Wheel Failure

[WilB]

Have a 33' 2015 Revere, after two years and about 6000 miles we had a tire going soft, pulled the wheel sprayed tire down with soapy water, no leaks in tire but where one of the wheel spokes was welded to the rim it was leaking air. Dealer said because there was a little bit of surface rust( I wiped it off with a rag) it was my fault they wouldn't do anything. Six months later same thing with another wheel. Ended up putting tubes in. A couple of months later on I-80 in Iowa with my wife driving I thought something was dragging under the truck, pulled to shoulder, front wheel on TT was gone all that was left was the spokes, no tire, no rim, no damage to underside of TT, plastic fender was gone and back tire was down to steel belts. Thank goodness I had two spares. Any one else have a similar issue with wheels? Thinking of going with aluminum wheels any thoughts?

[tande]

Originally Posted by WilB

Have a 33' 2015 Revere, after two years and about 6000 miles we had a tire going soft, pulled the wheel sprayed tire down with soapy water, no leaks in tire but where one of the wheel spokes was welded to the rim it was leaking air. Dealer said because there was a little bit of surface rust( I wiped it off with a rag) it was my fault they wouldn't do anything. Six months later same thing with another wheel. Ended up putting tubes in. A couple of months later on I-80 in Iowa with my wife driving I thought something was dragging under the truck, pulled to shoulder, front wheel on TT was gone all that was left was the spokes, no tire, no rim, no damage to underside of TT, plastic fender was gone and back tire was down to steel belts. Thank goodness I had two spares. Any one else have a similar issue with wheels? Thinking of going with aluminum wheels any thoughts?

And a TPMS.......

[Oaklevel]

I guess that there are advantages to both Aluminum and Steel, but sounds like that there may have been a bad batch or rims.........

I have for the past 40 years had steel trailer wheels and never had one come apart. Aluminium do look better but they can have issues breaking as well. (Hit a bad pot hole see what happens ) Usually a steel wheel gets bent and Aluminum breaks.

[grumpy0374]

Originally Posted by WilB

Have a 33' 2015 Revere, after two years and about 6000 miles we had a tire going soft, pulled the wheel sprayed tire down with soapy water, no leaks in tire but where one of the wheel spokes was welded to the rim it was leaking air. Dealer said because there was a little bit of surface rust( I wiped it off with a rag) it was my fault they wouldn't do anything. Six months later same thing with another wheel. Ended up putting tubes in. A couple of months later on I-80 in Iowa with my wife driving I thought something was dragging under the truck, pulled to shoulder, front wheel on TT was gone all that was left was the spokes, no tire, no rim, no damage to underside of TT, plastic fender was gone and back tire was down to steel belts. Thank goodness I had two spares. Any one else have a similar issue with wheels? Thinking of going with aluminum wheels any thoughts?

2 steel rims going bad after only 3 years should NOT happen.
If you have the 2 remaining rims, and possibly the damaged rims, ASAP, contact NHTSA, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Let them know what happened. Its possible they can determine if the rims were bad, or if they were overloaded...not by you, but by the frame manufacturer in using wrong rims on the suspension. Possible rims used were not rated for the weight of the trailer. If it's determined the rims were bad, or blame can be placed on frame/trailer/rim manufacturer, then there is a good possibility you can recoupe your out of pocket expenses.
Also, possible that a recall can be issued to all other owners of same type rigs that used same type of rims.
Do not wait...GET R DONE .
Grumpy

[EdJunior]

Never had that, though I had three blowouts in one trip home a few years back. I would definitely keep working with the dealer. After three issues, they would be hard pressed not to help. If they are out of warranty, be easy with them, and maybe they will at least help. It can't hurt to ask.

[WilB]

Thanks, Grumpy0374 and EdJunior for all the advise will follow up with dealer and contact the NHTSA. Tire pressure sensor system is on my Christmas list.

[WilB]

Thanks to everyone who replied to my original post, I did make those contacts and as a result Tim from LionsHead, the wheel manufacturer, he apologized for the problems we had with the wheels and wanted to make things right by sending us replacements for all four wheels. After I learned how to correctly send them information and pictures, third time was the charm, it only took LionsHead to have four wheels sitting on my doorstep. So thank you LionsHead for taking enough pride in your product to make things more than right.

[EdJunior]

Originally Posted by WilB

Thanks to everyone who replied to my original post, I did make those contacts and as a result Tim from LionsHead, the wheel manufacturer, he apologized for the problems we had with the wheels and wanted to make things right by sending us replacements for all four wheels. After I learned how to correctly send them information and pictures, third time was the charm, it only took LionsHead to have four wheels sitting on my doorstep. So thank you LionsHead for taking enough pride in your product to make things more than right.

Very cool. Great to see there is still good dealers out there. And thanks for reporting back with the update!

[doc73]

We lost two lions head steel rims due to the bad welds in the spoke area of our 5er. They replaced the rims but it's cost us about 1,000 in damage and roadside assistance due to the failures.