Lost a wheel on our imagine driving up the 101 freeway. Now can't find a replacement

rmcrowe

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So I was traveling up the 101 Freeway just north of Los Angeles a week ago and some guy pulled up to me indicating I had a problem. I looked back and noticed the skirt around the wheels was hanging loose, so I pulled over onto the side of the freeway. Well it turns out my entire wheel was gone! The studs were just sheared off at the brake drum.

I will say it was very unexpected I had no idea the wheel was missing and I was motoring down the freeway at 60mph. And on top of that, my TPMS never indicated any problem at all. (I guess technically the tire still had air in it). That does not inspire confidence.

So after I pulled over a guy with a smashed up front bumper pulled behind me and informed me that my tire hit him, so we did the insurance thing - still not sure what's going to come of that, it won't be nice I'm sure.

The wheel apparently went sailing off the freeway and I was unable to retrieve it.

So I limped the trailer off the freeway into an empty parking lot and started looking at it. The studs were all broken off at the drum, clearly that drum was shot. It was about 4:45pm and I was able to find an RV repair place about 10 miles away in Oxnard named C & S RV Service Center - I spoke with a guy named Jim who informed me that they were closing in 15 minutes, but he confirmed he had a brake drum that would fit and said he would stay open late for me if I headed over. I told him I didn't have grease etc... with me (I travel with tools but not a grease gun), and he said he would put in the races, bearings loaded with grease etc... so I could just put the hub on. That was a total life-saver - without this we would have been stuck in this parking lot which I'm sure would not have been empty the next morning. So I unhooked drove over and picked up the Drum/bearings/lug nuts etc.... I highly recommend this place if you need something in that area, Jim is super knowledgeable and the owner Candice was very friendly and accommodating as well.

So I got the back to the RV, and after I struggled figuring out how to get my bottle jack under an axel that was hanging 6 inches off the ground (12 ton bottle jack is maybe 10 inches high), but eventually worked it out, and then got the old hub off and swapped the new one on. The axel and brakes seemed okay, and I was able to mount the spare tire and get back on our way.

So here is the salt in the wound: I call a Grand Design dealer in the area and ask them if they can order me a 15x6 lionshead Cheetah wheel to match the others on that trailer. I am informed the are no longer made. So I call Grand Design directly, and I'm given the same information. This is a 2020 imagine 2500RL - it's only 3 years old - how can they not have replacement parts for this thing in that timeframe? What am I supposed to do ? replace the other 3 wheels too ? (and what else might they no longer have available if it breaks?)

I have looked on ebay and other places to try to find one of these wheels but I'm not finding anything. If anyone has any hints let me know please. I'm of half a mind to leave the spare on there and every time we show this trailer on our youtube channel I could rant about Grand Design Supply Chain management, but that's not productive. I am also thinking I could just replace the two wheels on that side (driver side) with something that looks similar and probably nobody would be the wiser - but I would still know.

Anyhow, that's my adventure for this month, I'm just glad nobody got hurt as this was rush hour traffic on a busy freeway, that wheel could have caused all sorts of problems.

If anyone knows where I can get this wheel please let me know, that would be awesome.

Bob
 
So I was traveling up the 101 Freeway just north of Los Angeles a week ago and some guy pulled up to me indicating I had a problem. I looked back and noticed the skirt around the wheels was hanging loose, so I pulled over onto the side of the freeway. Well it turns out my entire wheel was gone! The studs were just sheared off at the brake drum.

I will say it was very unexpected I had no idea the wheel was missing and I was motoring down the freeway at 60mph. And on top of that, my TPMS never indicated any problem at all. (I guess technically the tire still had air in it). That does not inspire confidence.

So after I pulled over a guy with a smashed up front bumper pulled behind me and informed me that my tire hit him, so we did the insurance thing - still not sure what's going to come of that, it won't be nice I'm sure.

The wheel apparently went sailing off the freeway and I was unable to retrieve it.

So I limped the trailer off the freeway into an empty parking lot and started looking at it. The studs were all broken off at the drum, clearly that drum was shot. It was about 4:45pm and I was able to find an RV repair place about 10 miles away in Oxnard named C & S RV Service Center - I spoke with a guy named Jim who informed me that they were closing in 15 minutes, but he confirmed he had a brake drum that would fit and said he would stay open late for me if I headed over. I told him I didn't have grease etc... with me (I travel with tools but not a grease gun), and he said he would put in the races, bearings loaded with grease etc... so I could just put the hub on. That was a total life-saver - without this we would have been stuck in this parking lot which I'm sure would not have been empty the next morning. So I unhooked drove over and picked up the Drum/bearings/lug nuts etc.... I highly recommend this place if you need something in that area, Jim is super knowledgeable and the owner Candice was very friendly and accommodating as well.

So I got the back to the RV, and after I struggled figuring out how to get my bottle jack under an axel that was hanging 6 inches off the ground (12 ton bottle jack is maybe 10 inches high), but eventually worked it out, and then got the old hub off and swapped the new one on. The axel and brakes seemed okay, and I was able to mount the spare tire and get back on our way.

