might be smart enough to not be caught at criminal confrontation with violence or cowardly yet prefer to do harm without getting caught by causing disaster (risking killing people) by loosening lug nuts in a parking lot. I don't know if this was the cause, but I'm just relating it to a possibility regarding the confrontation conversation.

Either way, it is prudent to be checking things especially if you had confrontations or help law enforcement.

I proudly have a key scratch on my car most likely due to politics and my taunting decal I posted in the other subject linked above.

We live in the times of inexpensive dash cameras and the GoPro and they even have a fancy 360 degree model that catches everything!
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[Jmorfish]

Well said, all....and especially a great reminder to double check after any tire service....a buddy and I were returning from our last ice fishing trip, 2 years ago, coming down Parley's Summit, when his left front tire flies off, and we see it going down the road, several cars swerving to miss it-lucky for us we didn't crash, and lucky that tire never hit anyone....He had just gotten his truck back from a questionable tire service shop, and like most of us, trusted that all was fine....but it wasn't....sometimes we get lucky, but sometimes we don't....In the Military we learned, and practiced, a lot of PMCS....Preventative Maintenance Checks and Service.....maybe we need to apply more of that in our civilian lives....Guluk...
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[catchinon]

Where I got my tires on my car they said to come back in a few hundred miles and they would re-torque them. Didn't do it but will next rotation.

Last set of tires on my pickup had really weird wear patterns and I didn't get many miles out of them. The guy at the alignment shop said it was way out of adjustment. Concluded that it had to an idiot mechanic or a miffed student. And the lug nut covers are missing from three wheels now.
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