Remember Kids

[agallant80]

Check your lug nuts. Two weeks ago I was driving home from a great 4 day trip. On the way home the truck started sounding different. I look out the mirror and notice the front tire on the driver side wobberling. I pull in to a gas station to discover that 4 of the 6 studs have broken off, the remaning 2 studs were trashed, the tire from wobbling was trashed and the holes for the lugs were trashed. I had to unhook the trailer drive 15 miles to an auto parts store with a stud in hand, find matching studs which required two auto parts stores, went back to the trailer to replace the studs to find out that the new lugs did not fit my wrench so another 30 mile round drip back to the auto parts store.

All and all not checking my lugs BEFORE I left cost me
4 hours of road side repare.
$200 worth of tire and rim
$21 for a 4 way lug wrench
$18 in studs and lugnuts.

So about $250 + 4 hours for not checking my lugs. I will always be checking my lugs from now on every trip!

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Remember Kids

Had you touched the lugs lately? At least in my experience, the only time I've ever seen a loose lugnut is after recent service. Once they have been on there for some length of time, they aren't coming off.

Anyway, my normal routine after any maintenance is to torque to spec using a torque wrench, and then re-check that 2 or 3 times after that to allow for the wheels/lugs to stretch into place. After that, never check them again, and have yet to have one move.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Remember Kids

I have never taken a rim off of the trailer until I had to replace the studs. I will say that this will be the last Venture trailer I ever buy. I bunch of cheep Northern Tool/Harbor Freight Chineese garbage bolted on to a spot welded and bolted togeather frame.

 

[lrak]

Re: Remember Kids

Tie Down Engineering stainless disk brakes by any chance? If so, I don't blame you. Those can sheer off while properly torqued and without wobbling at all. Once you are down to running on only a couple lugs, you can trash a wheel in a couple hundred feet ... or launch as a road missile without showing any damage to the wheel at all.

 

[agallant80]

Re: Remember Kids

I do have disk breaks on my trailer. I don't know if they are Tie Down Engineering stainless disk brakes though.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Remember Kids

Check your lug nuts. Two weeks ago I was driving home from a great 4 day trip. On the way home the truck started sounding different. I look out the mirror and notice the front tire on the driver side wobberling. I pull in to a gas station to discover that 4 of the 6 studs have broken off, the remaning 2 studs were trashed, the tire from wobbling was trashed and the holes for the lugs were trashed. I had to unhook the trailer drive 15 miles to an auto parts store with a stud in hand, find matching studs which required two auto parts stores, went back to the trailer to replace the studs to find out that the new lugs did not fit my wrench so another 30 mile round drip back to the auto parts store.

All and all not checking my lugs BEFORE I left cost me
4 hours of road side repare.
$200 worth of tire and rim
$21 for a 4 way lug wrench
$18 in studs and lugnuts.

So about $250 + 4 hours for not checking my lugs. I will always be checking my lugs from now on every trip!

Do you boat/launch in salt water? If so, I have found that I needed to check the lugs once . . . after that they were rusted on pretty good :thumb:

 

[agallant80]

Re: Remember Kids

It depends. Some times its the local lake other times its the ICW off of NC or the bay in MD.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Remember Kids

Not just the trailer!
You should pull off your hubcaps and check all the lug nuts on your car every day before driving to work and again before driving home. Also check all the bolts on the suspension and the motor mounts.

and run through your turn signals and brake lights.

No need to say check your oil, brake fluid, trans fluid and radiator since everyone who is responsible does that daily, too.

At least that's what I hear from the guys here who say you will never have a problem with your boat if you inspect everything on it before every use.

IOW while it's good to keep an eye on things, and thanks for the reminder of something easy to check at a glance, but don't beat yourself up too much for not catching it.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Remember Kids

torque once then paint pen a line from the nut to the wheel. If its inline there still tight if they are made in china studs it will not matter as they snap at any torque setting.

 

[four winns 214]

Re: Remember Kids

I carry a ready-to-install hub as well as a spare tire. And a floor jack, 4-way lug wrench, and battery powered impact driver. I've been on the side of the road with a trailer tire problem. It sucks.