Ifor Williams loose wheels

[renewablejohn]

I have an Ifor Williams twin axle plant trailer which threw a wheel off at 50mph on the motorway. Very disturbing but on close inspection all 4 wheel studs have sheared off. Is this common and if so should I replace the other wheel studs as they will all be the same age. The trailer at the time was carrying a Subaru Legacy so in real terms was well within the carrying capacity of the trailer.

[Stephen Blair]

I have an Ifor Williams twin axle plant trailer which threw a wheel off at 50mph on the motorway. Very disturbing but on close inspection all 4 wheel studs have sheared off. Is this common and if so should I replace the other wheel studs as they will all be the same age. The trailer at the time was carrying a Subaru Legacy so in real terms was well within the carrying capacity of the trailer.

 

were they the standard studs? i have just got one and this is pretty scary mate.

[renewablejohn]

Yes standard studs but on large horsebox type wheels not the smaller wheels you find on a lot of the newer Ifor plant trailers.

 

It would have been a major pile up had I not been towing it with a 7.5 tonne truck. Thanks to a considerate lorry driver straddling 2 lanes with his hazards on we managed to control it safely onto the hard shoulder without anybody being injured or the loose wheel hitting anybody.

Edited March 4, 2009 by renewablejohn

[Stephen Blair]

Yes standard studs but on large horsebox type wheels not the smaller wheels you find on a lot of the newer Ifor plant trailers.

 

could this be the problem? surely bigger wheels/tyres mean more stress on the studs. we need the engineering guys to answer this:001_smile:

[madmatt]

How old is the trailer?! and have you owned it from new?

 

Ifor still offer the larger wheels as an option, I've owned several Ifor's and never had a problem at all after thousand of miles.

[DrewB]

Wheel came flying off my BC1000 the other week after service people forgot to do the studs up properly! luckily the wheel only hit a parked car but it could of been nasty.

[volvo]

Give ifor a phone as they did a recall last year for axle/wheel problems.

[renewablejohn]

How old is the trailer?! and have you owned it from new?

 

Ifor still offer the larger wheels as an option, I've owned several Ifor's and never had a problem at all after thousand of miles.

 

Trailer approx 15 years old bought it 3 years ago from a large groundwork company which went bust and they had bought it new.

 

Looking at the studs which are flush with the hubs it looks like metal fatigue so I am going to replace all the studs.

[madmatt]

I'd have said its old age! Bloody frightning though and food for thought!

[b101uk]

Was it the N/S rearmost wheel?

 

As this is the one that cuts in the most, drops in drainage gullies more on turns & hits/glances kerbs.

 

Lose wheel nuts can cause the above, typically if that is the case then the hub will show signs of wheel movement I.e. ware the hub/wheel meat will be shiny ware the parts have rubbed for a wile pre failure, ware the studs have just suddenly failed when the nuts have been tight you don’t tend to get prominent rub marks ware the wheel meats the hub so it stays rusty.

 

Also 7.5t trucks etc can put more turning force into a trailer than e.g. a land rover or transit van type ilk which puts more strain on the studs/wheel bearings etc over time.