Trailer wheel lug replacement (2024)

tl;dr Question: Where can I get a wheel lug replaced on my almost 30 ft. long camping trailer (near Pleasant Hill/Martinez/Concord).

I took my kids camping and riding dirt bikes a few weeks ago and got a flat tire on the way home. This is the subject for a different post but I wasn't able to remove one of the lug nuts and had to wait almost two hours for AAA to show up and it took him 25 minutes to remove the one remaining lug nut.

I decided to replace the lug nuts on all four wheels so I don't have the same issue in the future and ran into the same issue on each wheel. Now I assume they did this on purpose, one lug nut is slightly different than the other four and the socket doesn't just slide on like it would normally. The AAA driver overcame this but knocking the socket into place with a small mallet (which I'm going to try tomorrow) and used a three-foot breaker bar to remove the lug nut. He reinstalled them with an impact driver.

I replaced 15 of 20 lug nuts today with no issues - there's one left on each of the three regular wheels, and two on the steel wheel with the spare tire. When I was removing one of these I sheared off the lug so I need to get that replaced. My question is, do you know a place near Pleasant Hill/Concord/Martinez where I can have this done? It's on a camping trailer that's close to 30 feet long so access is potentially an issue.

p.s. I watched a couple of youtube videos and it doesn't look that hard but I think I'd rather have someone do it who knows what they're doing.
p.p.s. I didn't put this in "the garage" because it's not directly moto related but we did ride our dirt bikes while we were camping.

AFAIK, the lugs are not pressed into the drums or discs.

It's not hard to find a lug online and put it in yourself? Should not require any special skills.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/catalog/trailer-hubs-bearings

BFH

^^This

Airstream has been using the two piece lugnutz, that everyone is advised to replace

GPzPop said:

also, that type of lugnut, where there is a chrome cover over the actual nut...

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I didn't even know these existed until I started trying to change my flat tire. I bought new lugnuts and was in the process of replacing these POS ones when it sheared off. I didn't want to mess with the one remaining one because I figured I could still move the trailer with four lug nuts, but didn't want to risk it with three.

I watched a couple of youtube videos and now I think I'm an expert and can probably do it myself. I'll be pissed if I screw up my brakes or something equally stupid. At least when I'm done I'm reasonably sure I'll be able to change a tire on the side of the road.

I'll need to figure out the right size/style to buy and maybe I'll give it a shot this weekend.

tgrrdr said:

I didn't even know these existed until I started trying to change my flat tire. I bought new lugnuts and was in the process of replacing these POS ones when it sheared off. I didn't want to mess with the one remaining one because I figured I could still move the trailer with four lug nuts, but didn't want to risk it with three.

I watched a couple of youtube videos and now I think I'm an expert and can probably do it myself. I'll be pissed if I screw up my brakes or something equally stupid. At least when I'm done I'm reasonably sure I'll be able to change a tire on the side of the road.

I'll need to figure out the right size/style to buy and maybe I'll give it a shot this weekend.

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How would you screw up the brakes?
You do this on a work bench. Or a hyd, press..

If you have a little propane torch it might also help to heat up the flange in that area before engaging the BFH.

I've been putting anti seize on things lately

buellistic said:

How would you screw up the brakes?

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I have a demonstrated history of finding new and creative ways to screw things up when working on vehicles.

The tires are a Chinese brand, castle rock, that I'd never heard of before and had a hard time finding. The new one finally got delivered on Friday so I decided it was time to take the spare off and try to fix the stud. I've never done any work on trailer wheels/brakes and it was different from the videos I watched on youtube so I put it back on and watched more videos last night.

It looks like it might be easier to remove the drum and the damaged stud on the trailer than on a truck.

CDONA said:

Some are sealed bearings/lifetime lubed, that are destroyed when the hub is pulled. It may need new parts.
or, as simple with tapered bearings & grease.

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This one is on the simple end of the spectrum - pop off the dust cover, remove the cotter pin and the castle nut and the drum comes right off. Beat on the studs with a hammer and they pop out. After I saw how to do it the hardest part was finding new studs that matched - the third auto parts store I went to had them in stock.

Hopefully I'll have time to install them tomorrow and find someplace to get the new tire mounted this week so I'll be done.

tgrrdr said:

the hardest part was finding new studs that matched - the third auto parts store I went to had them in stock.

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I tried to install them today and the serrated part was the wrong diameter so they just dropped into the hole in the brake drum. AutoZone didn't have any other trailer studs so I'm back to combing the internet for the correct parts.

All you need to do is just buy a welder and then learn how to weld, that ought to do it

buellistic said:

Or buy a new spindle At the trailer store.
Save the old one as a spare.

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Like I said before..would've been done already 30 bucks.

It's got a brake, so he needs the drum/hub combo unit. Says BD-545-17 on it, so I guess that means it's a brake drum, 5x4.5, requiring a 17" wheel for clearance...?

The question asked here:
https://www.etrailer.com/question-282849.html

Indicates this is the drum/hub replacement:
https://www.etrailer.com/p-AKHD-545-35-K.html