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Old 02-16-2018, 01:35 PM   #1
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Check your lug nuts!

Just got back from a fantastic trip to the Keys earlier this week. Visited Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring for 2 nights on the way down...absolutely beautiful...a great example of the "real" Florida. Stayed 7 nights at Fiesta Key at MM70 just north of Long Key. The folks at FK have done a tremendous amount of work since Irma and are continuing to repair/replace. Both hot tubs and the heated pool were fully functional. Plus, the weather was perfect. Then spent 2 nights at Santos Trailhead State Park and enjoyed some excellent mountain biking trails there.

But the trip was not without incident. About 30 miles from home at the beginning of the trip, something caught my eye in the mirror...a tire bouncing across the highway and bounding into the woods! A dirt forest management area road was just ahead so we backed down that road and to check/repair damage. The hub was fine except for 1 missing stud...apparently 4 of the 5 lug nuts had vibrated off and the last snapped.

As my travelling partner walked down the road to attempt to locate the tire, I mounted the spare using the 2 nuts that secure the spare to the holder and robbed 2 more lug nuts...1 from each of 2 other wheels on the trailer...in order to get us to the next city about 35 miles away where we found a small tire shop that took care of our missing lug nuts and replaced the bearing buddy grease cap that was apparently jettisoned by the wheel. Before leaving the site, I joined my travel partner looking for the tire but it was not found...bummer. I even went back after the trip with hiking boots and heavy jeans to walk through the woods but never found the wheel.

We continued on the trip with the missing stud. I subsequently bought another spare at Tractor Supply and the rest of the trip was uneventful travel-wise. I'll either be replacing the missing stud or the complete hub before the next trip. Only about 5K miles on the trailer...and only about 30 miles on the missing tire...

Who could I blame for this? Me. I just put 4 new GY Endurance tires on the trailer. I removed the wheels and took them to Discount Tire to have the new tires mounted and returned home and installed them myself. So I know exactly who the yahoo was that didn't tighten the lug nuts on that wheel.

So, part of my before flight routine now includes about 2 more minutes it takes to check lug nuts. I suggest you do the same...please don't repeat my mistake.

BTW, my TPMS never alerted me about the missing tire. I'll start another thread with info on that once I accurately gather the manufacturer and model. Leave it to say, I'll be replacing that system.
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Old 02-16-2018, 02:01 PM   #2
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Torque wrench should have a range well above your max requirement
TT lugs 105 ft/ lbs
TV lugs 150 ft/lbs
Max wrench setting 200 ft/lbs
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Old 02-16-2018, 02:06 PM   #3
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The other thing- you have to recheck the wheel torque after 50 miles or so repeatedly until they stop needing to be tightened.
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Old 02-16-2018, 02:18 PM   #4
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I check ours before EVERY trip, torque and air pressure.
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Old 02-16-2018, 03:28 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by myxkp View Post
Torque wrench should have a range well above your max requirement
TT lugs 105 ft/ lbs
TV lugs 150 ft/lbs
Max wrench setting 200 ft/lbs
Excellent info. Yes, I did use a torque wrench set for 105'# but because this occurred only 30 miles from home when leaving, I surmise it was a major whiff on my part for this one tire.

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Originally Posted by ependydad View Post
The other thing- you have to recheck the wheel torque after 50 miles or so repeatedly until they stop needing to be tightened.
Indeed...all were checked at the tire change site and at the tire store. Didn't make it to 50 before losing this one. Plus, all were checked before leaving Highlands Hammock, Fiesta Key and Santos. I've finally acquired a GOOD habit...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Crusadernoob View Post
I check ours before EVERY trip, torque and air pressure.
Yep...I'll follow your lead now...
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Old 02-16-2018, 03:41 PM   #6
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I check my lug nuts once a year along with the tires air pressure
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Old 02-17-2018, 02:12 PM   #7
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Another thing to make sure is done when one purchases a trailer or any RV. Especially when a tire is replaced is to have the wheels balanced.
An unbalanced wheel puts a lot of stress on the tire and the bearings.
I do not think any new units that come from the factory have had the wheels balanced.




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Old 02-17-2018, 02:22 PM   #8
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I haven't found an RV shop willing to balance the tires. Tire shops do it willingly.
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Old 02-17-2018, 02:39 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by DrLewie View Post
I haven't found an RV shop willing to balance the tires. Tire shops do it willingly.
I have never seen an RV shop that has the capability of balancing wheels or changing a tire for that matter.

I have never torqued trailer or car tires either guess that I am too old school..........
Checked them yes..............

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Old 02-17-2018, 02:51 PM   #10
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I don't have a torque wrench, never thought about checking the tires, but this year I plan to do a lot more traveling. What should I know about buying and using one. My first husband was a mechanic so he did most of the hard work so I never got to use one.
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Old 02-17-2018, 03:00 PM   #11
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It is amazing before the internet we survived,....... dragging trailers all over the country................ we were just dumb and happy now we have to worry about everything............


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Old 02-17-2018, 03:07 PM   #12
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I rarely see a vehicle with a run a way wheel. Some days it seems almost common place for it to happen with trailers (utility trailers as well).
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Old 02-17-2018, 03:07 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by RitaB View Post
I don't have a torque wrench, never thought about checking the tires, but this year I plan to do a lot more traveling. What should I know about buying and using one. My first husband was a mechanic so he did most of the hard work so I never got to use one.
Click image for larger version

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This is my tire and wheel kit
Torque wrench rated to 150 foot/pounds, 13/16ths deep socket, digital pressure gauge.
Your car/truck mechanic can give you a demonstration on settings and usage
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Old 02-17-2018, 03:18 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RitaB View Post
I don't have a torque wrench, never thought about checking the tires, but this year I plan to do a lot more traveling. What should I know about buying and using one. My first husband was a mechanic so he did most of the hard work so I never got to use one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by myxkp View Post
Attachment 162660

This is my tire and wheel kit
Torque wrench rated to 150 foot/pounds, 13/16ths deep socket, digital pressure gauge.
Your car/truck mechanic can give you a demonstration on settings and usage
You can get them for about $30 at Harbor Freight, sometimes for $20. I'm not a fan HF for something like a torque wrench, however.

