At least we didn't lose it on the highway!

[GlassMan]

Originally Posted by Click_here

Last week, we were packed and heading out to Tyler State park east of the Dallas area, driving down I-635, known locally as LBJ freeway. I mentioned to the wife that the road certainly seemed a little rough, so I changed lanes to the right. Still not so smooth so got in the far right lane and slowed to about 50.

That is when I noticed the loud, bumpy thump-thump of what sounded like I had two left rear flats! Slowed down and it got worse, pulling as quickly as I could to the limited shoulder, blocking part of a major exit (Town East Mall).

Carefully exited with all the traffic racing by and walking to the back of the RV, I had one of those slow motion heart attacks. Not literally, but the outside left rear wasn't attached. It was held on at an angle by only two threaded studs, no lug nuts and all the 6 others were just gone. Looked behind the rig and noticed 3 of the lug nuts and two of the sheared off studs as well as the valve extender from the inside rear.

To make a short story even longer, after nearly 3 hours, we were on the way again, sitting precariously on a flatbed tow truck graciously sent by Ford roadside, transported over to an authorized Ford truck repair center in Dallas about 25 miles away. Both wheels are ruined, outside chrome and inside Ford one.

A few thoughts on this one:
-Ford will not cover it since they were an 'after market' chrome wheel, not a Ford wheel.
-Jayco advises they won't since we have had the RV for 15 months and it was a 'maintenance' issue
-Vogt RV in Ft. Worth said pretty much the same thing.
-Good Sam, though we are members, joining the road side assistance portion has a 48 hour waiting period.
-CoachNet, provided by Vogt is only for 1 year, though we got no notice to renew or extend. They did offer to send someone for $450 plus a month to month fee for 'rejoining'
-Local police called their own tow company, who wanted to tow from behind with an 18 wheeler setup. I refused since Ford was sending a flatbed. Was forced to pay them $200 'for showing up'.

While I do check my air each time we go out, never crossed my mind to get out my torque wrench and check that the lug nuts are tightened to spec. I know it is in the manual (now) but seriously...

As it turns out, I had the rubber valve stems replaced with steel a few months ago at a local Discount Tire to stop air loss (it did), which makes me think they did not replace the left rear properly. Likely a little late to go after them now.

Bottom line is, State Farm is covering it, with my $500 deductible, but it hasn't been an easy task to get this sorted. The repair place 'has no vendor agreement' with either Jayco or Vogt so they say they don't know how to pay for an ordered replacement wheel (to match). I had to call Jayco directly and speak to the parts manager at the dealer to supply all that info to the repair shop.

Suffice to say, I will be checking lug nuts as well as air from now on.

What is the name of the authorized Ford service center in Dallas?

[Lake Huron]

I had a similar issue with my old Sierra 5th wheel. It was brand new and used it 3x. I decided to check the wheel bearings and as I figured hardly any grease in there. I repacked them,put the wheels back on and torqued the lug nuts, WITH A TORQUE WRENCH. We went 300mi to our destination. Before we left I rechecked all the logs and everything was good. 60 miles down the road we had a wheel one completely off and I never knew it until the couple behind us called. The stud holes in the wheel were perfect yet it managed to shear off all 6 studs. Fortunately the wheel was on the right side of the trailer and went off the shoulder and into the woods instead of down the highway and killing someone.

Was this issue my fault? I'd bet not. I checked my torque wrench to one of my other wrenches AND against my buddy's $800 Snap On digital and it was +/- 3ftlbs. I also thought maybe I'd set the torque too high it the other 18 lugs on the other 3 wheels all torqued the same. I think someone at the factory had their gun set too high and over stretched the studs OR someone at the dealer was playing around with that wheel and over torqued it.

Either way, I paid for the repair so I know it was done right . That trailer was such a pile of junk, it was one thing after another constantly. So I traded it in and bought a Northpoint. Much better quality than a Forest River.

[RetiredLEO]

Years ago we had a farm truck lose it's duallys on the highway..........hit the driver's windshield area of the vehicle behind him..........killed the driver.

[jfg]

There are plastic tabs that go on the lug nuts that allow you to spot a loose one right away. Usually they are seen on cube vans and bigger. Maybe it could be a good safety measure for you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loose_wheel_nut_indicator

[dannyabear]

Originally Posted by katiedog

OH BOY !!!!
Same thing happened to us November ,,
The local roadside service replace 4 studs .
All 8 sheared off
just to get off the road and to Ford dealer.
The dealer would not work on RVs so
road side came back and finished the job.
We replace both wheels since there were damaged
mainly the outer Aluminum wheel.
I had removed and retorqued the wheels on purchase
and checked several times
The studs appeared to been cracked for a while ,
they were ether defective or way over torqued at Manufacture.
Ford was contacted and after much investigation they made good
on all charges and parts. Yea!!
I would everyone with Aluminum Wheel option check torque and
put anti sieze on Threads. Possibly dissimilar wheel materials and an issue

NEVER use anti-sieze on wheel lugs, they are designed to be run dry

[Click_here]

Originally Posted by GlassMan

What is the name of the authorized Ford service center in Dallas?

There may be others, and I expect Ford Roadside could tell you but we went to Rush Truck service on Irving Blvd.