So here is the salt in the wound: I call a Grand Design dealer in the area and ask them if they can order me a 15x6 lionshead Cheetah wheel to match the others on that trailer. I am informed the are no longer made. So I call Grand Design directly, and I'm given the same information. This is a 2020 imagine 2500RL - it's only 3 years old - how can they not have replacement parts for this thing in that timeframe? What am I supposed to do ? replace the other 3 wheels too ? (and what else might they no longer have available if it breaks?)

I have looked on ebay and other places to try to find one of these wheels but I'm not finding anything. If anyone has any hints let me know please. I'm of half a mind to leave the spare on there and every time we show this trailer on our youtube channel I could rant about Grand Design Supply Chain management, but that's not productive. I am also thinking I could just replace the two wheels on that side (driver side) with something that looks similar and probably nobody would be the wiser - but I would still know.

Anyhow, that's my adventure for this month, I'm just glad nobody got hurt as this was rush hour traffic on a busy freeway, that wheel could have caused all sorts of problems.

If anyone knows where I can get this wheel please let me know, that would be awesome.

Bob

Check the RV boneyards. Some newer units get there early.
 
So I was traveling up the 101 Freeway just north of Los Angeles a week ago and some guy pulled up to me indicating I had a problem. I looked back and noticed the skirt around the wheels was hanging loose, so I pulled over onto the side of the freeway. Well it turns out my entire wheel was gone! The studs were just sheared off at the brake drum.

I will say it was very unexpected I had no idea the wheel was missing and I was motoring down the freeway at 60mph. And on top of that, my TPMS never indicated any problem at all. (I guess technically the tire still had air in it). That does not inspire confidence.

So after I pulled over a guy with a smashed up front bumper pulled behind me and informed me that my tire hit him, so we did the insurance thing - still not sure what's going to come of that, it won't be nice I'm sure.

The wheel apparently went sailing off the freeway and I was unable to retrieve it.

So I limped the trailer off the freeway into an empty parking lot and started looking at it. The studs were all broken off at the drum, clearly that drum was shot. It was about 4:45pm and I was able to find an RV repair place about 10 miles away in Oxnard named C & S RV Service Center - I spoke with a guy named Jim who informed me that they were closing in 15 minutes, but he confirmed he had a brake drum that would fit and said he would stay open late for me if I headed over. I told him I didn't have grease etc... with me (I travel with tools but not a grease gun), and he said he would put in the races, bearings loaded with grease etc... so I could just put the hub on. That was a total life-saver - without this we would have been stuck in this parking lot which I'm sure would not have been empty the next morning. So I unhooked drove over and picked up the Drum/bearings/lug nuts etc.... I highly recommend this place if you need something in that area, Jim is super knowledgeable and the owner Candice was very friendly and accommodating as well.

So I got the back to the RV, and after I struggled figuring out how to get my bottle jack under an axel that was hanging 6 inches off the ground (12 ton bottle jack is maybe 10 inches high), but eventually worked it out, and then got the old hub off and swapped the new one on. The axel and brakes seemed okay, and I was able to mount the spare tire and get back on our way.

So here is the salt in the wound: I call a Grand Design dealer in the area and ask them if they can order me a 15x6 lionshead Cheetah wheel to match the others on that trailer. I am informed the are no longer made. So I call Grand Design directly, and I'm given the same information. This is a 2020 imagine 2500RL - it's only 3 years old - how can they not have replacement parts for this thing in that timeframe? What am I supposed to do ? replace the other 3 wheels too ? (and what else might they no longer have available if it breaks?)

I have looked on ebay and other places to try to find one of these wheels but I'm not finding anything. If anyone has any hints let me know please. I'm of half a mind to leave the spare on there and every time we show this trailer on our youtube channel I could rant about Grand Design Supply Chain management, but that's not productive. I am also thinking I could just replace the two wheels on that side (driver side) with something that looks similar and probably nobody would be the wiser - but I would still know.

Anyhow, that's my adventure for this month, I'm just glad nobody got hurt as this was rush hour traffic on a busy freeway, that wheel could have caused all sorts of problems.

If anyone knows where I can get this wheel please let me know, that would be awesome.

Bob

Agree with huntindog, hopefuly you might find something.

The parts availabilty issue is a real concern for me as well. Unfortunately, the RV industry apparently does not have to stock parts as long as the automotive world.
 
Replace all 5 and put your old rims on EBay and be the hero for everybody else that is in your situation.
 
You may find 4 third party wheels to not be that much more expensive than the replacement you need based on some of the comments on the forum regarding OEM replacements and shipping.
 
After being in a somewhat similar situation as you back in 2018 with a different brand of trailer. I bought four new after market wheels from Hi-Spec. When we bought the Reflection, swapping over the rims was part of the deal. (Not really a big fan of the factory supplied wheels). Anyway, the point is those same Hi-Spec wheels are still in production and the identical model is still made. So you likely won't end up in the same wheel replacement problem should lightning strike you twice. Other aftermarket wheel manufacturers are probably similar.

I too had no idea I was running on three wheels. Mine didn't leave the trailer but there was virtually no rubber left.
 
