The Belmont Bear wrote:

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Just spent a week with 2 other couples in our vans at Karuah CP one of the couples happened to be on a shakedown trip with their recently purchased single axle 18ft Concept van. They had bought it recently from a dealer and although not brand new it is only a year or so old. On the way up when going through Hetherbrae near Raymond Terrace they could hear a noise and feel vibration coming from the van so they attempted to pull over unfortunately while doing so the wheel on the drvers side of the van came off, shot across the road hit a fence on the median strip which luckily stopped it from going into the oncoming traffic. They phoned the dealer who sent a mechanic to try and repair it in order to get them going. While waiting for the mechanic to arrive a guy from the Jayco dealership just up the road stopped to ask if everything was OK, they told him that a mechanic was on the way to see if he could fix it. He said if he does get you going bring your van over to the dealership and I will arrange for the boys to go over it properly just to make sure that it is safe to travel. After the mechanic  replaced a hub and fitted the spare wheel they took up his offer and dropped into Jayco, his guys stopped what they were doing and checked everything out free of charge. You hear a lot of negative things about Jayco but I reckon that's a pretty positive plug or at least for that particular dealearship anyway..

Cheers

BB

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I think your new friends were very lucky they didn't do more damage to their van, themselves, or those around them.

I had a similar incident in the middle of last year - lost a wheel doing 50 km/h and this was the result...

The repair bill was over $15,000 but I still count myself lucky because if it had happened five minutes later I'd have been on a busy freeway doing 100 km/h and the result would have been a lot, lot worse!

I've since invested in a torque wrench, TPMS system, and a 32 point safety checklist I religiously go through every time I use the van.

And by the way, I had zero warning - no vibrations, wobble, or strange sounds whatsoever - just an almighty clunk as the axle hit the tarmac. I still drive past the spot regularly and the 10 metre long gouge the axle made in the road surface is still there - to forever remind me of my stupidity!

Now that is how you advertise a business in a good way, well done to the Jayco dealer at Heatherbrae.

I guess there will be a checklist compiled for future trips.

I have to agree Mamil judging by the damage to your van they got off pretty lightly all it has cost them is a new hub, rim and a tyre as well as a couple of brackets to straighten. It was lucky that it happened in a 60kmh zone and not a few hundred mtrs down the road where it goes up to 110kmh. They were also pretty lucky that there was a break in traffic on their side of the road and there was a fence on the median strip that stopped the wheel from hitting any oncoming vehicles - anyone who has travelled through Heatherbrae knows just how busy that part of the highway can get especially on a weekday. You are right erad the Jayco dealer had no part to play in it at all, it wasn't even a Jayco but they were still good enough to offer them some assistance. When they finally got to the CP they were still appeared traumatised by the whole event so I'll put money on it that that for at least the next few trips the wheel nuts will get checked more than once before they set off.

Cheers
BB

vince56 wrote:

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Hi Mamil,
Interested to know what the actual cause of your wheel loss was....?

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 Loose wheel nuts, on investigation there's nothing else it could have been.

erad wrote:

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As for checklists, what can be checked? The original wheels which were painted required that the wheel nuts be tightened after a few hundred km and then a few thousand km, but that was all. I always stop after about 20 km to check the hubs (to see if they are getting too hot), but other the coupling and the roof hold-down clips and awning, that there isn't much to check.

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Well here's my checklist. I have it laminated and go through and tick everything with a felt tip, and won't leave until every item has a tick, or a cross to show it's not applicable for that trip. 

Another example. As I was packing up one time my new best friend from the adjacent site was chatting away to me and I became distracted to the extent I drove off with the caravan door open and the step out. Luckily someone shouted after me or I could have driven all day like that! And I hate to admit the number of times I've forgotten to turn the gas bottles off after running the fridge on an overnight stop.

So, you may think it's over the top, and I know it's not everyone's style to be regulated by lists, afterall we're out there to relax - right? But in the hustle and bustle of leaving a campsite, or home for a long trip it's quite easy to miss something, especially when you factor in 'senior moments'   All I know is that my two 'incidents' wouldn't have happened if I'd had the list then, so it gives me (and the co-pilot) some peace of mind that at least the basics have been attended to.

