wheels falling off trailers

[Deleted User]

Do Tabs have shock absorbers?  This may be a consequence: wheels falling off trailers (rvbooks.com.au)  Great article with good tips.

Mouseketab

You can get shock absorbers for the Dutchmen T@Bs with the Al-Ko frame, but the nuCamp T@Bs do not have shock absorbers.

Geo

@Rich1941,  Thank you for a very informative link to that article. "rattle guns" - impact wrenches are always used by tire shops and mechanics.  Good to know to check the lug bolts with a torque wench.

Thanks

N7SHG_Ham

Much more difficult to feel a vibration or something not right on a trailer than a vehicle, by the time you notice anything, your trailer wheel might be passing you. Trailer is also kind of out of sight out of mind and maintenance can get ignored if you aren't intentional about it. Probably bigger factor than shocks, the torsion axles in newer Tabs are a form if spring and shock all wrapped inside the axle tube. They probably don't dampen bumps as much as a shock, but do have some dampening ability.

tabiphile

Please take care NOT to follow the advice to use Loctite 290 thread locker on the wheel lugs. It is correctly described as an anaerobic thread locker..so designed to be applied to a tightened nut after assembly...it's wicking properties allow it to penetrate and fill the open cavities between thread root and crest.. Once applied it will harden to fill the  pitch making it difficult to remove when the wheel requires service. It is often necessary to use heat to release 290. 
A properly torqued lug not will not loosen and release. Properly torqued means torqued to mfgr. spec. using a calibrated torque wrench on unlubricated threads. Lugs should be tightened in an alternating pattern and then rechecked (with a torque wrench) after 50 or 60 miles and again after another 100 or so.
Shocks are not necessary if the wheels are properly tightened and if the bearings are correctly loaded and maintained. What the article does not say is that most wheels falling off (if they are due to lugs falling off) are due to the wheels being installed using a simple lug wrench or due to a bearing failure due to lack of maintenance. 
Buy and use a torque wrench. Use the 290 on your glasses frames or carburetor screws.

BrianZ

Good tip about the glasses frames & carburetor screws, @tabiphile.  I never thought about using Loctite on those, but it would save a lot of time & trouble.

DougH

I found the glycol tank, but where do they hide the carburetor on the 320?

ChanW

@DougH, the carburetor on the 2017 320 is under the vent cap on the roof.

It requires three pumps of lithium grease annually, unless you're using nicad batteries, in which case, you should replace them every 5 years.

Happy Thanksgiving!

DougH said:

I found the glycol tank, but where do they hide the carburetor on the 320?

Michigan_Mike

ChanW said:

@DougH, the carburetor on the 2017 320 is under the vent cap on the roof.

It requires three pumps of lithium grease annually, unless you're using nicad batteries, in which case, you should replace them every 5 years.

Happy Thanksgiving!

DougH said:

I found the glycol tank, but where do they hide the carburetor on the 320?

Are you using a fuel injector cleaner too?  😂 🦃

tabiphile

Ah...glasses and carb screws are just the beginning. 290 is the ultimate weapon. It can be used for all kind amazing things including fixing porosity problems in castings (think leaky bronze tub drain). Everyone that fancies themselves as a backyard mechanic needs a bottle of 290....just keep it off of your lug nuts.

ChanW

Michigan_Mike,
Only in the black tank, for odors... 

Michigan_Mike said:

ChanW said:

@DougH, the carburetor on the 2017 320 is under the vent cap on the roof.

It requires three pumps of lithium grease annually, unless you're using nicad batteries, in which case, you should replace them every 5 years.

Happy Thanksgiving!

DougH said:

I found the glycol tank, but where do they hide the carburetor on the 320?

Are you using a fuel injector cleaner too?  😂 🦃

ChanW

Yes! So it's LockTite 290 'Wicking' threadlocker!

I'm glad to know what they now call it! It's what I remember as LockTite "Seep and Lock"!

I've been trying to replace my previous tube since 1983...