2 wheels came off my new Puma Toy Hauler while I was towing it

[Gary Honis]

I bought a new 2016 Forest River Palomino Puma 21-TUC toy hauler in March. It had to go back to the factory for many problems and I picked it up on April 20 at my local RV dealer. This past Wednesday two wheels on the passenger side came off and I was able to steer it to the side of the road. The trailer has a lot of damage. It was towed using the Coach-Net service to the nearest RV dealer. That dealer is located 135 miles from my home. Good thing nobody was hurt. You can see the damage to my trailer here:

August 3, 2016 Forest River PUMA Palomino Toy Hauler Accident Photos



Gary

[Happy Vibe]

When was the last time you checked the lug nut torque? I do it before every trip. It looks like the nuts were loose for some time, the hole in the rim is oval.

[SeaDog]

What kind of weight was on the trailer (load) Were the lug nuts not torqued? You are correct it is lucky there was not more damage or someone hurt by the loose tires.

[Gary Honis]

Hi Vibe and Seadog,

I did not check the tourque of the lug nuts, because it was a new trailer. I'll be sure to check the lug nuts in the future on every trip. I only haul telescope gear in my toy hauler and it is a few hundred pounds at most.

The oval hole in the rim is most likely caused by the stud as the wheel was coming off the trailer.

Gary

[dwayneb236]

I'm surprised you haven't been blamed for all the damage yet. I'm sure it's coming.


Sorry to hear about that. You would expect a new product to at least get you down the road for a while.


My wife had some work done on her 67 Mustang. Suspension stuff. A short time after, she was driving to work and said it sounded strange. She got to work and her and the guys started looking around and took the hubcaps off. Every tire had loose lug nuts. The idiot who did the work apparently didn't quite finish. Luckily they caught it and no damage was done.


It's just sad that you can't trust anyone to do their job anymore.

[toslow]

what would the torque spec be on those wheels?

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by toslow

what would the torque spec be on those wheels?

etrailer has a chart:

https://www.etrailer.com/question-75604.html

[Retired JSO]

Someone may have intently loosened and or removed the lug nuts. I make this statement because l see no lugs sheered off. Usually a loose lug will cause the lugs to sheer or the wheel holes to Waller way out which you didn't comment.

[PhoneDude 8289]

Originally Posted by Retired JSO

Someone may have intently loosened and or removed the lug nuts. I make this statement because l see no lugs sheered off. Usually a loose lug will cause the lugs to sheer or the wheel holes to Waller way out which you didn't comment.

Retired JSO is correct, I had a Dakota pickup years ago and almost lost a rear wheel. A couple of studs were sheered off and the lug holes were wallowed almost oval.

[Oaklevel]

There probably is a sticker somewhere telling to check torque after so many miles. Our Puma has one but this is odd to me I have five trailers and have never had a wheel lug nut loose enough that would work its way off........ Also I too am very surprised that no studs were sheared off.

I am leaning also to the intentional theory............ hope that is not the case. That would be a bad trick to play on someone.

Regardless of how it happened glad no one was hurt........

[asquared]

Originally Posted by Gary Honis

Hi Vibe and Seadog,

I did not check the tourque of the lug nuts, because it was a new trailer. I'll be sure to check the lug nuts in the future on every trip. I only haul telescope gear in my toy hauler and it is a few hundred pounds at most.

The oval hole in the rim is most likely caused by the stud as the wheel was coming off the trailer.

Gary

Originally Posted by Oaklevel

There probably is a sticker somewhere telling to check torque after so many miles. Our Puma has one but this is odd to me I have five trailers and have never had a wheel lug nut loose enough that would work its way off........ Also I too am very surprised that no studs were sheared off.

I am leaning also to the intentional theory............ hope that is not the case. That would be a bad trick to play on someone.

Regardless of how it happened glad no one was hurt........

Wow glad everyone is safe. I forget where I saw it (manual or sticker) but I remember reading the need to tighten the lugs every 150-200 miles or so when new or when tires changed as they may work loose.

[Witch Doctor]

I can see 1 or 2 working loose but not all of them at the same time, Glad your okay. I'll bet 100.00 dollars to a donut that the transport people don't check them. I didn't even see a broken one, unless I missed it. It takes a lot of miles to seat those alum wheels they put on, I thought I read somewhere it was every 150 miles or so, can't remember now. I think the torque on mine 110 lbs. or at least that is where there set to... There are some pretty high torq. on that chart from e trailer, Once again glad you are all right they can always fix the trailer...

[Airdale]

Originally Posted by Gary Honis

I bought a new 2016 Forest River Palomino Puma 21-TUC toy hauler in March. It had to go back to the factory for many problems and I picked it up on April 20 at my local RV dealer. This past Wednesday two wheels on the passenger side came off and I was able to steer it to the side of the road. The trailer has a lot of damage. It was towed using the Coach-Net service to the nearest RV dealer. That dealer is located 135 miles from my home. Good thing nobody was hurt. You can see the damage to my trailer here:

August 3, 2016 Forest River PUMA Palomino Toy Hauler Accident Photos



Gary

"Make sure all of the lug nuts are secure. Use a torque wrench. Do not guess."

It's in here, or look in yours. It's under tire safety.

Forest River Manuals

[Gary Honis]

When I pulled over to the side of the road, the lug nuts were all about half-way turned off of the wheel studs on both hubs. There was no damage to the threads of the wheel studs. My RV dealer said that happens when the lug nuts become loose. The wheel begins to wobble and the rim breaks up.

Gary

[hondo]

My sticker says to recheck lug nut torque every 50 miles for the first 200 miles after having a wheel off.

[DaveSchwartz]

Torque checked to 100 ft-lb on aluminum wheels before every trip. Previous TT manufacturer sent a special letter and DVD (probably their lawyers did ) saying 150 ft-lb on steel wheels.

[raytwntrvlr]

I have a torque wrench and deep socket handy always when towing... check constantly.. only ever found a couple somewhat under torqued... by no means loose.

Seems suspicious that all came off on both wheels on the same side.

Glad no one was injured.

[CaptnJohn]

WoW! Glad no one was hurt! Looks like a lot of damage. The buckled floor gives concern of the frame and the possibility of it being a total loss.

[ausstar]

Gary,

Just another opinion...provided you don't have any known chicken ***t enemies, someone may have wanted your new wheels and tires, then opted out for some reason and left the scene in a hurry.

Although, as you'll notice from many posts over time, there are many dealers that do not do a good job on repairs or set-ups. Adding to check lug nut torque to your checklist, just like tire pressures, would be a good idea.

Glad you were able to exit the roadway without injury !

[5picker]

I too am going to lean towards the scenario that somewhere between the factory and/or at the dealer, someone tried to steal your wheels and tires and were somehow interrupted.

It is unfortunate you didn't notice anything suspect before leaving the dealer but I am also glad no one was hurt.