Had front row seat to what happens when you ignore axle weight ratings and get stuipd with where you place your kinpin on your fifthwheel.
I was following a Fifth wheel on the interstate when white smoke started pouring from the back. I threw my hazerds on just as the right rear wheel assembly came flying off and bounce across three lanes of west bound traffice and than hit the gaurd rail bounced BACK across to the mediam bounced OVER the 4 tall barrier wall and bounce and rooled its adgasit the est bound traffic before final coming to rest along the gaurd rail. The whole thing took place right at a exit so the camper got off and made it to a parking lot. I folled with my hazerds on in case anything else fall off and to help how ever I could.
The young couple was fine but as I got a good look at there rig I prayed the state troops did not show up because I could see a ton of trouble beyound a bust axle. The trailer was a three axle model and the rear pass side axle was sheared off at the hub. The driver side wheel and hub was leaning at a crazy angle and it was also fried becaused white smoke had bellowed from it too.
The proplems I saw were.
1) a large rack on the back of that held a Huge Generator set that had to weigh 800 lbs.
2) The hitch on the truck ( 1 ton single axle )was clear back at the very back edge of the Utility style bed. Because of this they were pulling hitch high so all the weight was on the trailer axles. ( a level hitch would have lifed the front of the truck and over load the rear tires)
3) The Axles while 8 lug looked to be only 6K beacause the remaning axle stub was too small in dia to be 8 or let alone 10K's.
4) I felt sorry for the young couple beacue I think they lived in it. If they did ( I did not ask)than it was most likly over loaded.
5) Trailer tag was covered and the tail lights were partial blocked.
6) No break away switch
7) The traier cord was regular 4 wire going in to a 7 blade plug.
You can't fix stupid. Just glad they didn't hurt any innocent people.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Australian Shepherd
2010 Ford Expedition TV
2010 Outback 230RS Toybox, 5390# UVW, 6800# Loaded Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
Might have been just a lack of grease on the wheel bearings.
I would think if weight alone was the cause, the left side tire would have blown from carrying the additional weight. And to think the steel spindle shearing off before a tire blows because of weight is almost too hard to believe.
RVUSA wrote: Might have been just a lack of grease on the wheel bearings.
I would think if weight alone was the cause, the left side tire would have blown from carrying the additional weight. And to think the steel spindle shearing off before a tire blows because of weight is almost too hard to believe.
^^^^ This.
I agree with RVUSA, how could and axle cause this unless he changed out the axles for a 6 lug to an 8 lug and kept the 8 lug pattern? That makes 0 sense.
Putting a big gen set on the tail is a bad idea for sure but I really, really doubt is was the cause of this whole deal or having the wrong axles.
I have seen this a few times. My neighbor in fact. He chinched up the axle nut really tight and he got what you saw. I have also seen it happen on a lot of race cars.
~ Too many freaks & not enough circuses ~
"Life is not tried ~ it is merely survived ~ if you're standing
outside the fire"
As respectfully as I can put this, you have absolutely no idea what was going on there.
Odds are the axle failed due to lack of maintenance, plain and simple. There is no way on God's green earth you could tell how much load was on that trailer.
There is no ABSOLUTE need for the 5th wheel to be directly over the truck's rear axle. It just works best there. If the pin weight is light enough you can put that 5th wheel anywhere in the bed.
It's okay to put a 1500lb tongue weight on the receiver hitch. Why is it NOT okay to put a 1500lb 5th wheel pin weight at the rear of the truck bed? It's still well ahead of where the receiver hitch would have it.
Most of the "infractions" you listed are NOT illegal, especially if you're an RV. Being overloaded would not be ticketed. The position of the hitch would not be ticketed. The axles would not be ticketed.
About the only things that would be ticketed is the obscured license plate, lack of brakes, and the lack of a breakaway switch.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
Most of the large triple-axle toy haulers have 6k axles, with 8-lug rims. My weekend warrior did, and every new toy hauler I've looked at has the same setup. It's part of the reason I started a thread a month or so ago, in the toy hauler section, about new jumbo haulers having no payload. Most of the 40+ footers weigh so much, even a couple quads in the back would send them over GVWR.