Caravan Pre-towing Checklist

INSIDE

        12V and 240V electrics off

        Hatches and windows locked closed

        Front blind down 3/4

        Cupboards & doors shut

        Shower head on floor

        All loose objects (including chopping board) stored

        Strap on TV

        Rooftop PV switched on

        Fridge on DC

        Plastic step stowed inside

OUTSIDE

        AC power cord disconnected

        Mains water disconnected

        Solar blanket detached and stowed

        Radio aerial on

        Padlock & chain removed

        Gas bottles off

        Stabiliser legs up

        Wastewater outlets closed & sullage hose stowed

        Hot water vent cover on

        Required amount of flushing water in toilet

        Required amount of fresh water in tank

        Toilet waste tank empty and dosed with chemicals

        All hatches & doors shut & locked

        Awning fully retracted

        Tyre pressures at 47psi

        TPMS system switched on & located in car

        Wheel nuts at 120nm

        Nose weight between 100-110kg

        Jockey wheel up (or stowed in car boot if rough road)

        Car attachments: 12 pin electrics, Anderson plug, chain, cable

        Lights: running lights, brakes, indicators

        Hitch: locked onto ball, anti-sway lever closed, hitch lock installed

        Main door closed & locked, keys put in car

        Step in & locked in position

        Towing mirror on car

Mamil wrote:

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The Belmont Bear wrote:

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Just spent a week with 2 other couples in our vans at Karuah CP one of the couples happened to be on a shakedown trip with their recently purchased single axle 18ft Concept van. They had bought it recently from a dealer and although not brand new it is only a year or so old. On the way up when going through Hetherbrae near Raymond Terrace they could hear a noise and feel vibration coming from the van so they attempted to pull over unfortunately while doing so the wheel on the drvers side of the van came off, shot across the road hit a fence on the median strip which luckily stopped it from going into the oncoming traffic. They phoned the dealer who sent a mechanic to try and repair it in order to get them going. While waiting for the mechanic to arrive a guy from the Jayco dealership just up the road stopped to ask if everything was OK, they told him that a mechanic was on the way to see if he could fix it. He said if he does get you going bring your van over to the dealership and I will arrange for the boys to go over it properly just to make sure that it is safe to travel. After the mechanic  replaced a hub and fitted the spare wheel they took up his offer and dropped into Jayco, his guys stopped what they were doing and checked everything out free of charge. You hear a lot of negative things about Jayco but I reckon that's a pretty positive plug or at least for that particular dealearship anyway..

Cheers

BB

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I think your new friends were very lucky they didn't do more damage to their van, themselves, or those around them.

I had a similar incident in the middle of last year - lost a wheel doing 50 km/h and this was the result...

 

 

The repair bill was over $15,000 but I still count myself lucky because if it had happened five minutes later I'd have been on a busy freeway doing 100 km/h and the result would have been a lot, lot worse!

I've since invested in a torque wrench, TPMS system, and a 32 point safety checklist I religiously go through every time I use the van.

And by the way, I had zero warning - no vibrations, wobble, or strange sounds whatsoever - just an almighty clunk as the axle hit the tarmac. I still drive past the spot regularly and the 10 metre long gouge the axle made in the road surface is still there - to forever remind me of my stupidity!

 

-- Edited by Mamil on Sunday 10th of February 2019 12:14:22 AM

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 When the driver's side caravan tyre tread peeled off the case and then the case suffered a blowout at 90 KMH on the Barclay Highway NT last year the mudguard on my single axle Jurgans was almost as badly damaged as your van picture shows.

I was very impressed with the stability retained and helped by the AL-KO ESC system which enabled me to slow and pull of the highway safely.

Knight wrote:

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 When the driver's side caravan tyre tread peeled off the case and then the case suffered a blowout at 90 KMH on the Barclay Highway NT last year the mudguard on my single axle Jurgans was almost as badly damaged as your van picture shows.

I was very impressed with the stability retained and helped by the AL-KO ESC system which enabled me to slow and pull of the highway safely.

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Hi Knight, yes it's a sobering reminder just how vulnerable these things we tow around the countryside are. Afterall, apart from the chassis they are only thin aluminium, plastic, and plywood, and can't stand up to an itinerant wheel, or in your case a chunk of steel belted radial! Anyway, glad you managed to come to a controlled stop. It's my worst nightmare - having a blowout at speed and the van flipping.