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Thread: Lost a Wheel!

  1. #1
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    Lost a Wheel!

    Back on 5/6, heading up I-71 northbound from Louisville when I looked in the passenger's side mirror and saw a wheel bouncing down the shoulder. Thought perhaps I lost the spare, pulled over, and found I lost the right rear! No smoke; no heat on the axle. Have H-rated tires, did some calculations, and limped 2 miles to the next exit and a Walmart parking lot. This happened about 60 miles from home.

    Threads on the spindle were toast so needed a new axle, plus new wheel/tire and disc brake parts. Axles/disc brake upgrade was done almost exactly a year ago. Only 5,000 miles on the set-up. Fast forward to yesterday (5/29). New axle and all parts collected and installer was available to do the repair. Dexter carries no axles in inventory (all made to order), but did expedite construction and I drove to Elkhart to pick it up.

    Root cause of the issue: wrong outer bearing was supplied by Dexter as part of the disc brake kit and axles. How do we know? Other 3 wheels had play and the installed bearings were all wrong. Outer bearing supplied was a 48548 instead of the 02475 for the 8K axles. Outer diameters are similar so fit in the race Ok, but the inner diameter on the 48548 is a little larger for a different size spindle. That eventually allowed movement, then catastrophic failure. Only thing holding the wheel on at the end was the caliper which finally broke loose.

    Few observations:
    - was extremely lucky that the wheel came off clean and did no significant damage to the RV. The metal strip holding the fender was pulled off but that's it. The other tire was cut but did not lose air
    - was extremely lucky that I only lost one wheel!
    - was extremely lucky that the wheel stayed on the shoulder as it rolled/bounced down the incline. If it went into oncoming traffic, would have caused a major accident. Road was busy (around 4pm on Derby day). I went back the next day and actually found the wheel/tire which saved my TST sensor.
    - there was no smoke or heat at that time which would have indicated a problem. Not sure when the bearing actually came apart.
    - I am very happy that a definitive root cause was found and can feel better about towing in the future.
    - If this was just a freak bearing failure, not sure how you would have prevented this unless you happened to catch heat build up or had jacked the RV up and checked the wheels for play. For awhile I may just jack the wheels every 1000 miles and check for play for peace of mind. And will continue to use my IR thermometer at stops.
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    New: 2021 Solitude 380FL
    Prior: 2016 Alpine 3600RS
    Tow: 2017 F350 Diesel Dually

  2. #2
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    Wow, you did get lucky that no one was hurt and no further damage was done to the trailer by the flying tire. Did Dexter own up to being the cause ?

    I guess the lesson here is to not even trust the pros and double check the work done.
    Marcy & Gary
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captcolour View Post
    Back on 5/6, heading up I-71 northbound from Louisville when I looked in the passenger's side mirror and saw a wheel bouncing down the shoulder. Thought perhaps I lost the spare, pulled over, and found I lost the right rear! No smoke; no heat on the axle. Have H-rated tires, did some calculations, and limped 2 miles to the next exit and a Walmart parking lot. This happened about 60 miles from home.

    Threads on the spindle were toast so needed a new axle, plus new wheel/tire and disc brake parts. Axles/disc brake upgrade was done almost exactly a year ago. Only 5,000 miles on the set-up. Fast forward to yesterday (5/29). New axle and all parts collected and installer was available to do the repair. Dexter carries no axles in inventory (all made to order), but did expedite construction and I drove to Elkhart to pick it up.

    Root cause of the issue: wrong outer bearing was supplied by Dexter as part of the disc brake kit and axles. How do we know? Other 3 wheels had play and the installed bearings were all wrong. Outer bearing supplied was a 48548 instead of the 02475 for the 8K axles. Outer diameters are similar so fit in the race Ok, but the inner diameter on the 48548 is a little larger for a different size spindle. That eventually allowed movement, then catastrophic failure. Only thing holding the wheel on at the end was the caliper which finally broke loose.

    Few observations:
    - was extremely lucky that the wheel came off clean and did no significant damage to the RV. The metal strip holding the fender was pulled off but that's it. The other tire was cut but did not lose air
    - was extremely lucky that I only lost one wheel!
    - was extremely lucky that the wheel stayed on the shoulder as it rolled/bounced down the incline. If it went into oncoming traffic, would have caused a major accident. Road was busy (around 4pm on Derby day). I went back the next day and actually found the wheel/tire which saved my TST sensor.
    - there was no smoke or heat at that time which would have indicated a problem. Not sure when the bearing actually came apart.
    - I am very happy that a definitive root cause was found and can feel better about towing in the future.
    - If this was just a freak bearing failure, not sure how you would have prevented this unless you happened to catch heat build up or had jacked the RV up and checked the wheels for play. For awhile I may just jack the wheels every 1000 miles and check for play for peace of mind. And will continue to use my IR thermometer at stops.
    You need a tiny amount of play. Too tight is bad as too loose.
    The proper amount of play will result in zero clearance at operating temp. If you have zero clearance cold, they will be tight when hot. Tight bearings will only be tight for a little while LOL
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    Quote Originally Posted by WhittleBurner View Post
    Wow, you did get lucky that no one was hurt and no further damage was done to the trailer by the flying tire. Did Dexter own up to being the cause ?

