Fatality by flying wheel

[Saxles]

So unfortunate. A young man killed today on freeway by a flying tire/wheel. Police say it was off a trailer towed by a half ton truck. A picture shows a 16” sailun tire so it was probably a travel trailer or fifth wheel. Police say charges are pending. Good practise to retorque your wheels prior to leaving on a trip. My wife thinks I am anal but I retorque prior to every trip and record it in my maintenance logbook. May not stop being charged but shows some diligence. To clarify, police say it looks like the wheel nuts had been loose for some time. So tragic and (maybe) preventable.
Check your wheel studs.

[Ynot4me2]

So unfortunate. A young man killed today on freeway by a flying tire/wheel. Police say it was off a trailer towed by a half ton truck. A picture shows a 16” sailun tire so it was probably a travel trailer or fifth wheel. Police say charges are pending. Good practise to retorque your wheels prior to leaving on a trip. My wife thinks I am anal but I retorque prior to every trip and record it in my maintenance logbook. May not stop being charged but shows some diligence. To clarify, police say it looks like the wheel nuts had been loose for some time. So tragic and (maybe) preventable.
Check your wheel studs.

Just saw this on the news. They say that the victim never had a chance. So sad and unnecessary death. It came off a small commercial trailer but regardless. The driver should be charge as this is complete negligence.
You all check your nuts.

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[Brewhedd]

Unfortunate incident to say the least. I had a tire hit the front of my truck from a boat trailer, no idea where it went after that. Unmaintained boat trailer bearings exposed to salt water don't last long. At least that's one thing we don't have to worry about, unless you back your RV into salt water.

[Cajun Couple]

One of my nephews was hit by a runaway tire off of a boat trailer a few year ago. Tore up his legs pretty bad but he was hit from the rear and if hit from the front it would have killed him. Freak accident and still walks with a limp but he's still around.

[Ynot4me2]

One of my nephews was hit by a runaway tire off of a boat trailer a few year ago. Tore up his legs pretty bad but he was hit from the rear and if hit from the front it would have killed him. Freak accident and still walks with a limp but he's still around.

Holly crap.

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[xrated]

I’ve had Goodyear tires on my 1995 Ford F 150 4X4 since it was new and have never had a problem with them! They are a great all-around tire and perform well in all weather and terrain. You can get better tires for mud and snow or better weight capacity but then you give up something else! With the Wrangler you get it all, decent mud, snow traction, and hauling capacity with good fuel mileage and tire life! .As long as Goodyear keeps makin’em I’ll keep buyin’em!

This discussion isn't really about tire brand choice........it's about making sure that the lug nuts on your trailer are kept tight/torqued to the proper specs when towing.

[Likes to tow]

I can fully understand this accident and why it happened. I too had a wheel come off my 5th wheel on a short 90 mile run to a campground in September that totally shocked me. The wheel came off on the front curb side axle and I had no idea it was missing until I arrived at the campground and was leveling up and plugging in!! I had no idea it was missing until then and have no idea where in this 90 mile trip it came off. Hopefully it was somewhere along the way where nobody was a victim. Luckily it was on the curb side and apparently rolled to the side of the road in some desolate stretch of my trip.

I've been on this and other forums and apparently this happens too frequently on all types of trailers. Many have recounted their experiences of seeing a wheel rolling along by itself on the highway. I do all of my own axle/brake maintenance and thought I was very thorough in my work. Apparently I had failed to tighten the lug nuts on this one wheel. Months earlier I had completed packing wheel bearings and adjusting brakes for a trip out West. We made that 4500 miles plus two more trips of shorter length before it happened!!! Since the lugs were totally broken off right at the drum I feel the wheel had vibrated and shook around to cause metal fatigue. It's the beveled shape of the lug nut and the rim that carry all the weight when the lugs are properly tightened. Lug nuts go down anywhere from 90 to 105 ft lbs depending on what you are reading. I always used a 4 way lug wrench because of the two handed leverage to put lug nuts on so I'm sure they are tightened good. I never felt the need for a torque wrench.

I think the most important lesson I learned from this and what I have tried to share with anyone who will listen is RE CHECK you lug nuts before each trip and possibly on long trips of thousands of miles check them again. Use a torque wrench to be sure you are getting them tight. Although in all the decades of me doing wheel maintenance on boats and campers I have never stripped a lug nut or broken one off during tightening. I've seen it happen with those who use impact wrenches however!! The proper way is to use a torque wrench and use it often!!!

[Chewwi]

Can someone specifically explain why lug nut on RV wheels apparently need constant retorquing? With well over a million miles on vehicles (not RVs) driven over the last 50 plus years, I have never had a wheel come loose, lug nut come loose, or lug to break.

What is so different about RV wheels, lugs, and lug nuts? Are they just designed and/or manufactured poorly.

[xrated]

Can someone specifically explain why lug nut on RV wheels apparently need constant retorquing? With well over a million miles on vehicles (not RVs) driven over the last 50 plus years, I have never had a wheel come loose, lug nut come loose, or lug to break.

What is so different about RV wheels, lugs, and lug nuts? Are they just designed and/or manufactured poorly.

In my opinion, many/most RV tire/wheel combinations are NOT balanced after the tire is mounted to the wheel. We almost NEVER do that with cars/trucks and therefore, many less issues with tire/wheel problems. Again, in my opinion, any time a tire is mounted to a wheel, it simply SHOULD be balanced....Period. Running balanced tire/wheel combos greatly reduced the risk of wobble and the reduction of wobble obviously reduces greatly, the chance for a tire/wheel to come loose and finally come off the trailer.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Can someone specifically explain why lug nut on RV wheels apparently need constant retorquing? With well over a million miles on vehicles (not RVs) driven over the last 50 plus years, I have never had a wheel come loose, lug nut come loose, or lug to break.

What is so different about RV wheels, lugs, and lug nuts? Are they just designed and/or manufactured poorly.

Because on the vehicle you are driving, you can feel when something is coming loose. With a wheel coming loose on TT or 5'er you will not notice anything.

Lack of balancing also is a big factor. Even though when I tell a shop I want my trailer tires balanced, they look at me like I'm bonkers and tell me it's not needed.