Wheel came off during towing, how did that happen?

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That's a picture from a jalonik type site - looks like it. Wow that looks like junk. I should read the replies, but 7 pages seems overwhelming after seeing the picture............I'm stuck on the fact the brakes could not have been working
 
Seems like the simplest explanation is the lug nuts came loose over time, here is yet another gem, this is a frequent occurrence. But I get you point about the rest of it.

Lug nuts "working loose" ( when tensioned properly) is a virtual impossibility and anecdotal articles and claims wont change that.

In this case specifically, the "evidence" is sketchy, somewhat contradictory and incomplete at best.

The rotor had to be removed due to the caliper retaining it.

The remaining lugs APPEAR to indicate that the nuts were already at the end of the thread or even totally missing based on a blow up and seeing the deep corrosion and scarring. ( emphasis on "appears" as the pictures are not of the best quality and totally conclusive)

Also, if you accept where the snapped one was, it indicates it was tightened. If that's the case then one could reasonably say that when it snapped, the rim "walked" ( wobbled) outward till it went out on its own. ( whether it backed off nuts or they were not present will forever be an unknown)

If we accept that picture as evidence they were there- those pictures don't address if they were tight or there was enough thread integrity ( lug or nut) to hold tension if they were properly tightened.

Lots of circumstantial and speculative "evidence" but very few facts to draw a conclusion from.

But to state that an "overload" on a trailer caused this is total unadulterated BS.
 
Take some more pictures of the wheel well, specifically the brake line, what does the end look like?
If it had a caliper rotor and pads when you left ....and got ripped off on the road .... all the fluid would have leaked out when you pushed the brakes the first time, or when you pushed the brake to shift into drive to move it off the trailer.

I also find it hard to believe that if you retraced your steps and didn't find a wheel. Ok but how about the rotor, caliper or pads?

Also take a picture of the hub with a piece of paper that has TODAYS DATE on it just so we know you aren't full of it.
 
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I loaded all the weight towards the front of the trailer, as the instructions said, and to reiterate, it was mostly empty.
and you are right, it won't stay up without a wheel, because as soon as it went missing, it collapsed and I pulled over.
 
Take some more pictures of the wheel well, specifically the brake line, what does the end look like?
If it had a caliper rotor and pads when you left ....and got ripped off on the road .... all the fluid would have leaked out when you pushed the brakes the first time, or when you pushed the brake to shift into drive to move it off the trailer.

I also find it hard to believe that if you retraced your steps and didn't find a wheel. Ok but how about the rotor, caliper or pads?

Also take a picture of the hub with a piece of paper that has TODAYS DATE on it just so we know you aren't full of it.

How about I hold today's newspaper in hands next to it, would that suffice? You know how they do it in the movies.

Current BBC front page (at least on mobile).

JFerYil.jpg
 
I had brakes when I left the gas station.
Then I never used them until the incident, because never had to even brake on the highway, no jams.
then once all the devices came off, it really lost all braking abilities, but yeah I had it before.

I've never once contradicted myself. I may be telling the story a bit out of timeline but no contradictions. actually it's really simple.
 
Lug nuts "working loose" ( when tensioned properly) is a virtual impossibility and anecdotal articles and claims wont change that.

In this case specifically, the "evidence" is sketchy, somewhat contradictory and incomplete at best.

The rotor had to be removed due to the caliper retaining it.

The remaining lugs APPEAR to indicate that the nuts were already at the end of the thread or even totally missing based on a blow up and seeing the deep corrosion and scarring. ( emphasis on "appears" as the pictures are not of the best quality and totally conclusive)

Also, if you accept where the snapped one was, it indicates it was tightened. If that's the case then one could reasonably say that when it snapped, the rim "walked" ( wobbled) outward till it went out on its own. ( whether it backed off nuts or they were not present will forever be an unknown)

If we accept that picture as evidence they were there- those pictures don't address if they were tight or there was enough thread integrity ( lug or nut) to hold tension if they were properly tightened.