But yes.... most bearing failures right after they get re-packed, because folks think they need to pre-load the capture nut.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, ~350,000 miles
New Desert Fox in the works!
mkirsch wrote: As respectfully as I can put this, you have absolutely no idea what was going on there.
Odds are the axle failed due to lack of maintenance, plain and simple. There is no way on God's green earth you could tell how much load was on that trailer.
There is no ABSOLUTE need for the 5th wheel to be directly over the truck's rear axle. It just works best there. If the pin weight is light enough you can put that 5th wheel anywhere in the bed.
It's okay to put a 1500lb tongue weight on the receiver hitch. Why is it NOT okay to put a 1500lb 5th wheel pin weight at the rear of the truck bed? It's still well ahead of where the receiver hitch would have it.
Most of the "infractions" you listed are NOT illegal, especially if you're an RV. Being overloaded would not be ticketed. The position of the hitch would not be ticketed. The axles would not be ticketed.
About the only things that would be ticketed is the obscured license plate, lack of brakes, and the lack of a breakaway switch.
As repectfully as I can say this but please stay out of OHIO becaue you will get ticketed for having a RV set up like this. Axle and tonuge weights laws are in a effect for ALL TRAILERS. The OHIO State Patrol does pull RV's over and weigh them and do saftey checks. I have been pull over once and my 73 year old father 4 times. The pulled us over beacue of being Diesel, Cops were craking down on off road untaxed diesel. But while you are stopped they also do saftey checks and if they think you are overloaded break out the wheel scales.
I have seen highway patrolman give warnings and or tickets to RV's in rest areas if they have the hitch to high or to much tongue weight ( easy to spot those are the cars and trucks with the nose in the air and the rear end low.) Unsafe and speed are a lot a like its your word vs the cop.
I have over 30 years pulling trailers ( TT, 5wheel and flat beds) I weighed each axle on my present TT to find the Correct hitch set up. Have you weighed yours?
Bottom line your axle hardware can only equilize the load if the trailer is more of less level. Jack the front end up like this idiot did and a lot of people do to fit 5th wheels on to todays tall 4X4's and you shift the weight backwards and limit the travel of the axle hardware.
I have seen to many 5th wheels pull into camp grounds with the rear tires bulging becaue the hitch was to high only to have the tires return to normal once the truck unhooks and front end is let down. My father bought a 5th wheel used and had to lower the hitch neck so the tariler would clear the bed sides ( just what most of this idiots are doing now full time) to get it home. The equlizer between the axles was near its limit of travel. You could see the rear tires had more load tha the front. The foot print was flater and the side wall bulge greater. Once we got it home and flipped the axles so we could pull level, The tire looked the same front to rear as they should.
As for how can I tell how much weight this guy had and how it was carryied front to rear. 30 pluse years being around trailers and haul loads. I KNOW just how much tongue weight it takes to make my truck settle a given amount. Do you?
* This post was
edited 07/23/12 12:13pm by Grayshirt *
Thanks to the OP for posting this...OBTW...the OP has an opinion on how this
manifested itself, as are the detractors to his 'opinion' are also 'opinions'...
Hows about noodling what can cause a bearing to fail?
Poor maintenance
Poor lube quality to amount
Too tight on a bearing that does NOT need pre-load to even one needing pre-load
Over its weight rating
Over its speed rating
Contamination...H2O, dirt, dust, etc, etc
OEM defect
Any other potential causes ?
Or any combo of the above
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
RVUSA wrote: I agree with RVUSA, how could and axle cause this unless he changed out the axles for a 6 lug to an 8 lug and kept the 8 lug pattern? That makes 0 sense. :
Nothing had to be changed. There are are 6K axles with 8 lug patterns. Must trailer axles are borderline to start with. If the MFG can save a few bucks by installing the less weight rated axle they do. My familys first 5 wheel RV had a GVWR that was only 500 lbs over the trailer weight and that is assuming you get the hitch weight right. We need to flip them ( spring over vs spring under to level the trailer so we could pull it with a 4x4) so we just changed the axles out for the next higher rating there and than.
Had front row seat to what happens when you ignore axle weight ratings and get stuipd with where you place your kinpin on your fifthwheel. 
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