My wheel came off!

[dotrosedotnet]

Good evening friends!

I just had a horrible and terrifying experience. I was aiming to escape the nor'easter and left for Florida from Philly this morning.

I was passing by DC when my trailer jerked my car to the right! I'm lucky that I didn't lose control of the car in the snow.

I'm wondering if anybody here can potentially diagnose the cause! I'm terrified that I'll have to start all over with a new chassis.

Here are some pics: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/eymsvi6hipy9ki0/AABY1dHVC5TcjXS3DejFn4Kra?dl=0

The wheel was chewed up, you may notice. The hub seemed to be in tact, which makes me think the nuts came loose. But all of them?!?

What do you think? ::bites fingernails::

[S. Heisley]

All I see is the wheel, not the hub. Are the lugs still on or did they shear off? Get a mechanic to look at it, if you can.

[dotrosedotnet]

All I see is the wheel, not the hub. Are the lugs still on or did they shear off? Get a mechanic to look at it, if you can.

The lugs are entirely missing. not sheared.

[S. Heisley]

So the lugs AND the lug nuts are gone?! Yeah. Get it to a mechanic.

[dotrosedotnet]

So the lugs AND the lug nuts are gone?! Yeah. Get it to a mechanic.

hm. I fear that I may not understand the difference between the two. I'll be calling mechanics in the morning.

[lfhoward]

Yeah, it’s hard to see what happened with the axle and hub as the wheel is all that shows. I hope the damage was mostly cosmetic and your trailer can be repaired.

[Melle.17]

When I bought my trailer (used, old, some rust) frame I was taking off the wheels and as I was taking off the lug nuts the entire lug came off on many of them, with the lug nut still attached. Needless to say I replaced the hubs. That wheel looks kinda rusty so maybe that’s what happened?


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[tony.latham]

Here's a close-up of one of the holes on the wheel.



That hole is awful close to the edge.

I think what may have happened was that the lug nuts were loose for a long time which caused the holes in the rim to wear bigger and bigger which created metal fatigue on the lugs and they failed.

Glad no one was injured.

Tony

[bobhenry]

Been there done that ! The lug nuts were not tightened and worked loose. We were just dumb lucky as I was slowly crossing a rail road track when it expired. And believe it or not I was able to walk two blocks to a farm store and purchase a new hub and a tub of grease, 20 minutes later we were on the road again using my spare I always carry.

[GTS225]

That wheel's center register doesn't look right to me. As Tony mentioned, the edge is too close to the lug hole. I would guess that someone modified a rim to fit the hub's register. That may be the root cause of the wheel loss. If there's a weakness there, allowing the register to flex while traveling, it may be responsible for lug nut loss, or lug stud fatigue.
I suggest you examine all components closely.

Roger

[Ottsville]

The fact that your wheel was still under the trailer when you pulled over is peculiar given that it looks like you also had stud failure. The lug holes are definitely unusual as Tony pointed out.

Did you check the lugs before travelling?
When you tighten lugs, do you use a torque wrench or just lean on it until it's tight?

[Ottsville]

That wheel's center register doesn't look right to me. As Tony mentioned, the edge is too close to the lug hole. I would guess that someone modified a rim to fit the hub's register. That may be the root cause of the wheel loss. If there's a weakness there, allowing the register to flex while traveling, it may be responsible for lug nut loss, or lug stud fatigue.
I suggest you examine all components closely.

Roger

Good eye.

[swoody126]

with the description provided it is unclear whether the hub utilizes LUG BOLTS or STUDS W/ LUG NUTS in the hub

here is a picture of the 3 items i am referring to

OIP.716W_OMQ2X204LJpGuZkFwAAAA.jpeg (5.84 KiB) Viewed 1929 times

the LUG BOLTS are the silver items on the bottom left

the LUG NUTS are the 5 silver items at the top of the pic

the LUG STUD is the golden item on the right side of the pic

LUG BOLTS screw thru the wheel into threaded holes in the hub(note there is a tapered portion of the head which actually aids in centering the fastener in a tapered hole in the wheel)

LUG STUDS are pressed into the hub from the rear so the threaded portion sticks thru

OIP.CceHfpkdr9zSlLWobcwUnAHaE8.jpeg (4.1 KiB) Viewed 1929 times

LUG NUTS screw onto the LUG STUDS with the tapered side into the hole in the wheel thus holding the wheel in place

OIP.WAW_gTx2593ckLhpyObTLwHaHa.jpeg (3.13 KiB) Viewed 1929 times

that close up of the hole indicates lack of proper maintenance

that much rust where 2 surfaces should have been in contact indicates those 2 surfaces were not in contact and the fasteners simply worked their way loose and escaped

i personally would not use that wheel due to the obvious rust issue and would likely replace both wheels AND tires

without pics of the hubs themselves there is no way to arm chair from a great distance a diagnosis for them

appears from this distance time needs to be invested in repairs and learning proper maintenance procedures

sorry if this seems a bit harsh butt you were quite lucky no one was injured in this incident

the trailer hitting the ground could easily have caused the whole package to swerve into other vehicles or immovable objects like bridge abutments

good luck with your repairs

sw

[dotrosedotnet]

with the description provided it is unclear whether the hub utilizes LUG BOLTS or STUDS W/ LUG NUTS in the hub

here is a picture of the 3 items i am referring to

OIP.716W_OMQ2X204LJpGuZkFwAAAA.jpeg

the LUG BOLTS are the silver items on the bottom left

the LUG NUTS are the 5 silver items at the top of the pic

the LUG STUD is the golden item on the right side of the pic

LUG BOLTS screw thru the wheel into threaded holes in the hub(note there is a tapered portion of the head which actually aids in centering the fastener in a tapered hole in the wheel)

LUG STUDS are pressed into the hub from the rear so the threaded portion sticks thru

OIP.CceHfpkdr9zSlLWobcwUnAHaE8.jpeg

LUG NUTS screw onto the LUG STUDS with the tapered side into the hole in the wheel thus holding the wheel in place

OIP.WAW_gTx2593ckLhpyObTLwHaHa.jpeg

that close up of the hole indicates lack of proper maintenance

that much rust where 2 surfaces should have been in contact indicates those 2 surfaces were not in contact and the fasteners simply worked their way loose and escaped

i personally would not use that wheel due to the obvious rust issue and would likely replace both wheels AND tires

without pics of the hubs themselves there is no way to arm chair from a great distance a diagnosis for them

appears from this distance time needs to be invested in repairs and learning proper maintenance procedures

sorry if this seems a bit harsh butt you were quite lucky no one was injured in this incident

the trailer hitting the ground could easily have caused the whole package to swerve into other vehicles or immovable objects like bridge abutments

good luck with your repairs

sw

Thank you for the thoughtful reply!

I don't long for a stern talking-to, but I agree that it is an appropriate response. I've been too goal-oriented in this endeavor, and have relatedly not been slowing down enough for proper procedure. I will be much more committed to maintenence from now on. This was more than enough of a scare for me, and I am feeling grateful every moment that nobody was hurt.

I'm also EXTREMELY grateful for the time, energy, and wisdom which you put in your post. The trailer is presently being towed to C&C Manufacturing in Gaithersburg, MD. I'm really excited for them to get it going and make sure that the whole thing is up to snuff.

[swoody126]

you're wecome

being an old retyred shop teacher who has towed trailers from izzard to gizzard and back SAFETY is always foremost on my mind

any time i can help someone/anyone avoid an/another incident i try

hopefully you'll be back on the road in good time and safely

sw