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Travel trailer wheels

Passin_Thru
Explorer
Explorer
Question for the engineering department. If you don't know, Please let someone who is an engineer answer.
Travel trailer wheels have either a centered or outside offset. My question is this. I have outside offset wheels and have sheared off wheel bolts on 2 different wheels I have weighed everything and I am 500 Lb/axle below MGWR. If I move to a centered offset, how will it change the torque and shear on the bolts. I believe that it is being caused by too high a torque load when cornering to the outside. Will this drop the torque on the bolts and tire? Thanks I am an A&P Mechanic but havent worked much with shear forces.
5 REPLIES 5

Passin_Thru
Explorer
Explorer
Torqued to 90 ft lb with a calibrated Snap=on Torque wrench. I am an A& P Mech. Am ordering new wheels, aluminum, center loaded from Etrailer. Hopefully they will be OK> Thanks for the answers. Happy Trails.

Now that I said Happy Trails, stand in the corner and don't think or Roy Rogers or Whoa Nellie!

gmw_photos
Explorer
Explorer
westend wrote:
From a practical standpoint, the force against the lugs shouldn't change much. You will still have the same loading forces, the offset will only change the distances involved. That will effect absorption of the wheel torques by the rubber tire and it's belts, somewhat, but not enough to make the proper lug fasteners fail/not fail.

If I had to guess the cause of your fastener fails it would be improper installation, material failure, or poorly aligned wheels (in relation to the hub). Could some part of the wheel be holding it from total contact with the hub/drum?


Exactly. Our friend from MN nailed it here.

The clamping force of all those lug studs/nuts and the combined breaking strength of all of them is far greater than any tractive force that can be generated by them skinny-azz trailer tires.

Look at all the forces generated by the traction of a big-tire drag car, and yes, a lot of those forces are sideways....those things don't usually go purely "straight line". Five lug wheels....and they don't break. Other stuff gets destroyed, but not the lug studs.

If the OP is breaking studs, it's from under tightened/over tightened fasteners, or other things as Westend spelled out.

westend
Explorer
Explorer
From a practical standpoint, the force against the lugs shouldn't change much. You will still have the same loading forces, the offset will only change the distances involved. That will effect absorption of the wheel torques by the rubber tire and it's belts, somewhat, but not enough to make the proper lug fasteners fail/not fail.

If I had to guess the cause of your fastener fails it would be improper installation, material failure, or poorly aligned wheels (in relation to the hub). Could some part of the wheel be holding it from total contact with the hub/drum?
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton

babock
Explorer
Explorer
ScottG wrote:
Didn't like the answers you got here earlier post
You got some good answers there.
I agree...I just posted there.

BTW...electrical engineer here but had to do all sorts of strength of materials and mechanical courses! ๐Ÿ™‚

ScottG
Nomad
Nomad
Didn't like the answers you got here earlier post
You got some good answers there.