Quick Re-cap of what happened to me today. Went to the Rubicon yesterday, camped and came out todat at @ noon. Loaded the Jeep up on the trailer and took off. Right off the bat, the trailer felt funny and I couldn't stop it from traveling (swaying) behind the Expedition. I even reloaded it twice. Cruising on 50 around Folsom, the truck got the shakes and I thought I might be losing a bearing on one of the trailer wheels. Next thing I know, BIG BANG and I'm all over the road. Look out the window and my Rear Driver's Side Tire/Wheel fly by and down the freeway. I managed to slow the truck and trailer down and get it off the road. I immediately checked the damage and all of the studs on the rear axle were there, in decent shape. No shearing action. So the lug nuts backed out.....all five of them!

So here's my question. Has this happened to anyone before and is it just a matter of neglect on my part? Keep in mind that these are "locking" nuts that are supposed to NOT back out. The truck has not been worked on recently and the wheel has not been removed in at least 10,000 miles.

Or.......did someone sabotage my tow rig while it was parked at Loon and back the lug nuts out?

Either way, I sustained some pretty serious body damage to my new Expedition and I'm pretty shaken up. Opinions?

we just had a wheel come off a 2000 f350 dually at work. was covered under warrenty. myself and the dealer came to the same conclusion without talking to each other about it.either the driver tried to change a flat(possible but why(left outside dual)) or the studs were not completely driven in. it destoyed all the studs,two wheels and the hub.

wow thats pretty weak sauce if this is true, our buddy craig had a similar problem but i dont think it was his lug nuts somethign with his auto hub i think he said, right around p-ville the right front started to shack and woblle like it wanted to com eoff. thsi was on memorial day! jiMy

Loose nut behind the wheel.

Never go 10K miles with out checking lug nuts. Check lug nuts after each trip.

Ask WEEZER... he had his "tight" lug nuts back off while going UP icehouse road...A buddy following him SAW 3 fly off at the same time and after a short race, was able to pass and stop him. Moral of the story... Check Them!

:strapping on greenie weenie stompers:

I'm not saying it WAS sabotage, BUT there are those radicals in the greenie movement. Not that radical you say? What about that b*tch that lived in a tree for a year up in the redwoods, I was in Redding at the time. There is the well known event of people wearing animal furs getting paint thrown on them. Loggers in Oregon losing jobs over a spotted chicken, er I mean owl (taste like chicken:D). Dunes closed due to a weed. And on the list goes.

Maybe it was some sort of "jumping in" initiation for a greenie weenie gang? Could be some mountain-bikin'-honda-drivin'-organic-eatin'-herbage-smokin' free spirit that didn't like the idea of some landbarge-drivin'-redneck up in HIS mountains. Too bad he didn't have the cahones to tell you to your face :D

Try living 50 miles from where they built the A bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima! Ever try to convince someone that nuclear energy is a good thing?

:stompers off:

While driving a company Expedition we had a rear wheel start to loosen which we had checked by a dealer. They replaced the lugs and studs. 300 miles later we had the same thing happen again. While we never lost a wheel, we did have the lug nuts start to back out.

FWIW, for some reason,these type of probs seem to be more frequent with aluminum wheels. At least in my experience. That´s one of the reasons I changed back to steel wheels...

Let´s just say, it was a good thing I had a rear locker to get outta the middle of the fawki´n street!!:emb4: :mad: :p

:beer: :beer:

Rock Toy--- that's a tough call in the case of wheels.....you say you have "locking nuts". Are those like a jam nut where the hole is egg shaped for an interference fit? If so, I find it hard to believe that they backed out.....it drove up to the trail just fine and was immediately noticed as a prob when you started to leave? Steel wheels?.....I think some pranster was messing with it. That's what sucks about leaving a trailor on its own.

Sorry, off topic...

Originally posted by Magoo


...Could be some mountain-bikin'-honda-drivin'-organic-eatin'-herbage-smokin' free spirit that didn't like the idea of some landbarge-drivin'-redneck up in HIS mountains...

Careful with your stereotypes. There are quite a few mountain bikers on this board, myself included, who also wheel (or wheelers who also mountain bike):D . I, and most others on this board, know that you were pointing out the eco-terrorist greenies, but others (lurkers) may not.

Since I thoroughly enjoy both wheeling and biking, I have a hard time understanding the animosity between these two groups. While we don't always use the same trails, we use the same wilderness, and that wilderness is rapidly dissapearing. I firmly believe that for my kids to be able to wheel it will take the combined efforts of all groups (wheelers, mtn bikers, ATVers, etc.) who enjoy outdoor recreation to fight together to keep our land open.

Back on topic...

Like you, I won't definitely say it's sabotage, but I wouldn't put it past some of the more radical groups. In addition to the things you stated (living in trees, throwing paint, whatnot), they have also been known to spike trees marked for logging to cause chainsaws to kick back and injure/maim/kill loggers.
:mad3:

i would not rule out sabotage , this week on the con i picked up four grabber sheetrock screws in my brand new swampers . :mad: i ran the trail from the tahoma side to loon and back , somewhere around spider lake on the way back to tahoma is where i noticed the screws .. if anyone else picked up screws in their tires this week post up ..........

alan

Expeditions, Navigators, and F150s don't use a tapered seat lug nut, they use a an unusual flat washer type. The wheel is centered by the hub.The design is totally different than a F350. Lug nut torque is critical. 100ft lbs. It does sound unusual, I work at a dealership, and we don't see that very often unless someone over/under torqued the wheels. And even that is rare. Torquing lug nuts is manditory in our shop.

Well like Aggro said I was cruising up Ice House road when a friend got me to pull over. Only 2 lug nuts were left, rim was thrashed and the studs were thrashed. Spun on the spare lug nuts I carry and continued on. I know I had put that tire on tight. I have heard people say that chrome rims have this problem more then painted rims. So now I always take a minute before I hit the pavement and kick each tire to make sure they are on tight

Just in case anyone cares, my Insurance is covering the whole thing.....the dealer did not even consider the possibility of it being their fault. I guess I'll be triple checking both the tow rig and trailer before, between and after every run.

thats good news,time to carry the torque wrench if you don't already.

Listen to what zags said. I got a bulletin on my 97 f150 and every time Big Zero changed a tire on it they were careful to tourque them properly.

it's a FORD "found on road dead" thing. Lucky you and glad all will be ok. tighten those loose nuts, would ya...:p

I would definately be cautious when loading up your rigs. Check everything. I had someone here at work throw a box of pop rivet stems under my truck. Luckily I noticed them before I drove over them.

Originally posted by Cajun
Careful with your stereotypes. There are quite a few mountain bikers on this board, myself included, who also wheel (or wheelers who also mountain bike):D . I, and most others on this board, know that you were pointing out the eco-terrorist greenies, but others (lurkers) may not.


I've been on two wheels longer than I've been in school (2 years trade school, 2 years + college). I picked up my first MB 2 years ago (Specializec Rockhopper), and may be picking up a FS Freerider this summer. I was reading the MB post a while back, at 6'2" and 225 I thought I was as big as they come! We ought to start a fullsize MB club, LOL!

A lot of that was tounge in cheek, some serious, as for the loggers, I would have been 4th generation, but Dad moved us out the mountains when I was a year old. As a matter of fact we are heading up to Gramps for the 4th, Clark Fork Idaho! Best 4th of JULY period!