Lost wheel

[Ickisrulz]

I replaced the brakes and repacked my wheel bearings this weekend. My son and and I took the trailer out this morning to see how everything works. The brakes work nicely. However, while driving down the road I noticed one of my tires had come off and sped away into a ditch. Apparently I had forgotten to torque down the lug nuts on one wheel. Other than losing 5 lug nuts (I found one) I don't think anything was damaged. I got the wheel back on (borrowing lug nuts from other wheels) and drove home. I ordered a lug nut set from Amazon.

So, but sure to check all your lugs after installing your wheels.

 

[Second Chance]

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It sounds an awful lot like an old joke my father liked to tell... minus a cotton field and a mental health facility.

Rob

 

[trailrydr]

Good thing nobody got hurt. God Bless.

On a lighter note, this happened one time to a buddy of mine who took his car to Firestone for a balance and rotate. He claims he was driving down the highway thru KCMO, got to the Benton curve (which tends to slow you down) and noticed a wheel with tire went by him. As he tells the story, he said "man that wheel and tire looks real familar", and then realized it was his. LOL!!

Luckily, no one got hurt then either! The little things that get our attention....

 

[Ynot4me2]

That's a step often forgotten, skipped. I just did this myself. Before this current trip, I checked the brakes and bearings, reinstalled the tires, torqued and said to myself that I would retorque after our first overnight. Well, we're on our 3rd and I still haven't done the recheck.

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[trailrydr]

That's a step often forgotten, skipped. I just did this myself. Before this current trip, I checked the brakes and bearings, reinstalled the tires, torqued and said to myself that I would retorque after our first overnight. Well, we're on our 3rd and I still haven't done the recheck.

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Unfortunately, I'm anal retentive about that. I probably check each lug 2 times after the torque wrench clicks the final torque.... just making sure in my haste that I didnt miss one. Too many heard of stories of those who have joined that club.

 

[Likes to tow]

I lost a wheel on the way to a campground 90 miles away and did not know it until I had backed in to my campsite!! Thing that really amazed me was I had done the wheel bearing/brake adjustment maintenance about 3 months prior to this trip. We had pulled to Colorado and a couple of WV mountain trips with no issues. I guess it took all summer for those lug nuts to work their way loose. I had not checked them again after the spring maintenance. Now I thoroughly and repeatedly check lug nuts before and sometimes during a trip with a proper torque wrench. You don't want to over tighten them either.

 

[trailrydr]

A friend of mine who pulls/delivers manufactured homes usually is tightening lugnuts several times even on short trips.

 

[Butcher]

Good thing nobody got hurt. In my state, you would have gone to jail. There are so many people that have got hurt/died all because of an 'accident'. Ignorance is no accident.

I know I have a very unpopular opinion but as far as I'm concerned, most of us should not be working on our trailers, let alone driving them. We think we have a clue on what we are doing but having a wheel coming off just proves you don't. It's' not as simple as nuts and bolts. If it was, the wheel would have never come off.

We all make mistakes and pros do to but just because you have a set of tools, does not make you a pro. Well, in my State you could, but I have a problem with that too.

Good think brain surgery is not a hobby.

 

[Ickisrulz]

Good thing nobody got hurt. In my state, you would have gone to jail. There are so many people that have got hurt/died all because of an 'accident'. Ignorance is no accident.

I know I have a very unpopular opinion but as far as I'm concerned, most of us should not be working on our trailers, let alone driving them. We think we have a clue on what we are doing but having a wheel coming off just proves you don't. It's' not as simple as nuts and bolts. If it was, the wheel would have never come off.

We all make mistakes and pros do to but just because you have a set of tools, does not make you a pro. Well, in my State you could, but I have a problem with that too.

Good think brain surgery is not a hobby.

So mistakes made by amateurs are different than those made by the professionals (that have long waiting lists and highly inflated prices)? I won't accept your label as ignorant either since I am well aware a wheel needs to be tightened securely, I just made a mistake.

What state do you live in that jails people for accidents?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Butcher]

It's all an accident until a member of your family gets hurt/killed. Why do people change their mind once it happens to someone you love?

My term professional means you are trained. If you are trained, you should know better and held at a higher level of scrutiny.

If not ignorant, does not make you incompetent? Google the definitions.

A mistake is not securing 1 nut/bolt. All of them is not a mistake.

My goal is to let everyone that reads this to think a bit differently. A 'simple' tire replacement done poorly could kill someone. If you cannot accept the risks of doing your job and double checking your work, you need to hire someone that can. If this makes you uncomfortable, then it should. If it makes you double check your work, good. Better than a face full of tire/wheel or being in jail or penniless.

