Shamus2022
Bearcat
That's an SUV???
Pickup truck loses tire
- Thread starter Danjet500
- Start date
Help Support Ruger Forum:
bobski
Hunter
was...
bobski
Hunter
ok, so it looks like something loosened up and let go?
Looks like minor injuries. 👍
www.yahoo.com
Car goes airborne on Los Angeles freeway after tire pops off pickup truck: video
Dashcam video captured the heart-pounding moment a car was launched into the air on a Los Angeles-area freeway last week after the vehicle struck a loose tire.
Seems to me those wheel spacers would put additional load and wear on wheel bearings by putting the load more off center rather than more directly above the bearing.
↑ My gut feeling is CA, like any State, will figure out if those wheel spacers are even legal and if they caused the wheel to break off.
Made them illegal in 2017. But like many other illegal things, when was the last time you heard of the law being enforced.
Baxter6551
Bearcat
I think it was a Kia Soul that stuck the tire not a SUV
Paladin
Bearcat
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2013
- Messages
- 41
You can clearly see the airborne car's brake lights are on in this image. I had no idea these cars had "air-brakes".
Last edited:
Yaworski
Blackhawk
- Joined
- May 22, 2016
- Messages
- 658
When I was in high school a friend's dad was driving down the highway when a tire passed him. He thought, "Damn, someone lost a wheel." He quickly realized that it was his. It was a company car so they gave him a new one of the same make and model A wheel came off that one too.
Good timing. My son left work last Thursday and a wheel came across the median barrier and hit the front left side of his car. Fortunately he wasn’t injured but the car was totaled. Mostly because it was an older model and repairs would be high in relation to the value of the car.
He had no idea where it came from and saw it only a moment or two before impact. Several other drivers pulled over to make sure he was ok. None of them saw where the wheel came from.
We have had more than one fatality in the area over the years from similar situations. Scary stuff.
In the last year, I have just missed flying mattresses, airborne ductwork the size of a refrigerator, another wheel, and countless morons.
He had no idea where it came from and saw it only a moment or two before impact. Several other drivers pulled over to make sure he was ok. None of them saw where the wheel came from.
We have had more than one fatality in the area over the years from similar situations. Scary stuff.
In the last year, I have just missed flying mattresses, airborne ductwork the size of a refrigerator, another wheel, and countless morons.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2015
- Messages
- 250
Extends the wheel. Increases load, stress on bearings, ball joints. Only idiots use them. This truck in accident had reversed rims? Spacers? Looks to me like wheel bearing failed. A 4x4 front axle will keep wheel on, or close.
redhawker
Buckeye
Many years ago our neighbor was killed by a tire that bounced over the center divider and went through his windshield.
Dave Schwaab
Bearcat
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2014
- Messages
- 92
I can tell you from personal experience, THE BRAKES DON'T WORK WHEN YOU'RE AIRBORNE.
Did some sports car racing in my younger days and an off-track excursion or two may have shown the validity of that statement.
I live close to a scrap yard and we call the highway going past it "Shrapnel Alley"... The amount of things on the road are amazing and I have seen wheels come off of vehicles being towed there. Just yesterday I took a 3 legged lawn chair and a mangled gutter out of the roadway. I think the worst thing was a box of rusted roofing nails that broke open in the middle of the road. That caused a bunch of problems. I think I am going to suggest that they get a truck with a magnet on it and take it up and down the road a couple of times a day. That might solve a few problems
We had a somewhat close call Monday. We were driving Grouch Attack's new to her pickup headed up to Daughter's place 175 miles away to see Grandson's final band performance. We'd rolled right along on the trip (speed limit most of the way is 65), hit town a bit early, and stopped into a couple of stores to pass the extra time. First stop was fine, we drove across the parking lot to store #2, spent 15 minutes there, and headed to Daughter's house. As I backed out of the parking space, I heard a pop/snap sound followed by a dragging sound. Initial thought was a small piece of gravel between brake pad and rotor. The noise stopped but 2 traffic lights later, a much more noticeable grinding sound began. Limping the 2 miles to Daughter's house in 5PM traffic was not great but noise didn't get worse. Daughter helped me get a jack under the right front suspension and the problem became apparent. Right front wheel bearing was disintegrating. A quick call to a cooperative repair shop had the problem fixed by 4PM the next day at a very reasonable cost.
BUT, what if that bearing had totally failed @ 65 MPH on a 4 lane full of truck traffic?
I don't really look hard at these bearings until the vehicle approaches 100K miles (this pickup has 60K on it). In this case, I wasn't the one who rotated the tires last month so possibly a hint of 'slop' was overlooked? Simply can't be too careful nor can one overlook the simplest details.
BUT, what if that bearing had totally failed @ 65 MPH on a 4 lane full of truck traffic?
I don't really look hard at these bearings until the vehicle approaches 100K miles (this pickup has 60K on it). In this case, I wasn't the one who rotated the tires last month so possibly a hint of 'slop' was overlooked? Simply can't be too careful nor can one overlook the simplest details.
black1970
Single-Sixer
SIXGUNSONLY is exactly right. The dummies that put their wheels outside of the load bearing centers of the wheel bearings are taking a chance of what we saw in the video. A woman was killed several years ago close to Chattanooga when a brake drum off a 18 wheeler came apart because it was worn thin from use and not replaced. I have worked on same and you would not believe the junk that is rolling down our highways.
On the wide spaced wheels, try picking up a 10 pound sledge hammer with one hand from the handle end. This is what happens to your suspension when said spacers and wide ass wheels are installed.
On the wide spaced wheels, try picking up a 10 pound sledge hammer with one hand from the handle end. This is what happens to your suspension when said spacers and wide ass wheels are installed.
Many years ago I was on a California Freeway, 610 I think, following a large truck loaded with lots of old tires. We were both going at 65 mph or a little higher with the usual CA traffic. All of a sudden I saw a large tire come off that truck, headed right for me. Fortunately I was not tailgating and the rolling the tire fell over on its side. With my guardian angel smiling, I was able to precisely steer my car over the tire, with inches to spare, and my car was not damaged at all! I thanked my guardian angel and did some relaxing at work after that stress. 
Give me three minutes to get the popcorn, and then please tell us how it went you smugly responded with an, "I told you so."
