Pk 2009 the year of the trailer

[Trueser]

On the way home last night I just crossed the border into Illinois and I heard a bunch of noise in the truck. I looked at the trailer and all 4 wheels look normal. when all of a sudden a tire comes out the back of the boat. The spare that was mounted on the trailer came off. The bolts that were holding it on sheared off. Thank god it did'nt hit anyone. I had to run back in traffic and get the wheel out of the center of the lane.

I'm on my way out to clean up the mess. Looks like except the trailer I really lucked out.

[harbormaster]

Holy Crap Mike! I thought I was the only one who had bad luck!

[roadtrip se]

I hit a retread gator head-on west I-20 outside of Fort Worth one time. Did similar damage, but all of it buffed out. Any real scratching on the gel?

[Trueser]

Everything cleaned up real good. No Scratches!!!!! I'm concerned with the amount of stress the boat took. So I just hung up the phone with Tom and he will take a look at it on Sat morn. He wants to see her anyway to check if blueprinting is needed. I also plan on having him look under the motors. This are could use some more strength.

I have no idea why the bolts sheared off.....

[MOP]

Glad for you all turned out well, I never liked the welded head mounts we had several break over the years. I think the welding kills the bolt strength,
they always snap "right" at the weld. Much better off with longer rods through a piece of angle iron (flat stock bends) under the chassis, drill and tap the under side to bolt the angle iron in place and lock the rods with nuts on both sides of the iron.

Phil

[Lenny]

Mike, that was freaking lucky. Glad all ended up ok. You don't need things like this happening when there is enough "other" stuff to fret over.

Take care

[mrfixxall]

That sucks mike,glad everything worked out in your favor!:)

i have a idea why it happened,looking at the pics it looks like the rim was never drawn down tight to the trailer which would keep the tire and rim suspened in the air and all the rocking that trailers do the bolts said im done then sheered off..
just my o2..

[fegettes]

I agree with mrfixxall.

Sorry for the bad luck, but glad you had the good luck that nothing worse happened. .....Does that sound right?

[FISHIN SUCKS]

Daaaaaannnnnng dude......that sux, but fortunate for happy endings:) This is the year of trailer crap.....broke my starboard spring on the back axle on the way down to AOTH this year......damn I-65 south of Louisville!

[Cuda]

I had a wheel come off a tandem trailer because I forgot to tighten the lugs. It was a bad feeling when I looked in the mirror, saw the wheel come off, pass me, then crossed 4 lanes of oncoming traffic, hit a fence, then bounce ten feet in the air. I was scared to death it would go through someone's windsheild and kill 'em. :eek:

I always leave the lug wrench on a lug now until I let the jack down to remind me to tighten the lugs.

[RickSE]

I had that happen on my trip back to the factory several years ago, just never found my wheel and tire. Mine was mounted vertically and sheared off so I remounted horizontally to avoid the shear. Have you considered mounting with a spare hub? When I did mine I used an axle spindle end and welded it to the trailer. This gives you plenty of meat at the weld and the ability to carry a spare hub with the tire.

[Trueser]

the tire was mounted horizontally..

I will change the whole set up over the winter. Switching over to Disc brakes and a controller also.

[RickSE]

the tire was mounted horizontally...

Mike, I'd just caught that and changed my post, then added my comment about a spare hub. Hope this helps.

[Conquistador_del_mar]

On the way home last night I just crossed the border into Illinois and I heard a bunch of noise in the truck. I looked at the trailer and all 4 wheels look normal. when all of a sudden a tire comes out the back of the boat. The spare that was mounted on the trailer came off. The bolts that were holding it on sheared off. Thank god it did'nt hit anyone. I had to run back in traffic and get the wheel out of the center of the lane.

I'm on my way out to clean up the mess. Looks like except the trailer I really lucked out.

Wow, Mike. All things considered, I think you were lucky. I had the same thing happen on my fishing boat trailer a few years ago when Deanna and I were headed to Lake Ouachita in Arkansas. The spare came off at an intersection as I was entering the highway and also did no serious damage. As mentioned, a spare hub welded to the trailer would provide spare parts and should never come off. I have heard that the disc brakes that you plan to install are the best way to go, but I have not done it yet.
Off topic; it was great meeting you and talking right before I left Saturday. Thanks for posting the pictures of my old boat that I saw this morning on the site. Bill

[Trueser]

The pictures are not the same as in person.

That boat is the coolest.

We should have gone for a ride....

Nice meeting you also.

You should think about attending AOTH.

[BigGrizzly]

You are living under a good star.