If we all spent just a few minutes to think that our actions can be deadly, stuff like this would not happen, or at least happen a bit less.

When I was a Shop Foreman, I grilled my guys to make certain they know their mistake could kill someone. The cars I worked on were owned by some of the riches people in the world. Certainly a front page story.

Maria's Law. Google it. It's sad to think you have to pass a law that should be common sense. 'I'm sorry' does not make her whole again.
https://www.westsideseattle.com/wes...victim-ready-tell-her-own-story-her-own-terms

 

[jkwilson]

It's all an accident until a member of your family gets hurt/killed. Why do people change their mind once it happens to someone you love?

My term professional means you are trained. If you are trained, you should know better and held at a higher level of scrutiny.

If not ignorant, does not make you incompetent? Google the definitions.

A mistake is not securing 1 nut/bolt. All of them is not a mistake.

My goal is to let everyone that reads this to think a bit differently. A 'simple' tire replacement done poorly could kill someone. If you cannot accept the risks of doing your job and double checking your work, you need to hire someone that can. If this makes you uncomfortable, then it should. If it makes you double check your work, good. Better than a face full of tire/wheel or being in jail or penniless.

If we all spent just a few minutes to think that our actions can be deadly, stuff like this would not happen, or at least happen a bit less.

When I was a Shop Foreman, I grilled my guys to make certain they know their mistake could kill someone. The cars I worked on were owned by some of the riches people in the world. Certainly a front page story.

Maria's Law. Google it. It's sad to think you have to pass a law that should be common sense. 'I'm sorry' does not make her whole again.
https://www.westsideseattle.com/wes...victim-ready-tell-her-own-story-her-own-terms

You greatly overestimate the competence of RV service people, especially the ones assigned to routine tasks like bearing service. My grandson worked at a trailer shop last year and was doing unsupervised bearing service his first day. He called his dad for advice because he didn’t think his co-workers knew what they were doing.

My nephew got a job at an oil change place and got paid for the first oil change he’d ever done in his life.

Most RV owners who do their own repairs are much more qualified than most of the “pros”.

 

[uwskier]

Friend from high school took his car in for an oil change at the dealership (not a quicky lube place) about 20 or so years ago. The professional technician never put oil back in the engine after draining it. Engine seized up on my friend on the interstate and he was nearly run over by an 18 wheeler.

People are bone-headed. It shouldn't happen, but it does. I applaud the OP for sharing his story here if it helps others with safety. I've made a mental note to re-check my lug nuts next time I walk outside since I'm just back from a long trip. I may not have thought of that if it weren't for this post. No reason to get preachy with the gentleman IMO.

 

[Ickisrulz]

It's all an accident until a member of your family gets hurt/killed. Why do people change their mind once it happens to someone you love?

My term professional means you are trained. If you are trained, you should know better and held at a higher level of scrutiny.

If not ignorant, does not make you incompetent? Google the definitions.

A mistake is not securing 1 nut/bolt. All of them is not a mistake.

My goal is to let everyone that reads this to think a bit differently. A 'simple' tire replacement done poorly could kill someone. If you cannot accept the risks of doing your job and double checking your work, you need to hire someone that can. If this makes you uncomfortable, then it should. If it makes you double check your work, good. Better than a face full of tire/wheel or being in jail or penniless.

If we all spent just a few minutes to think that our actions can be deadly, stuff like this would not happen, or at least happen a bit less.

When I was a Shop Foreman, I grilled my guys to make certain they know their mistake could kill someone. The cars I worked on were owned by some of the riches people in the world. Certainly a front page story.

Maria's Law. Google it. It's sad to think you have to pass a law that should be common sense. 'I'm sorry' does not make her whole again.
https://www.westsideseattle.com/wes...victim-ready-tell-her-own-story-her-own-terms

I don't hire people very often to do something I can do myself. But over the years I have found out that the trained professionals all too frequently make mistakes, overlook details, forget to do something, or break something in the process of fixing something else. Overall, I do a better job when I do it myself

Yeah, I screwed up in this case. No one was hurt as I took back roads to make sure everything was good-to-go. I guess I am incompetent.

 

[trailrydr]

Good thing nobody got hurt. In my state, you would have gone to jail. There are so many people that have got hurt/died all because of an 'accident'. Ignorance is no accident.

I know I have a very unpopular opinion but as far as I'm concerned, most of us should not be working on our trailers, let alone driving them. We think we have a clue on what we are doing but having a wheel coming off just proves you don't. It's' not as simple as nuts and bolts. If it was, the wheel would have never come off.

We all make mistakes and pros do to but just because you have a set of tools, does not make you a pro. Well, in my State you could, but I have a problem with that too.

