Lug Nuts Keep Coming Loose on Double Axle Trailer

Question:

Good day Ihave a 2 ton trailer double axle. The rims are in perfect condition The studds on trailer and nuts are all goid to go. My nuts loosen keep coming loose

asked by: Mark L

Expert Reply:

If you still have the trailer manual, I would recommend checking that to see what the manufacturer of your trailer has set as the recommended torque specs for your hubs; a majority of the time, these issues are rooted in over/under tightening of the lug nuts like the # LHLR110. This is also a good time to make sure that your wheels are properly rated for your fully loaded trailer- which could be another potential cause.

When you take into consideration the stress that is put on hubs and wheels on trailers when going around turns, it's easy to see how they can get loose so quickly when even slightly under-torqued or stretched when over-torqued (Next time you are excuting a hard 90° turn on pavement, glance at the trailer wheels on the inside of your turn. You will see the wheels assuming all sorts of strange positive and negative camber angles).

I know you mentioned that the lug studs are good, but I'd recommend inspecting them closely to make sure that the threads haven't been stretched out a bit; this is an effect of over/under tightening. If you see anything that shows stretching of the threads, you'll want to replace the studs. I've linked our entire selection of wheel lug studs for trailers to this answer for you to choose from if you deem those repairs necessary. You may want to also take the time to measure the exposed stud and make sure that your current lug nuts are the correct length.

At the end of the day, re-torquing your lug studs should be a regular part of your pre-trip trailer maintenance, but if you're experiencing situations with drastic loosening on a regular basis it leads me to believe that there is some sort of malfunctioning parts that are causing this.

expert reply by: Erik B