Trailer wheels breaking ???
 

This is my forst tri-axle trailer and on delivery of the boat ( hauled a thousand miles) I had two broken wheels. I replaced those, then broke another one a week later. This past weekend I pulled the boat , towed it 1/2 mile and broke a fourth wheel!!

These are 6 lug 15x7 steel wheels (custom" type and the welds are breaking around the rims. Is this normal on a tri-axle? I do notice there is a LOT of twisting action on the wheels when the trailer is turning (especially when backing up in a turn. These were the original wheels by the trailer manufacturer.... The trailer is a '97 model as well as the boat ( 312 9000#est.) & now replaced 4 of six wheels!!

So what gives here??? :confused:

seems clear to me this is a wheel quality issue. trailer manufacturer's buy the wheels, and put them on.

my guess. a bad welding process or material. good thing you didn't get matching rims for your truck:eek:

Ram...... I don't question that, BUT, why were they good for 5 years and now 4 of six fail in 4 months? They have never been in salt water so that is not a factor. Also, there is no apparent damage such as dings, scraps, rust, etc. These wheels have been manufactured for around 30 years, so I would not think if was a manufacturing/quality issue. One wheel maybe, but not 4 of 6. Is it possible the stress of the tri-axle "pushing" the wheel sideways when backing is causing this??? They always break on the front axles, not the back or middle.:confused:

a proper weld should be as strong as the parent material

maybe the manufacturere should be aware and may have a solution. seems like a safety issue to me.

is it fatigue. look closely at the remaining rims. any crack propogation?


hmmmmm

Are the wheels breaking on the same axle?
If so the trailer may not be riding level and putting more weight/stress on one axle. Worth looking into.

This trailer sits/rides on the front two axles when unloaded. The third axle rides about two inches off the ground. When loaded all wheels naturally touch. I found this out by accident- the trailer, when not on a hitch ball or a tongue jack will set with the tongue about 4-5" off the ground. The coupler will not touch the ground. There is plenty of tongue weight when on the hitch though. It will (loaded) balance on the three axles! I have never seen that before (?) is that normal (somebody try theirs!)????
Of course, there is no manufacturers name on these wheels, it would be on the caps which are not ever installed (bearing buddies). ???

I replaced the steel wheels on my 'burban with A.R.E. wheels...only to find out while mounting them(the tires) the new aluminum wheels had less weight carrying capabilities and a max tire pressure of 60 psi. The 10 pr tires on the 'burban called for 80psi. Had that set up for 11 years with no trouble except for the troubling thought in the back of my mind.
Triple axles can exert extreme force on wheel while turning. I even cringe sometimes backing into my driveway , when I see twins looking like the tires are about to be ripped off the wheels:eek:
Could be it's just metal fatigue setting in:( . I also have a car carrier that' 13 years old with ONE piece aluminum wheels NO prob:cool:

Blown,
Me again , you might also put the trailer on you truck (on level , smooth ground) and measure the height near the couple and the height near your axle , or better yet the rear of your trailer. It should be level, if not you're probably over loading the front axle.
This is more critical with torsion axles because the don't have equalization between them as do leaf springs.:(
If it's not level you may need a higher ball mount or perhaps air bags in the truck , if that's to low.
I had to put a 2" higher ball mount on my Tahoe;)

That is exactly what I was thinking the trailer is rumming down hill all the time.

Geez Ragtop, If his trailer is rumming down all the time maybe BF should send it to the Betty Ford center:eek: :D :D !