Lots of circumstantial and speculative "evidence" but very few facts to draw a conclusion from.

But to state that an "overload" on a trailer caused this is total unadulterated BS.


Can you write several paragraphs of your report? Rewriting the report in a format that's coherent towards the owner.
Such as:
I am an independent contractor mechanic,... based on the evidence I reviewed based on photos of the crash, I came to this conclusion. considering x, y and z, this is my understanding of what happened. The axle is not broken. This is I think what happened. Include your torsional and rotational stuff in it.

Ping me your paypal address and I will bounce you Starbucks/beer type funds.

I am not going to sue the owner, nor does it appear he will sue me, he got no grounds and neither do I but just in case, and I really want to state I am not at fault here.
 
As a former mechanic I have an opinion based on what I see in the pics. But my opinion is just another one on the Internet.

My advice: Never borrow someone's property. If you need a truck temporarily, rent one with a legally binding rental contract.
 
I'm going with the theory about someone putting it together without a rotor and bottomed out the lugnuts on the studs. The only question I had was how the piston stayed in the caliper, but the last round of pictures answers that.
 

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Can you write several paragraphs of your report? Rewriting the report in a format that's coherent towards the owner.
Such as:
I am an independent contractor mechanic,... based on the evidence I reviewed based on photos of the crash, I came to this conclusion. considering x, y and z, this is my understanding of what happened. The axle is not broken. This is I think what happened. Include your torsional and rotational stuff in it.

Ping me your paypal address and I will bounce you Starbucks/beer type funds.

I am not going to sue the owner, nor does it appear he will sue me, he got no grounds and neither do I but just in case, and I really want to state I am not at fault here.

Sorry but as a licensed professional I cannot legally do that.

I cannot stamp and certify "hearsay" and render a professional opinion on anything I did not directly examine.

Any mechanical engineering firm could do this easily should you need the service.
 
just for kicks and giggles are there pads and rotors on the other three corners?
if there aren't....

also i might check to see if the lugs on the other wheels are missing or finger tight?
 
The truck is a rolling disaster and you’re lucky there wasn’t serious injury or property damage from it coming apart on you.

The owner seems obsessed with the axle theory, but that could just be your way of relating the facts as you see them. Either way, he...wait, you said he came and got the truck from the side of the road. So he had seen it and inspected it. If he is still adamant the axle broke or otherwise failed, he’s up to something or just plain ignorant.

You should be very wary of all future dealings with this person. He does NOT have your best interests in mind, that is clear.
 
Any mechanical engineering firm could do this easily should you need the service.

The cost of their services will likely be higher than the entire vehicle is worth. It's fine.

Anyway, I conversed with him again today, he told me the loose lug nuts theory is BS, and that I broke the axle by overloading. And that the other wheel is crooked, so it's the differential cover he wants to take off and show me.

I suppose the axle is broken, or seized. The only real question is, what came first, the loose wheel and then the axle snapped / seized or vice-versa.

Or maybe the diff fluid leaked out, and it got locked up, I don't know.

Seems to me if the wheel came off, the rest of the system could not bear the weight of the trailer, even empty and snapped the axle/differential? The right rear wheel, the one that's there is at an angle, it's not straight. You will just have to take my word for it.
 
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I've had a pretty unpleasant day today. I paid for the pics I posted today. See the owner is also my landlord and I rent from him, he lives on the premises.
His wife stormed out of the building and started taking pictures of me as I was taking pictures of the inside the wheel well. I asked why are you photographing me? She said I thought you were removing parts from the truck.

Nasty and paranoid.
But I can kind of see how one can come to that conclusion, although I told them it's nobody's fault, I think. Nor gave them any reason to think there is a lawsuit coming. But their behavior pisses me off almost as much as the truck incident. You know we can figure this out without slinging shyt at each other, constructively without nastiness.

I think what's going on, they think I am getting ready for a lawsuit against them and thus messing with it and photographing and such towards that end. I am not.
It's a toxic situation all around. I got to move and find a new place. This thing is just the latest thing on top of other BS.
 
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