    I guess the lesson here is to not even trust the pros and double check the work done.
    Not sure how to double check the work in this case. The post-mortem begins now since we have the root cause.
    New: 2021 Solitude 380FL
    Prior: 2016 Alpine 3600RS
    Tow: 2017 F350 Diesel Dually

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    Site Sponsor ajg617's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captcolour View Post
    Not sure how to double check the work in this case. The post-mortem begins now since we have the root cause.
    Whoa - Had a trailer tire fly off on Rte 3 in Mass going the opposite way, crossed the center divider, and headed right for me some years back. Luckily I had room to swerve off the road but the cars scattered everywhere. Scary thought. Glad all the way around that you did get a root cause because every trip after would be added stress just wondering!
    Robin & John
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    2023 stays

  6. #6
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captcolour View Post
    Not sure how to double check the work in this case. The post-mortem begins now since we have the root cause.
    This sounds like an issue that should be reported to NHTSA. Anyone who received that Disc Brake upgrade kit from Dexter should be warned with a recall.

    If the wrong bearing was supplied to you, you can bet others have received the wrong bearing as well.

    This is exactly why the Safety Recall program exists.

    Please report this issue, especially since you know the cause.
    Last edited by SolarPoweredRV; 05-31-2023 at 03:57 AM.
    David and Peggy
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  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by SolarPoweredRV View Post
    This sounds like an issue that should be reported to NHTSA. Anyone who received that Disc Brake upgrade kit from Dexter should be warned with a recall.

    If the wrong bearing was supplied to you, you can bed others have received the wrong bearing as well.

    This is exactly why the Safety Recall program exists.

    Please report this issue, especially since you know the cause.
    Very good advice. Hopefully the OP will follow up.
    Jim and Annette
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  8. #8
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    Sorry to be late to this party, but I'm installing these on my spindles. https://thehubsaver.com/ I got mine at the GDRV rally and will put them on with my next repack (later this month.)

    -B
    Fulltime RVer since 4/2016. Newmar Mountain Aire 4523 - Jeep Rubicon JKU - Harley FLTRU
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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Captcolour View Post
    Back on 5/6, heading up I-71 northbound from Louisville when I looked in the passenger's side mirror and saw a wheel bouncing down the shoulder. Thought perhaps I lost the spare, pulled over, and found I lost the right rear! No smoke; no heat on the axle. Have H-rated tires, did some calculations, and limped 2 miles to the next exit and a Walmart parking lot. This happened about 60 miles from home.

    Threads on the spindle were toast so needed a new axle, plus new wheel/tire and disc brake parts. Axles/disc brake upgrade was done almost exactly a year ago. Only 5,000 miles on the set-up. Fast forward to yesterday (5/29). New axle and all parts collected and installer was available to do the repair. Dexter carries no axles in inventory (all made to order), but did expedite construction and I drove to Elkhart to pick it up.

    Root cause of the issue: wrong outer bearing was supplied by Dexter as part of the disc brake kit and axles. How do we know? Other 3 wheels had play and the installed bearings were all wrong. Outer bearing supplied was a 48548 instead of the 02475 for the 8K axles. Outer diameters are similar so fit in the race Ok, but the inner diameter on the 48548 is a little larger for a different size spindle. That eventually allowed movement, then catastrophic failure. Only thing holding the wheel on at the end was the caliper which finally broke loose.

    Few observations:
    - was extremely lucky that the wheel came off clean and did no significant damage to the RV. The metal strip holding the fender was pulled off but that's it. The other tire was cut but did not lose air
    - was extremely lucky that I only lost one wheel!
    - was extremely lucky that the wheel stayed on the shoulder as it rolled/bounced down the incline. If it went into oncoming traffic, would have caused a major accident. Road was busy (around 4pm on Derby day). I went back the next day and actually found the wheel/tire which saved my TST sensor.
    - there was no smoke or heat at that time which would have indicated a problem. Not sure when the bearing actually came apart.
    - I am very happy that a definitive root cause was found and can feel better about towing in the future.
    - If this was just a freak bearing failure, not sure how you would have prevented this unless you happened to catch heat build up or had jacked the RV up and checked the wheels for play. For awhile I may just jack the wheels every 1000 miles and check for play for peace of mind. And will continue to use my IR thermometer at stops.
    Wow! This is crazy, did you verify that the bearings in the other hubs were correct? Was the axle actually a 8k axle or a 7k that was mislabeled? I don't have any first hand experience with 8k axles, but I don't understand why they don't immediately go to a 3.5 inch diameter axle tube for 8k axles instead of sticking with a 3.00 tube. I am not sure what parts of a 8k axle are interchangable with a 7k, but I do know that 5200, 6000 and 7000 lb axle spindes share the same dimensions for the bearings. The other diameter of the outer bearing gets larger with the heavier axles, but the spindle is still the same.
    2023 GMC 3500HD CCLB DRW Duramax L5P, Banks Derringer/Idash/CAI 60 gallon fuel transfer tank
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nuffsaid View Post
    Wow! This is crazy, did you verify that the bearings in the other hubs were correct? Was the axle actually a 8k axle or a 7k that was mislabeled? I don't have any first hand experience with 8k axles, but I don't understand why they don't immediately go to a 3.5 inch diameter axle tube for 8k axles instead of sticking with a 3.00 tube. I am not sure what parts of a 8k axle are interchangable with a 7k, but I do know that 5200, 6000 and 7000 lb axle spindes share the same dimensions for the bearings. The other diameter of the outer bearing gets larger with the heavier axles, but the spindle is still the same.
    These were new 8K axles, disc brake assemblies, and bearings sent directly from Dexter to me, for install by PTB. Turns out all outer bearings were wrong. Whoever picked the parts to send out picked the wrong outer bearings. They were snug enough and with all of the grease, the PTB installers didn't notice that they were slightly too large. All were repacked and replaced during the fix.
    Last edited by Captcolour; 02-06-2024 at 04:01 PM.
    New: 2021 Solitude 380FL
    Prior: 2016 Alpine 3600RS
    Tow: 2017 F350 Diesel Dually

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