wheel fell off

[gride300]

So i picked up my boat and the very next day the rear starboard wheel fell off my tandem trailer. I took it in stride and being that my launch is a mile away and they said i could still use it i was not in a hurry to have it fixed(they are 60miles away). they sent a flat bed wednesday and i had to watch as my prop guard was dragged across the cement(no wheels). It left here right before i was originally going to go ride wednesday around 100. it is saturday and it's still sitting at ramlin with no word. i am very sad about the whole thing mainly b/c less than 48 hours after picking it up this happens and it hasn't seemed to be a big deal to anyone. just sharing my woes. hope everyone else is having fun.

[Edwin]

RE: wheel fell off

Lugs come loose or did the entire hub come off the axle?

[gride300]

RE: wheel fell off

the hub basically exploded. i never even went above 60mph on the way home the day i picked it up and then the next day i was only going about 30mph for a mile to the ramp. when i was backing it into its spot the 2nd evening i checked my side view and saw the wheel cocked out barely even hanging on, so i turned back the other way and it rolled back on a little so i could get out of the traffic and then i removed it. i dont know too much about hubs. are these like the mastercraft ones that are filled up? i am just bummed that it happened so soon after i purchased it and it was supposed to be a new 06 that was just sitting around the dealer holding a diff. boat. i adjust the tire pressure after the wheel came off and one was below 30, another was 36, and the third was about 24psi. it leads me to believe the trailer was assumed to be in working order and needed no looking at.

[Edwin]

RE: wheel fell off

were the lug nuts loose?

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: wheel fell off

All of the new Ram-Lin trailers come with a big florescent piece of paper that says to check the lug nut torque at something like 20, 50, and 100 miles, and then every so many miles after that. Was the torque ever checked?

[gride300]

RE: wheel fell off

well you know it was at the dealer and i assumed they checked everything. i mean when i bought my other boat i didnt take my tool box ya know. and i know for a fact i put less than 80 miles on it when it happened. it wasn't out of box new. it had been used to store boats on that didn't have a trailer

[Edwin]

RE: wheel fell off

Sorry gride, but your problem is 100% user error. I've never seen a trailer that didn't have stickers on it telling you to check the lugs every xx number of miles. Having a wheel come off due to loose lugs can kill someone in an instant...assuming they checked everything is no excuse in my book.

[gride300]

RE: wheel fell off

i agree in hindsight i should have checked it when i got home, but the hub blowing is really just pure mechanical failure because of heat. and for the second time as it was used to store boats on there were no stickers. i think saying it is 100% user error is a large over statement. i can tell you about forty people i know personally who have never touched their trailer besides putting the boat on it who's wheels don't fall off. being that it is dangerous to everyone for that to happen it is the trailer seller's repsonsability to make sure the boat is sea worthy and the trailer is road worthy. that is just how i view things. i didn't mean to come off rude. we are all entitled to our opinions.

[gride300]

RE: wheel fell off

from a consumer stand point and user error, not having the stickers, if i was not told anything about this and did not receive a book until friday am i off the hook at all?

[Andrew]

RE: wheel fell off

if a hub's tolerance to proper torque is that sensitive, then it is a poor design in my opinion.....

[AirTool]

RE: wheel fell off

Gride300 - can you explain more about the failure? Your first quote states the hub basically exploded. Was the rim still intact to the hub? Were the lug nuts still intact? Did the bearings come apart? Was the bearing's nut still on? Can you post a picture?

Do you have drum brakes or disc?

I'm assuming you have tandem axle.

Also, to all, I think the increased concern for re-torquing is because of the aluminum wheels....just my opinion. My Ramlin folder did have the warning sheet about re-torquing the nuts. I can't remember the miles...I think 250...I'd have to dig it out of the files.

AirTool

[NautiqueJeff]

RE: wheel fell off

I can tell you that the wheels on my '07 Ram-Lin certainly needed the retorques that the sheet recommended. My '08 Ram-Lin has not needed the retorques at all yet, and I have pulled it from Florida to Virginia, and quite a bit around Virginia. I have different wheels this year, and I assume that's the reason. The '07 really needed them though.

Your dealer should have given you the documentation, checked the lugs before you left, and verbally warned you, in my opinion.

[MikeC]

RE: wheel fell off

Just a thought, but if the trailer had been used to move boats around the stroage yard there may have been a number of stresses put on the trailer hub that wouldn't normally happen. When you move a trailer with a tractor you can spin it in a pretty tight circle and with a tandem axle trailer the rear hubs get a lot of stress because there are times when the wheels aren't rolling at all, they are being dragged sideways across the pevement. Then maybe pulling it on the highway caused enough heat to build up to cause a hub failure.

I do feel gride's pain though, it's no fun when you can't play with a new toy - especially one this expensive.

[BPSKI]

RE: wheel fell off

To say that it is 100% user error on a supposed new trailer is a little harsh. My "new" Trailer had no stickers on it telling me to re-torque at XX miles. Not all dealers give good deliveries, my dealer made 0 mention of checking the wheels, they basically said there's your boat see ya (didn't even give us the code to start the thing). I think it may be a case where the trailer may have had a pretty tough life until sold as MikeC stated. Would you say user error if it happened on the drive home?

[Edwin]

RE: wheel fell off

As a responsible person who trailers a boat, it's your job to check the lugs. I'm certain that I'm in the minority because I read the documentation that comes with the boat / trailer. "If" the trailer had a tough life on the lot as you mention BP, that's even MORE reason to give it a going over before pulling it down the road.

We still haven't seen an answer from the OP whether the lugs were loose...leading me to believe the answer is yes. If that's the case, 100% user error.