Broken Wheel

[Mr. Clean]

As i start to back up the driveway I heard a very loud noise, and to my surprise had found that the rear Aluminum wheel on the left side of my 15 Forest River Spartan 300 tandem axial 5th wheel had blown into two pieces leaving the bolts and the center of the wheel on the coach and the rest shoved up in my wheel well. Has anyone else come across this? Looks to me like defective wheel by the look of the breaks. i will try to attach some pics.

[Mr. Clean]

Here is a pic still trying to add a couple more

[Mr. Clean]

another pic

[Mr. Clean]

and the last one

[wingnut60]

Sure does look like a defect in the casting. Do you happen to know the weight on the trailers axles and the wheel capacity?

[Mr. Clean]

GROSS AXLE WEIGHT RATINGS FRONT
The front gross axle weight rating (GAWR) of the chassis shall be 20,000 pounds.
This front gross axle weight rating shall be adequate to carry the weight of the completed apparatus
including all equipment and personnel.
0102-003 GAWR Rear 24000#
GROSS AXLE WEIGHT RATINGS REAR
The rear gross axle weight rating (GAWR) of the chassis shall be 24,000 pounds.
This rear gross axle weight rating shall be adequate to carry the weight of the completed apparatus
including all equipment and personnel.

[porkchop]

That doesn't answer the question. What is the axle rating? 5-6-7-8000 lbs?
And what was the ACTUAL weight? But, it does look like a defect in the casting.
Call FR and find out who they buy their wheels and tires from. Hopefully you can get some help..If not try Trailer tires and wheels. They have about everything and are good to work with. Good luck.

Bill

[Mr. Clean]

I'm not sure of the wheel rating but I just got home and the axle is rated at 7000 lbs

[wingnut60]

You should check the other wheels for cracks. As porkchop said, contact Forest River with pictures and see what the response is. Also, find the mfg name on the wheel and try them, if you can find the brand/mfg info.

[oldbird]

Brand/mfg should be stamped on the back of the wheel.

[Mr. Clean]

Just received call today from service manager at the dealer we bought from and he said that Prime time is approving 1 wheel and 1 center cap.
We r going to fight for all 4 to b replaced because that is a failed cast and they could have had a bad batch.

Thoughts?

[wingnut60]

I also would not keep those other wheels--Are you up on the relationship of gross weight/pin weight/weight on both axles? You should get those figures now for sure--perhaps you unknowingly have more weight on the axles than the wheels are designed for.

[Mr. Clean]

No I am not, will have to look more into it. Do u have a quick description or a good place to give me the info? Then I can research my trailer. If I can't find anything on my (I'm sure made in China) wheels what do i do?

[wingnut60]

Well, the weight info will come from getting your setup weighed--you need the truck weight as loaded for towing, the trailer weight as loaded for towing and the pin weight that is transferred to the truck. Can't get that any where but going to a scales. But, for grins, use the Gross Weight of your trailer times 0.80--that will give you an estimate of the pin weight. The pin weight IS ON THE TRUCK, not on the trailer axles.
Gross Weight less Pin Weight = weight on axles. Divide this by 4 to get an estimate of trailer weight on each wheel. Then compare this to the capacity of the wheel. These are only a ballpark estimate without getting the weights I mentioned earlier.
I still lean toward a casting defect.

[CALinSC]

Maybe your toys are too heavy?

You should find some scales and find out.

Because the tire didn't fail first i'd suspect a defective wheel.

The axle manufacturer's load capacities are not always what limits the axle loads. It's what the vehicle manufacturer lists as GAWR on the vehicle certification label. The ultimate limiting factor is the trailers GVWR, also listed on the certification label. The certification label can be found on the LH, forward , external section of the trailer.