Posted 2012-03-18 9:13 AM (#142234) Subject: Wheel comes off trailer
Member
Posts: 20
Location: GA
Has anyone had an entire wheel, bearings, and all come off while driving? What could be the cause and where is the best place to have it evaluated and fixed? Does the axle have to be replaced? Thank goodness no one was hurt by the loose wheel on the highway, and the trailer was empty, AND I was almost home.
Posted 2012-03-18 11:04 AM (#142239 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350 Location: Penrose, Colorado
the cotter pin that holds the axel nut on came out and then the nut through time came off, if the threads on the axel and where the bearings ride is ok your good to go, if it is roughed up you can have a good shop replace the spindle with out going the new axel route.
Posted 2012-03-18 4:56 PM (#142242 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Member
Posts: 19
Location: Piedmont SD 57769
here is our story...
We were going home from Arizona and had just driven thru Pietown New Mexico. Den looked into his mirror and saw that the left rear tire of our trailer was sticking out about 1 inch further than the right tire. There is NOTHING out there but as luck would have it, we were almost in front of a driveway so he pulled over and went back to look at it. It fell off in his hands. I walked down the 1/2 mile driveway and the guy that answered the door was the ranch manager for a 27000 acre ranch. He helped us get the trailer to his house and luckily he had a corral for us to use. We had to take the whole thing apart, drive 60 miles to the closest town and spend the night. Then we went to a trailer repair place in the morning and as luck would have it he had all of the parts needed. We drove back, put the tire on, loaded our horse and went back to him because when the tire went off, it took out the brakes. We have a Dexter axle and it has "Tab Washers" instead of cotter pins. We had taken our trailer in and had the people check it out before we went. Appartently no one bent the tab down on one of the washers. Den had been driving up and down mountains everyday for 6 weeks.... did you notice how many times I said Luck. The rancher even had a grinder so we could grind down the spindle enugh so that we could get it back on.
Posted 2012-03-18 5:52 PM (#142243 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Originally written by millbrow on 2012-03-18 9:13 AM<BR><BR>Has anyone had an entire wheel, bearings, and all come off while driving? What could be the cause and where is the best place to have it evaluated and fixed? Does the axle have to be replaced? Thank goodness no one was hurt by the loose wheel on the highway, and the trailer was empty, AND I was almost home.
So when was the last time you had serviced your brakes and bearings???
Posted 2012-03-18 6:23 PM (#142245 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Member
Posts: 20
Location: GA
I had them serviced about 6 to 8 months ago and they replaced a couple of bearings. The cap that covers the bearings popped off and rolled around the hub cap back in November (same wheel). I probably should have had it looked at again at that point, but it was just the cap that came loose. In hind site, it might have been something else going on. Should i take it to the same place that does the bearings and brakes?
Posted 2012-03-18 10:39 PM (#142257 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
Should i take it to the same place that does the bearings and brakes?
With the poor service you have been experiencing, I would definately find another mechanic to do any repair or maintenance work. You are most fortunate for not experiencing an accident. Any certified mechanic is capable of properly torquing and safetying the axle nuts. You don't have to frequent just a trailer business for this procedure.
Posted 2012-03-19 6:28 AM (#142261 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Member
Posts: 20
Location: GA
"Any certified mechanic is capable of properly torquing and safetying the axle nuts." So would you say the main problem here was that the lug nuts were not tight enough? Seems hard to believe that all the nuts would come loose. But I guess the unbalance of one could cause the others to loosen....
Posted 2012-03-19 9:27 AM (#142267 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
So would you say the main problem here was that the lug nuts were not tight enough
The issue is that the axle nut was not properly safetied after being torqued. If it had been, the wheel would not have come off. The lug nuts hold the wheel onto the brake drum, not to the axle end, which is the spindle.
Posted 2012-03-19 6:03 PM (#142299 - in reply to #142267) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
Originally written by gard on 2012-03-19 6:27 AM
So would you say the main problem here was that the lug nuts were not tight enough
The issue is that the axle nut was not properly safetied after being torqued. If it had been, the wheel would not have come off. The lug nuts hold the wheel onto the brake drum, not to the axle end, which is the spindle.
To clarify Gard's post. The axle nut is NOT tightened to hold it in place like a fastener. It is only tightened enough to load the bearings. Make it too tight, and the bearings are overloaded and fail quickly. There are various measures to keep the nut from turning on the spindle and falling off. A cotter pin through the nut is common. Dexter uses either tang washers (like you had) or a spring clip that is reusable.
Posted 2012-03-19 9:58 PM (#142311 - in reply to #142257) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Expert
Posts: 1871 Location: NY
Originally written by Gard on 2012-03-18 11:39 PM
Should i take it to the same place that does the bearings and brakes?
With the poor service you have been experiencing, I would definitely find another mechanic to do any repair or maintenance work. You are most fortunate for not experiencing an accident. Any certified mechanic is capable of properly torquing and safetying the axle nuts. You don't have to frequent just a trailer business for this procedure.
Posted 2012-03-20 1:07 PM (#142326 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Member
Posts: 20
Location: GA
Thanks all, I brought it to the place i use to go to for servicing. The bearing was "blown" and they agreed that since it had been serviced within the year,this should not have happened.... And yes, i was very lucky that I was driving the trailer empty, and not my daughter. Thankfully I made the decision to leave the new rig with her in Florida which she will be driving (fully loaded) to NC this week rather than the one now sitting in the shop.
Posted 2023-10-25 8:50 PM (#185642 - in reply to #142234) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
New User
Posts: 1
Ok so I am going on a horse camping trip today get about 150 miles pull over to get gas and notice the whole front wheel of horse trailer was gone!! All the tire studs were broke off and I never heard or felt anything, Had 3 horses on board. No one had any studs for my horse trailer. I had to have my nephew drive all the way we’re I was and he had to take studs from other tires to put on the one that broke. What a nightmare. I don’t know if this was just a freak accident or if it’s the doing of an ex.
Posted 2023-10-27 8:32 AM (#185645 - in reply to #185642) Subject: RE: Wheel comes off trailer
Elite Veteran
Posts: 788 Location: Tenn/Ala.
The studs being broken off are usually the result of loose lug nuts. There are safety decals on new trailers reminding the driver to check them before each trip, but I suspect this is seldom done. It is important to do it a couple of times right after a wheel has been off for any reason as they do tend to loosen up. I suspicion the turning stresses on a trailer cause more issues with this than our trucks.
Wheel comes off trailer
