Wheel falls off and causes roll over

mikracer · 02-01-2019, 09:10 PM

Saw this posted on a FB group for toy haulers. The article says a rear wheel came off causing the driver to over correct which caused the trailer to roll over. Pretty scary stuff although only minor injuries were reported.

Another reminder to retorque your wheel occasionally.

https://flaglerlive.com/132520/van-t...flips-on-i-95/

JWA · 02-02-2019, 04:13 AM

Glad no one was seriously injured in that accident.

I did wonder immediately what caused the wheel to separate---could the driver been towing something past the van's capabilities? There are several questions posed asking about that in the "reply" portion of the link---I'd like to see the wheel, axle and studs too---might be quite telling.

carringb · 02-02-2019, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWA

Glad no one was seriously injured in that accident.

I did wonder immediately what caused the wheel to separate---could the driver been towing something past the van's capabilities? There are several questions posed asking about that in the "reply" portion of the link---I'd like to see the wheel, axle and studs too---might be quite telling.

I read the comments too, and it was mostly wild speculation. That trailer should be within an E350's capabilities.

There's been a few cases on this forum by now, of people losing wheels. And I've lost some of my lugnuts, and the balance weren't even finger tight. I always re-torque wheels now, regardless of who took the off last.

I was behind my brother when he simultaneously lost all 4 wheels of his boat trailer at 45 MPH. Driver side shot-off cartoon style, while the passenger side where caught by the fender. I did the wheel bearings for him, and he was supposed to torque them, but got distracted and forgot.

REF · 02-02-2019, 07:54 AM

Yikes....this gives me pause, as we’re gearing up for our extended excursion towing a 21ft Lance behind the van. Don’t know what caused this, but either way, that’s a big trailer! The distribution hitch helps a ton....but still gotta watch the weight!
Yes, would be interesting to learn the cause of this, over torqued, under torqued....over loaded?

**BroncoHauler** · 02-02-2019, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carringb

I read the comments too, and it was mostly wild speculation. That trailer should be within an E350's capabilities....

There are a number of 'experts' posting in that Comment section, aren't there, especially about a full sized van's tow capacity.

From the second pic, it looks like the emergency responders had to cut out a pillar on the driver's side.

Herb

Twoxentrix · 02-02-2019, 01:15 PM

That must have been scarry for the occupants of the tow vehicle - Good to learn everyone walked away without major injury...
"There were two dogs aboard. One of them ran off and was being searched for. It’s a black and white poodle. Animal control has been called in. (At 2 p.m., FlaglerLive learned from an unconfirmed report that the dog was found and was at a local animal hospital.)"

Steve_382 · 02-02-2019, 04:05 PM

We are in that area for the winter and heard that on the local news last night.

Several years ago a friend of ours rolled his suburban and his black lab ran off never to be seen again. Guess he decided to take his chances with a new owner or just wing it.

Bbasso · 02-02-2019, 07:45 PM

Semi-float dana 60 & 6.0 how can ya go wrong?
But loosing the dogs sucks

JWA · 02-07-2019, 05:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carringb

I read the comments too, and it was mostly wild speculation. That trailer should be within an E350's capabilities.

There's been a few cases on this forum by now, of people losing wheels. And I've lost some of my lugnuts, and the balance weren't even finger tight. I always re-torque wheels now, regardless of who took the off last.

Good advice on checking wheel lug nut torque---I'll have to add that to my routine when tire air pressure is checked--should be easy enough to carry the appropriate tools.

You're right on the E350's capabilities--I didn't pay close enough attention to that part of the article. My bad!

TomsBeast · 02-07-2019, 10:33 AM

I have no idea why that van lost a wheel.

I will say this: There have been several folks with vans on this forum, that have lost a wheel, or close to it. In most cases, wheel studs were found to be broken at their base. It's been this guy's experience that studs break off from being previously over-torqued.

While researching 'proper' lug nut torque for my van (Dana 60 truck axles), I realized that Ford changed thread pitch to M14 x 2 starting in 1999. The more coarse pitch, requires more torque applied at the wrench, to get the same clamping force under the nut. Conversely, the finer pitch lug threads used on the earlier axles, half ton vs Super Duty, likely make things confusing for the average tire shop guy, and may result in over-torquing some lug nuts. For instance, in some cases a E150 (half ton) calls for 100ft lbs, where the E350 calls for 140ft lbs. The coarse pitch M14 x 2 lugs call for 165ft lbs. Torque a stud and nut intended for 100ft lbs, to 165, and it 'necks down' from bolt stretch, permanent deformation of the material at the base of the stud where it's under cut slightly. It's only a matter of time before studs start to break, as one breaks, the other 7 are now carrying more of the load, and it goes on in a cascade until a wheel is lost.