Good think brain surgery is not a hobby.

Thats why alot of shops today typically have another mechanic re-check torque on each lug before releasing vehicles. 2 different checks can catch a brainfart better than one.

Had a Goodyear shop one time tell me they couldnt align my Ranger. Every time they would get it off the alignment rack and test drive it the truck would pull to one side or the other. When they had it on the rack the 3rd time, I went up to the tech and asked what the problem was. As he was tellling me, I happened to lean against the front left tire. IT WAS LOOSE! Well that explains it, he said! Well the kid who did the rotate and ballance never torqued the lugs, and nobody checked his work. That was in the late 80's, and I dont go to Goodyear for service since. Now i only trust shops that tell me they have someone else recheck the torque of each lug prior to releasing the vehicle.

 

[Butcher]

If any of you think that I believe pros are better, I will make myself clear, they are not. They should be, but sadly with 40+ years working in the industry and 100's of mechanics that I have worked with/hired, there are not many that I would have work on my car/RV.

In the end, we all need to be a bit more cautious and understand what might be a simple job could kill someone. If you go about this with every job you do, you will usually take it a bit more seriously and with a bit more caution.

Just so you know, I have never left a wheel loose. I have left a few calipers loose and that is probably a bit worst. I own my own shop now and I take those simple brainless jobs a bit more serious than most.

That is what I'm trying to say here. Slow down, think twice, ask someone else to double check your work. Put down the phone and keep everyone away till the job is done right.

I certainly would not start a thread where a wheel fell off of a job I did. Hats off you the OP knowing there would be some jerk like me to comment about it.

 

[Ickisrulz]

If any of you think that I believe pros are better, I will make myself clear, they are not. They should be, but sadly with 40+ years working in the industry and 100's of mechanics that I have worked with/hired, there are not many that I would have work on my car/RV.

In the end, we all need to be a bit more cautious and understand what might be a simple job could kill someone. If you go about this with every job you do, you will usually take it a bit more seriously and with a bit more caution.

Just so you know, I have never left a wheel loose. I have left a few calipers loose and that is probably a bit worst. I own my own shop now and I take those simple brainless jobs a bit more serious than most.

That is what I'm trying to say here. Slow down, think twice, ask someone else to double check your work. Put down the phone and keep everyone away till the job is done right.

I certainly would not start a thread where a wheel fell off of a job I did. Hats off you the OP knowing there would be some jerk like me to comment about it.

Yes, I agree you come off as a jerk.

I am not quite sure what you intended in your first two posts to me. I guess to shame me. It sure wasn't to help fix anything.

I don't know what your experiences in life have been. But I have found if you genuinely want to help people fix their processes or thinking, it is not beneficial to say they are ignorant or incompetent. If you really were a shop foreman and talked to your employees they way you addressed me, I would guess you had lots of turnover in personnel. It doesn't look like you were able to reform many of them if you wouldn't allow them to work on your stuff.

This whole section is intended to help others learn from mistakes. From what I have seen the vast majority of those errors are preventable. It does no good to jump on people.

 

[Bivitar]

Thanks for sharing your experience. A good reminder for folks that are more accustom to maintenance from a personal automotive perspective.

 

[FlyStar]

Sorry that you have had a bit of negative here on the forum. Maybe that keeps us on our toes.

I for one have been learning tons of good skills and enjoy the DIY repair and fixing. Much better than waiting weeks or months and I’m sure the quality of the work is much much better.

I have recently done some major work on my suspension components and am confident that it was done correctly with parts that are superior to OEM. Much of that based on what I have learned here on the forum. Plus input from Dexter, Lippert, eTrailer, and HoppyFrod. And I am way way more confident in my own, patient, careful, uninterrupted, slow, meticulous, fun work, even as a well prepared, tooled up, and studied novice, that what I would get at the dealership these days.

Don’t be discouraged.

Your post has reminded me to check the lug nut torque more often, as it has others and that is a great thing. Really. You are maybe saving lives here!

We all make mistakes now and then and sharing those is just the best way to help others.

FlyStar


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[Butcher]

Sorry that you have had a bit of negative here on the forum. Maybe that keeps us on our toes.

Better to have feelings hurt than the other outcome. If one person comes away from reading this and takes a simple tire R&R a bit more serious in the future, then I'm ok with being that jerk.

 

[Ickisrulz]

Better to have feelings hurt than the other outcome. If one person comes away from reading this and takes a simple tire R&R a bit more serious in the future, then I'm ok with being that jerk.

I doubt your posts will do or have done any good. People who are jerks to others have little effect other than to piss off people.