I had the same thing (Almost) happen to me when I lost a wheel on a SOB. Tire and rim went over an embankment and down about 150". Never found it. Wheel studs sheared off at the drum like yours. A nearby Les Schwab had one in stock so that part worked out great.
What didn't work out was finding a new rim. My rims were distributed by https://www.tredittire.com/. They have 6 locations in the U.S. Unfortunately my location, Boardman didn't stock the rim and it had to be ordered from the TX location. It was going to be around $360 total. WTFudge. So I scoured the internet and found some rims that looked close enough to mine. I ordered two of the new rims along with a new tire. I put the two new rims on one side and left the OEM's on the other side. Since you can never see the two sides at once it really makes no difference.
Both rims came to around $380, are better looking and have a higher load rating.

FWIW you can pop out the old studs and install new ones. Schwab didn't have studs to fit my drum so I had to bend over and buy the whole drum/bearings.
 
I had the same thing (Almost) happen to me when I lost a wheel on a SOB. Tire and rim went over an embankment and down about 150". Never found it. Wheel studs sheared off at the drum like yours. A nearby Les Schwab had one in stock so that part worked out great.
What didn't work out was finding a new rim. My rims were distributed by https://www.tredittire.com/. They have 6 locations in the U.S. Unfortunately my location, Boardman didn't stock the rim and it had to be ordered from the TX location. It was going to be around $360 total. WTFudge. So I scoured the internet and found some rims that looked close enough to mine. I ordered two of the new rims along with a new tire. I put the two new rims on one side and left the OEM's on the other side. Since you can never see the two sides at once it really makes no difference.
Both rims came to around $380, are better looking and have a higher load rating.

FWIW you can pop out the old studs and install new ones. Schwab didn't have studs to fit my drum so I had to bend over and buy the whole drum/bearings.

Doing the two wheel method that are close to originals on one side sounds like the best money option to me IMO. Especially if the remaining wheel on the replacement side is in good shape, and could be placed up for sale to recover some cost.
 
I had the same thing (Almost) happen to me when I lost a wheel on a SOB. Tire and rim went over an embankment and down about 150". Never found it. Wheel studs sheared off at the drum like yours. A nearby Les Schwab had one in stock so that part worked out great.
What didn't work out was finding a new rim. My rims were distributed by https://www.tredittire.com/. They have 6 locations in the U.S. Unfortunately my location, Boardman didn't stock the rim and it had to be ordered from the TX location. It was going to be around $360 total. WTFudge. So I scoured the internet and found some rims that looked close enough to mine. I ordered two of the new rims along with a new tire. I put the two new rims on one side and left the OEM's on the other side. Since you can never see the two sides at once it really makes no difference.
Both rims came to around $380, are better looking and have a higher load rating.

FWIW you can pop out the old studs and install new ones. Schwab didn't have studs to fit my drum so I had to bend over and buy the whole drum/bearings.

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking of the same strategy - just do one side. I might go that way. I was also thinking about fixing the old hub and maybe having a spare.
 
Replace all 5 and put your old rims on EBay and be the hero for everybody else that is in your situation.

That thought had occurred to me as well. I bet there is a pretty good market for these, at least eventually they would sell for sure. Shipping might be a bit expensive though. But hell, I would pay a pretty hefty shipping fee right now :)
 
>> Keep an eye on ebay and Craigslist Los Angeles. Might get your wheel back yet.

hahaha :) I bet you are right

-- sorry forgot to quote the original reply.
 
Here's a good video on why this might have happened. Also a good example of a great attitude during adverse events. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GRnppjfqHI&t=8s

That's a great video - thanks for sharing it. They did handle it well, and I think I did too. Unfortunately I did hurt another vehicle. I do my own maintenance and this had to be my fault. I've been doing this stuff for 50 years now and never had this problem, but somehow when I attached that wheel perhaps I missed something on the wheel or drum surface. I have a good torque wrench, I use a 3 stage process of tightening, star pattern, etc... I do normally check torque after a hundred miles or so but since I was going just shy of 200 miles or so I thought I would just do that at the campground (I have never in my experience ever actually had to tighten the lug nuts when checking). It failed 20 miles from the campground :(
 
That's a great video - thanks for sharing it. They did handle it well, and I think I did too. Unfortunately I did hurt another vehicle. I do my own maintenance and this had to be my fault. I've been doing this stuff for 50 years now and never had this problem, but somehow when I attached that wheel perhaps I missed something on the wheel or drum surface. I have a good torque wrench, I use a 3 stage process of tightening, star pattern, etc... I do normally check torque after a hundred miles or so but since I was going just shy of 200 miles or so I thought I would just do that at the campground (I have never in my experience ever actually had to tighten the lug nuts when checking). It failed 20 miles from the campground :(

Oh, sorry, I wasn't trying to imply that anything was your fault, I just thought Todd set a great example. If you're checking torque that often, I'm not sure what more you could do. I also learned a few things about the mechanics of the wheel/hub that I thought might be useful to you. God's blessings on your journey and on this particular challenge.
 

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