Patent ID: 7484813

Claim:
A method of assembling a wheel mounting structure for a vehicle which has a wheel fixed to a wheel hub which rotates on a separate axle journal connected to the axle tube, the method comprising: forming the axle tube to have a first end and a mid-section, the first end including an end portion with an inner cylindrical surface, and forming the axle journal to have a connecting section with an outer cylindrical surface which corresponds to the inner cylindrical surface of the end portion of the axle tube; fitting the connecting section into the end portion of the axle tube such that the outer cylindrical surface of the connecting section engages the inner cylindrical surface of the end portion of the axle tube; and radially bracing the connecting section against the end portion of the axle tube with a clamping piece and a bolt by using the bolt to adjust the clamping piece in an axial direction with respect to the axle tube to thereby move the clamping piece relative to the axle journal and the end portion; wherein said forming the axle tube includes forming a brake anchor plate and mounting the brake anchor plate to the axle tube at the first end thereof, and said forming the axle journal includes configuring the connecting section to be radially braced against the axle journal at a position between the brake anchor plate and the mid-section of the axle tube.