peter lowry
2020-08-06T17:32:38Z
On Sunday my wife and I were towing Aries(71) back from Anglesey having just had a full service on the trailer, an original Avonride, the service included replacement of the wheel bearings. Half an hour and only a few miles into the journey on the busy A55 the left wheel came off. Luckily we were just next to a slip road and not in the tunnel we'd just passed through.
To cut a long story short the mechanic that had done the work on the boat came out, put the spare on, the original having disappeared into the overgrown verge, never to be found. We followed him cautiously back to the Marine services yard, which is where the boat is now.
The heart of my question is, has anything liked this happened before?
The owner of the yard has denied that the wheel nuts were not tightened sufficiently and is saying the trailer has the wrong hubs for the size of wheels and wants me to pay for the new parts.
I want my boat back but even my insurance company MS Amlin don't want to know.
Any knowledge as to whether there is a known problem with these old trailers and which trailer people use now would be much appreciated. As you can imagine I am nervous now about long journeys and I have a berth booked for Oulton broad in Suffolk, in the last week of August. A long way from Anglesey.

Regards
Steve McWalters
P21 Aries
scaj.mcw@gmail.com

Ken Surplice
2020-08-06T18:29:27Z
Hi Steve. I can understand your concerns. In many years of towing, motorboats normally, I’ve had bearings weld to an axle, a collapsed axle, shedding wheel nuts and stress from all the sounds that trailers produce. I’ve never lost a wheel though, and none of my pals did either. I can’t comment on your specific trailer or the combination of hub size and wheel size except to say that the AA fit multi tyres and hubs when dealing with punctures. Is is a pity your insurance company does not want to get involved as they should have access to an assessor who knows the ins and outs of trailers. Could you call a trailer manufacturer for advice?
Ken
Peter Scrivens
2020-08-06T20:02:51Z
Hi Steve, I used to work for a company who built trailers and we always specified Avonride axles as we found them the most reliable. When RM Trailers were building the road trailer for my P235 I paid extra for them to fit Avonride axles, as opposed to the ones they were using.

So it all sounds a bit fishy and probably was a case of the wheel studs or nuts not being tightened properly. Long gone are the days when they used an impact driver, which meant it was difficult to change a wheel. Now legally the studs have to be tightened with a torque wrench to a specific figure.

So if the mechanic was able to fit the spare wheel, presumably the studs were still in the hub. Did he bring some more wheel nuts, as presumably again if the wheel had come off, so must the nuts? If the hub had failed, then he wouldn't have been able to fit the spare wheel. As to whether the hub is wrong for the size of the wheels, again presumably the number and pitch of the studs and wheel must match. If the hubs are too small for the weight carried on the trailer, then the bearings might overheat and you would have the same problems as Ken has had. However this is normally because the hubs have been immersed in sea water and not serviced. If the hub failed, resulting in the wheel detaching, then you certainly wouldn't be able to fit the spare!

The use of the torque wrench can have its drawbacks. On collecting my Citroen after a service by the Dealer, I immediately stopped and returned due to the noise from the wheels, and it was a case of loose wheel nuts. The explanation was that the apprentice put the wheels on and then the Technician was to finally tighten them with the torque wrench. However he was called away to a staff meeting and afterwards it was the end of his shift and he forgot to check the wheels. Fortunately I was alert enough to stop when I heard the noise, but doubtful if you could hear this on the trailer.

Peter
MikeB
2020-08-17T08:49:48Z
It’d suggest that if your trailer was fitted with the wrong wheels the mechanic should have noticed and alerted you to the fact
Mike Ball
P235 No 36 "Juicy Blue"