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Posts: 2361
| Getting ready to go north for some fishing, and getting boat ready, checking things
out since it has been my "winter" down here for the last couple months and I haven't had my boat out of the garage.
Find out first off that my 7 year old starter battery is cooked. No grief about that, and in fact I was pleasantly surprised that the battery had lasted that long. Good deal. Never did much to it except charge it once in a while if I hadn't run the boat for a few weeks.
Got battery, ran out to the lake, and noticed backing down the cement ramp that I was kind of bumping. Thought oh oh, flat, but checked tires, nope, then I figured it was probably a big stone in the treads. Couldn't see it but tires intact. Good enough. Ran the boat, went for a swim(84 degrees btw) and then rode around a little. Loaded the boat and noticed the bumping wasn't as bad. Thought it might be the concrete in the other lane, looked for a stone, nothing, ran out the road to the main road and noticed no more bumping. Figure now that higher speed tossed the stone. Stopped at the main road and checked one more time. Looking at the back tire one more time it registers that I am down to 3 lug bolts and only two have nuts on them. Reach down and the third bolt is just hanging there in the hole and I can push it out or in freely. Evidently held in place by centrifugal force? I' realize I am out of cell phone range, fairly common in this area, and there is not garage or anything for the 13 miles back to town and it is already late Friday afternoon. So, I nutted up and made the mancision to "see how it goes" and ran back to town, making it on the two lug nuts(which incidentally were side by side, not across from one another. The bumping was evidently caused by wheel shifting at slower speeds while rotating. Couldn't even feel it at higher speeds. The two remaining bolts were tight, btw. I was lucky to find the lug bolts and nuts I needed at the Tractor Supply store in town, nothing was found at the car parts stores. All this was the result of a cheapSSS repair done a couple years ago, by a fly by night marina. I am guessing the axle I now have on my boat trailer is not suited for the job and the wheels are just part of the overall inadequacy for their current purpose. As I don't normally check lug nuts, but do check inflation and bearings, it is possible that there was a cascade effect when one failed, and it is also possible that someone thought this was a good prank or got interrupted trying to steal a tire. And my last trip home was in the dark. Hard to tell. I'm kind of betting on cheap though. And I am guessing that I will be told by another trailer shop that this axle is undersized and not made for the load its carrying. Unfortunate that I have driven it several thousand miles and a couple years already, but I will probably be upgrading. I carry some stock of repair items, and never thought lug bolts and nuts would be a neccessity but Hey!, ya only need TWO!.
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| You have driven the trailer several thousand miles since the repair and haven't had a issue till now. I'm leaning towards someone trying to steal it or kids playing a prank.
Just my 3 cents
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Posts: 90
Location: Ohio | guest2 - 8/27/2011 7:42 PM You have driven the trailer several thousand miles since the repair and haven't had a issue till now. I'm leaning towards someone trying to steal it or kids playing a prank. Just my 3 cents I agree if the trailer has went several thousand miles and then 3 studs and lug nuts just disappear But it was bumping backing down the ramp to offload boat but not at slow speed or anytime before he backed down to offload? I don't know but good deal on not having a catastrophic failure and I will eyeball all my lug nuts before I load the boat back up now
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Posts: 2361
| I am open to the idea of vandalism, attempted theft or some kind of failure cascade.
It was very interesting to me that the third lug bolt was sitting there, but so loose I could easily push it in and out of the
wheel. Also, just left it in there since threads were stripped in the middle of the bolt, and it road to town in the wheel, just
sitting in there loose. I am wondering how those threads got stripped in the middle but that is potentially a result of riding in there with no nut on it and turning against the metal as it sped down the road.
I figure it is a good thing to know that you can run a few miles on just two adjoing lug bolts. Hopefully nobody will need to do that, and I still wouldn't consider it a 1st option.
Added, the total weight on the two wheels was probably between 1500 and 1750, for boat motor trailer.
Edited by firstsixfeet 8/28/2011 12:53 PM
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Posts: 906
Location: Warroad, Mn | Hmmm! I'm guessing "senior moment". You're changing the tire to the spare. The wife say Jay, come here I need your help. Being the good husband that you are you help the wife out. After this you set down and deside to have a beer, the first one was so good you think another would even be better. After a while you notice the boat sitting in the driveway. You wonder why it's there as you didn't plan on going fishing today and put it back in the garage with two lug nuts missing. Mystery solved! Good luck in Wisconsin. Doug Johnson | |
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In case it comes up...!