Afraid of 2014 Cyclone. Lost wheels on first trip. Being ignored by CS for 6 months

MaryWyatt

Member
Hi. I'm disappointed beyond words.

We had less than 3000 miles on our 2014 Cyclone 4000. Going on our first big trip. At the end of our first day, we lost the middle wheel on the drivers side. Yep, totally gone. The other wheels on that side were barely hanging on. Our dealer and the other dealer 45 miles away did not help since we could not tow it. How do tow a 44ft toy hauler with no viable wheels on one side. Heartland was no help. We were on our own in South Dakota. The next 3 days of our vacation were spent getting new wheels, lug nuts, etc. My husband is very good at fixing things which I am very thankful for. We spent a couple days in the badlands and returned home never getting to Yellowstone or the other places we wanted to go.

We have pictures and documentation of the whole thing. Saved wheels, lug nuts - everything. I've written letters talked to the dealership,etc. Everyone feels bad. Everyone wants someone else to deal with it. NO ONE is stepping up to fix our trailer. We sent all of our documentation to our dealer and to Greg Flint at Heartland. At last, Greg Flint said he was sending a label to mail in the lug nuts. 3 weeks - no label was ever sent.

I'm crushed! We bought this toy hauler because I have brain cancer. We had planned to travel when we retired but things really change when you are diagnosed with cancer.

Now, I don't feel safe towing the trailer. We have be extremely patient with our dealer and Heartland. It's been 6 months!

Out of time. Out of patience. No faith in Heartland.

Mary McCormick
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Hi Mary,

Sorry you're going through this and are ill as well.

Are you saying that the lugnuts loosened and fell off, allowing one wheel to fall off, and the other wheels to become loose and wobbly?

Or did you have some type of axle or bearing failure allowing the wheel to fall off?
 

Shortest Straw

Caught In A Mosh
I am sorry that you are sick and having to deal with your RV issues on top of it.

The way I am understanding things is the wheels were loose to the point one of them came off. My suggestion is, since you have replaced the wheels already, invest in a torque wrench and check the torque of the lug nuts periodically. On our long trips I do that for piece of mind, and I check to make sure they are tight before we go anywhere. It is part of my pre-trip inspection. Dont be afraid to tow and enjoy your rig because of some loose wheels after leaving the dealer.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Mary, sorry to hear of your issues. Normally there are stickers over the wheel fenders that state to " retorque the lugs nuts every 50 miles on your 1st one or 2 trips and then every 100 miles for a few more trips". I know this is stated in your owners manual.
 

JanAndBill

Well-known member
Sorry to hear of your problems. Unfortunately as others have pointed the owner is responsible for rechecking torque. There is a possibility depending on deducible that you might be able to file with your insurance.
 

MaryWyatt

Member
The lugs were torqued properly. My husband checked them before we left with a torque wrench.
Heartland/our dealer has said it is a warrantee issue. They were trying to figure out it the problem was the axels, wheels or studs. The lug nuts fused together and broke.

Basically, Heartland admitted that they forgot about us. Our contact person changed positions. We did everything they asked. Followed up multiple times. We finally got through to them again by going through the dealer as they weren't returning calls.

Thanks to all of you would are supporting us. We did nothing wrong.

PS. My husband is a truck driver and does know how to pull and maintain trailers. Sorry I posted.
 

porthole

Retired
Geez - with all the problems over the years with wheels, tires, bearings, springs, shackles - how come so quick to blame it on the owner?

I challenge anyone on the forum to state they religiously have checked the torque of the all the lug nuts on EVERY over the road vehicle they have driven, towed, ridden etc.
Truck - car - RV -golf cart - utility trailer - boat trailer, motorcycle - trailer you pull with your motorcycle.................

Sorry to hear of your troubles Mary, and hope you return to let us all know the root cause and fix for your issues.
 
B

BouseBill

Guest
Mary..No insult intended, but if you would have informed folks of the information that you put in message #6 in message #1 that would have helped. I also first thought, "hummm did he check the lug nuts before leaving on the trip?"
I am also interested on the end result, what was the problem and what was the solution, please come back and let us know.

Bill
 

Jim.Allison

Well-known member
i'm concerned that the issue is focused on lugnuts and not broken lugs. A wheel can go a long way with loose lug nuts. But not very far on broken ones.
 

JanAndBill

Well-known member
Fused nuts sounds like someone cross threaded the nuts. I've seen this happen when someone starts the nut with an air wrench instead of by hand. That could have caused your torque reading to be off. I've also had cases of studs breaking for no reason until the hub was changed. No clue why changing the hub stopped it. Please keep us updated.
 
Last edited:

bobca1

Well-known member
Also wondering what is the correct ft lb. I have 8 bolts on my 3110 (dual axle) no idea what size stud.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
My 2011 owners manual has 2 pages on torquing the wheel lug nuts. From the manual:
The wheel nut torque is 120 ft-lbs. Always use an accurate torque wrench to tighten wheel nuts.
 

Jim.Allison

Well-known member
For the BC3650RL 7000 lb 8 on 6.5, the torque in the owners manual is 120 foot lbs. BUT Dexter states that the torque is specified by the wheel manufacturer. I changed my wheels to Hi Spec and they call for 130 to 140. I run 135 to split the difference. 1/2 is standard, 9/16 and 5/8 are optional on the 7000 lb Dexter. Different wheel manufacturers use different alloys and hub designs, and since the alloys compress at different rates it is necessary to initially torque then retorque until several hundred miles have passed. The Highspec is a plug and play because they have a different lug design with a steel insert.

Your OEM wheels will probably call for 120 foot lbs. Check your owners manual or your wheel manufacturer.

Also wondering what is the correct ft lb. I have 8 bolts on my 3110 (dual axle) no idea what size stud.
 

jassson007

Founding Louisiana Chapter Leaders-Retired
I torque mine to 120 as well on every trip until we get to the 500 mile mark after taking the wheels off. Have had friends who had a tire pass them on a freeway service road before, not fun.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Geez - with all the problems over the years with wheels, tires, bearings, springs, shackles - how come so quick to blame it on the owner?

I challenge anyone on the forum to state they religiously have checked the torque of the all the lug nuts on EVERY over the road vehicle they have driven, towed, ridden etc.
Truck - car - RV -golf cart - utility trailer - boat trailer, motorcycle - trailer you pull with your motorcycle.................

Sorry to hear of your troubles Mary, and hope you return to let us all know the root cause and fix for your issues.

I'm right there with ya!

Except you forgot one on your list . . . documentation and proof for each and every time one makes or has these checks made or done!
 
Top