tires and wheels fell off of my trailer

[kenny thayer]

Hi, I am a first time boat owner and getting a hard lesson.
I have a boat mate trailer with 18in rockstar rims, I have an RZR, 3 months old and both rims scheared of off the right side. I have taken the boat out 5 times.... It is pretty bad.. Boat mate says there is a sticker on the trailer that says to tighten the lugs and is accepting 0 responsibility. The dealer is trying to help but basically saying it is my fault.
Is checking the lugs on your trailer normal because this really sucks and I have never heard of having to check your lug nuts? ...My new boat was sitting on the rotors on the side of the road. (Happy Times????) There is major damage to the trailer and tightening or checking the lugs was something that no one told me to do and I would have never thought you would have to expecially when you pay so much money for a 2012 boat

I was told BOAT stands for break out another thousand and this is unfortunately becoming reality....

[Kimber]

Sorry to hear that Kenny. I have lost a wheel in the same manner - happened last year. Felt a vibration, looked in the mirror just in time to see one of the wheels shear off and head across a field. I now check lugs before each trip. Mine was a Dorsey trailer.

[embo]

Boat mate says there is a sticker on the trailer that says to tighten the lugs and is accepting 0 responsibility. The dealer is trying to help but basically saying it is my fault.

Wow, can say I never heard of this. Did you ask if this is specific to boat trialers cause I have never heard of checking the lugs on trailers, which I have used since I was 6 years old.

hmm...based on this we all better check our lugs on our daying drivers too!

[st68]

I had a similar experience on a previous Tige I owned in 2000 so quite a while ago. I was living in New Orleans at the time, met the dealer half way from Houston to pick up my new boat, an hour into my trip home one of the tires went rolling off, pulled over, called dealer and he arranged for the nearest MC dealer to store my boat until he could order parts to fix. He arranged and paid for boat to be towed to MC dealer (2 hour tow), when the parts came in he drove to MC dealer to fix the trailer, cleaned the boat up and brought the boat to my house. All of this was covered by him/warranty. We never discussed lug nut tightening being my responsibility and he was so apologetic for my experience. This should be between you and your dealer and he should not involve you with Boat Mate... that is his job to work things out with Boat Mate. I hope this gets resolved and fixed soon for you.

[carcrz]

You're supposed to check all wheels about 50 miles after removing, and then periodically after that.

[Ruger761]

Ive never had a trailer do it but a tire shop didnt fully tighten the ones on my truck once. Lost a back tire running 70 mph pulling 15,000#s was not a fun experiance. Trailer brakes were the only thing that saved me from flipping the truck plus no traffic on the Hwy that day.

[Wickedcummins]

Your telling me both tires just feel off at the same time? And yes its very normal to have to retorque aftermaket wheels. Very impotant when the wheels r new

[jmhatchett]

have seen it happen and had it happen, i was explained that if only one lug nut is the slightest bit loose or even missing then it allows for the wheel to wiggle just enough to loosen the rest and eventually sheer the bolts right off and go rolling past you on the road. Agreed it is not fun or something that is often thought of but it is still possible.

My next thought would be to ask if you have had any tire or trailer work done since you picked it up particularly involving the tires??

If yes you might want to visit with them about the issue, if not then manufacturer or dealer might be able to help. Every dealer has a check list to go through but i honestly dont believe that tire lugs are on it, either way when you spend that kind of money on a NEW boat from THEM i believe they should go above and beyond to help you any way possible.

You said that boatmate is accepting no responsibility and the posted sticker on the trailer absolves them of any liability, but imo they arent having to pay for a huge wreck or massive loss, maybe call them out and just ask for new trailer parts and/or help fixing.

[Ewok]

Sorry to hear about this accident. It is important to check your lug nuts just after installing wheels and especially with aluminum wheels. I've read anywhere from 20-50 miles after re-installing the wheels to check the torque on the wheels and make sure not to over torque them either. This goes for boat trailers as well as cars and trucks.

With that said, I'm surprised your dealer did not check them before the boat left the lot. I'm sure the trailer had a few miles on it before you took it home so I would think they would have checked that out on their ore-delivery checklist.

[Bruizza]

After realizing you are in CO I feel like there must be more to this story.

[gwhite94]

I feel for you man, when I bought my first boat the check ride was all about the boat not the trailer. I was lucky in the fact I have been around trailers my whole life and checking the lugs was just part of the routine I was taught. The dealer may have some responsibility here but how much I am not sure. Unfortunately this could be a hard and expensive lesson learned.

[Joeprunc]

When you say sheared off the right side, are you referring to the studs shearing off? Or the wheels fell off?

Like Wickedcummins said new aluminum rims take a few miles to seat, you are suppose to re-torque your studs after 100 miles of use. Who put on the 18" Rockstar Rims? Was this a factory selection, or did a tire shop install them? How loose are the left wheel's studs?

[Duncan]

Getting ready to tow 8 hours next weekend. Will be checking lugs.

Is there a universal torque to tighten to? Guess I need to buy a torque wrench. Any suggestions on type/brand?

[gwhite94]

Most of my trailers were around 80 to 90 ft lbs. But check the manufactures specs here. Craftsman has worked for be in this area. I also have one from Napa that works well.

[TigeTrojan]

Wow, that is a tough one. I would definitely talk to the dealer and without blaming them, sort of expect them to help make this right. If you just bought a boat from them, there are many thousands of dollars in maintenance and repairs that they would expect from you over the coming years. If they aren't going to help you out with this one, I wouldn't expect their service to get any better down the road.

I have never checked my lugs except after I changed a tire, but I sure as heck will be from now on.