Wheel snapped off in the Keys

[perryg114]

Snug them up every long trip you go on and about once a year remove them and wire brush the corrosion on the inside of the rim and the outside of the drum where the rim and drum contact each other. I think the problem is that trailers sit a lot and corrosion takes hold. Tire monkees are for the most part idiots. And that I why I NEVER take the vehicle to the shop. I take in loose wheels. When you remove the wheels yourself you can inspect things and put them back properly. I have never used a torque wrench on a rim and never have had one come off. Usually when something is overtightened it breaks at that time.

Tire monkeys are responsible for broken and stripped threads, frame and undercarriage damage from improper jacking, and not to mention leaving lug bolts loose. I have seen all of these.

Perry

[J. Morgan]

Chances are the wheel didn't just "come loose", it was never really tight to start with. I don't think most aluminum wheels are a lot more prone to coming loose than steel wheels, (giant donk wheels excluded ) but it is easier to catch a loose steel wheel on a walk around.

A tell tale for a loose wheel is rust streaking from the lug nuts, it is easier to see, and there is more of it on a steel wheel.

[r carl]

Originally Posted by perryg114

Tire monkeys are responsible for broken and stripped threads, frame and undercarriage damage from improper jacking, and not to mention leaving lug bolts loose. I have seen all of these.

Perry

I could tell you the nightmare about the time I took my 1967 Ford F350 in for a flat repair, the studs on the left hand side of the truck had left hand threads.

[ALANSD]

No advice to give but just sorry your trip was slowed down by the issue with the wheel. Glad it did not damage the trailer ..

[AtomicNo13]

Lots of talk about the hub studs and wheel. What about your body damage? Whees and tires are an easy fix. Body work, not so much!

[nilesrob]

I did have some damage, but in the scheme of things not horrible.

[John&Vicki]

Originally Posted by 62overlander

They tend to fly off. Do a search here and you will find hundreds of times an aluminum rim has come off. It is rare with a steel rim.

This is interesting information. I've been seriously considering replacing the steel wheels on my '90 trailer with aluminum ones, mainly for cosmetic reasons. I thing I'll hang on to my steelies and paint them Airstream blue. Funky and solid.

Poppy

[Al and Missy]

Search "16 inch wheels" on here. Someone (I don't recall who) posted pictures of some gorgeous blue wheels they had just redone. If I had steel wheels on an older trailer, that's what I'd do.

[AtomicNo13]

Sorry, but that damage will be a trophy.... a reminder of your trip!
Eventually, all the little oops morph into a great campfire story!

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

Search "16 inch wheels" on here. Someone (I don't recall who) posted pictures of some gorgeous blue wheels they had just redone. If I had steel wheels on an older trailer, that's what I'd do.

....yes, that is very cool indeed:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f465...ml#post1443183

[John&Vicki]

Those wheels look *great*! The blue is perfect. My not-quite-vintage-yet '90 will receive a nudge into the past with these wheels.

Thanks for the link.

Poppy

[Skatiero]

Brad and Karen, we just now read the thread and your news! Oh my gosh, so sorry for your troubles! Katie

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Random thought...anyone know how a Nascar tire change is done? That process doesn't look very precise...does the wrench they use always tighten to the correct value?
kcollins


I am not a lug-nut scientist.
I have removed and tightened thousands of lug-nuts.
As a 16 year-old idiot monkey I sweat over a coats 10-10 changing tires for Sears all summer long. We slammed the wheels on and off with an impact gun. Never saw a “mag” wheel in those days. Sears had no torque wrench in the shop.


I cannot speak for NASCAR, but I crewed IMSA GT for five years. A bit more real-life type cars, it was “Endurance Racing” 24 hours at Daytona and Watkins Glen, 12 hours at Sebring, 6 hrs Portland, Laguna Seca , Road America, Mid Ohio... A 24 hr race took about thirty tires. It was my Pit-Crew position to replace both wheels and front brake caliper on the car's left side within 1minute and ten seconds because that's how long it took to gravity fuel our Stock appearing secretly modified 1LE Camaros. I slammed the steel wheels on just like I did as a kid for Sears.


I watched our cars go 175mph, saw brake rotors glow bright orange into the turns, corner on two wheels, sometimes flip side over side a few times, and the steel wheels never came off.


There were two Kelsay-Hayes wheel engineers advising our team as to the installation procedure.


The steel wheels were hub-centric. I used a very light veil of anti-seize on the lug-nut threads and the inside of the wheel's hub pilot hole. We always used new nuts and kept the taper and seats immaculately clean. I carefully centered the nut into the wheel's lug seat, and calked a evenly coved 1/8” bead of 3m weatherstripping adhesive around the seated nut and wheel. This glued the nut onto the wheel. Later, during the race, when pushed onto the hub, The elasticity of the set weatherstrip cement stretched a dozen tentacles that kept the nut perfectly centered over the stud. The CP Impact guns were run from Nitrogen bottles, regulated at normal shop pressure. Toward the end of the race a few studs might look like stalactites, but next race starts with all new studs. That's The IMSA GT way as advised by Kelsay-Hayes.


I use anti sieze on my trailer lug-nuts and tighten the steel wheels by breaker bar, three times incrementally in star pattern until they feel right. I check them at the first rest stop, put the hub-caps on and forget about it. Every Spring I'll give 'em a kick and shake to check for bearing looseness, but they never are. I in no way suggest that mere mortals attempt this procedure. No one touches my lug-nuts but me.


Other than vanity, I don't see a reason to have aluminum trailer wheels. We're not drag racing. I don't believe that un-sprung weight outweighs safety. I would concede to being a bit of a hypocrite tho, if I were offered the correct set of Centerline Auto-Drags. This is the only aluminum wheel in existence that can cause me to whore myself to fashion.



The arguments about lug-nut lubing, K factors, coatings, and torque are endless, but to the anti-anti-seize crowd, of whom many have never used anti-seize, the sky isn't falling, and Ralphie never poked his eye out.

[John&Vicki]

That's maybe the best post I've ever read on this forum.

Poppy

[perryg114]

You must become one with the lug nut grasshopper.

Perry

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Thanks,

May the clamping force be with you...

[dznf0g]

NASCAR guns are highly modified and likely cost thousands each. They are higher speed and have precise specific torque clutch in them.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Originally Posted by Birdmaestro

This is interesting information. I've been seriously considering replacing the steel wheels on my '90 trailer with aluminum ones, mainly for cosmetic reasons. I thing I'll hang on to my steelies and paint them Airstream blue. Funky and solid.

Poppy

Have them powder coated. About $50 each and forget about them.

[Lance M]

Originally Posted by gmw photos

....yes, that is very cool indeed:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f465...ml#post1443183

I think those wheels are a tad unsightly. I normally don't say anything unless I have something nice to say, but I just want it to be clear that I think those wheels and tires should remain unseen.

[gmw photos]

Originally Posted by Top

I think those wheels are a tad unsightly. I normally don't say anything unless I have something nice to say, but I just want it to be clear that I think those wheels and tires should remain unseen.

...aw Lance....you're killin' us here !!! To me, all of this kind of stuff has to be viewed in context. If a person is trying to make something look like a specific "idea" from a certain era, then to my eye, something like the blue wheels, "fits". To me it looks like something that might have been done as a custom touch in a period of the 1960's.
Would it be something I would do ? Well, no....but then I am a boring guy that prefers not to stand out in the crowd. I'm a olive drab and khaki kind of person.
But.... I do admire some of these custom touches, and to me, I like the blue wheels.
All of which has gone waaaaay off topic of this thread. We now return you to your regular scheduled "wheels falling off and passing me on the highway" thread....