I got a Craftsman a few years ago on sale for about $50.

Here's a 1/2" drive, 150ft-lb Craftsman for $80, but it looks like it's on sale now for $44.

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Old 02-17-2018, 03:22 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by rockfordroo View Post
You can get them for about $30 at Harbor Freight, sometimes for $20. I'm not a fan HF for something like a torque wrench, however.

I got a Craftsman a few years ago on sale for about $50.

Here's a 1/2" drive, 150ft-lb Craftsman for $80, but it looks like it's on sale now for $44.

Sears.com
Even seen them for 12.99 on super sale at harbor freight. Family handyman ranked them as the #1 wrench for quality and accuracy in the consumer (not 500 snap-on level stuff) market.
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Old 02-17-2018, 03:45 PM   #16
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Simpler torque wrench

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Originally Posted by RitaB View Post
I don't have a torque wrench, never thought about checking the tires, but this year I plan to do a lot more traveling. What should I know about buying and using one. My first husband was a mechanic so he did most of the hard work so I never got to use one.
Rita, here's an image of a simpler torque wrench:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tooluxe-T...chet/131089147
Torque is simply a way of measuring how tight a nut or bolt is. If a nut required 100 ft-lbs of torque, and you had a wrench that was one foot long, you would have to pull with 100 lbs of force at the end of it. If the wrench were two feet long (more leverage), you would only have to pull with 50 lbs. (50 lbs x 2 ft = 100 ft-lbs).

This wrench has a gauge, so you can tell how hard to pull. When you tighten a nut, the thick bar (called a beam) deflects (bends) and the thin pointer rod above it stays straight. The gauge indicates in ft-lbs the degree of bend. This kind of wrench is simple and reliable.

The proper name for this item is a beam torque wrench, but everyone I know calls it a "bender bar torque wrench."

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Old 02-17-2018, 03:49 PM   #17
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I’ve been torquing the lug nuts on my vehicles for over 30 years. I’ll torque anything I can find a spec for. I’ve broken studs because mechanics over tightened the nuts with an air wrench.

I check the trailer wheel nuts before leaving and carry the torque wrench with me. I check them before leaving a campground while they are still cold. For some reason, when it was new, I kept finding one nut on one of the 2703WS wheels that would move just a little when I checked them.

I just bought a used 30-250 ft/lb click type torque wrench on Craigslist for $60. It was recently calibrated. My truck specs 165 ft/lb for the wheel nuts so I needed more than my old Craftsman 10-150 ft/lb wrench.

I set mine to the lowest setting when not in use.
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Old 02-17-2018, 03:50 PM   #18
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Tire pressure sensors and systems only occasionally talk and update. I could put my 2nd set of wheels and tires on my old SUV, the set that had no sensors. If the other set was still in the garage (the ones with the sensors) they would give the car the numbers and I could drive back and forth to work everyday without the light ever coming on. On longer trips it would sooner or later come on until it went back in the garage. I would hope that a change in pressure (like a blowout) would cause it to talk, but just losing the signal it takes awhile to alert.
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Old 02-17-2018, 04:07 PM   #19
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Creeping nut?

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Originally Posted by andymil View Post
I’ve been torquing the lug nuts on my vehicles for over 30 years. I’ll torque anything I can find a spec for. I’ve broken studs because mechanics over tightened the nuts with an air wrench.
Me too.
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Originally Posted by andymil View Post
I check the trailer wheel nuts before leaving and carry the torque wrench with me. I check them before leaving a campground while they are still cold. For some reason, when it was new, I kept finding one nut on one of the 2703WS wheels that would move just a little when I checked them.
This most likely occurred because that particular wheel stud had been incompletely pressed into the hub at the factory. Your repeated tightening in combination with stresses induced while travelling eventually brought it all the way home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by andymil View Post
I just bought a used 30-250 ft/lb click type torque wrench on Craigslist for $60. It was recently calibrated. My truck specs 165 ft/lb for the wheel nuts so I needed more than my old Craftsman 10-150 ft/lb wrench.
I have clicker torque wrenches and use them when I have to tighten something and cannot see the gauge, e.g., back bank of spark plugs in a transverse V6 engine. But I don't trust them. Nothing wears out in a beam-type torque wrench. But at least two things happen to a clicker. The spring can weaken, especially if you don't relax it after each use, and the detent well can round out, allowing the click to occur at less than the indicated torque.

In industry, calibration of these tools must be checked at periodic intervals. You can check your own by clamping the socket-drive spud in a vise and attaching an extension scale (fish-weighing scale) at the end of the handle. Set a torque value on the wrench, then pull on the fish scale and see where click occurs. Fish reading x (distance from socket-drive to end in ft) should be about what you set on the wrench.
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I set mine to the lowest setting when not in use.
As recommended by all sellers, even Harbor Freight.

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Old 02-17-2018, 04:25 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by Larry-NC View Post
Rita, here's an image of a simpler torque wrench:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Tooluxe-T...chet/131089147
Torque is simply a way of measuring how tight a nut or bolt is. If a nut required 100 ft-lbs of torque, and you had a wrench that was one foot long, you would have to pull with 100 lbs of force at the end of it. If the wrench were two feet long (more leverage), you would only have to pull with 50 lbs. (50 lbs x 2 ft = 100 ft-lbs).

This wrench has a gauge, so you can tell how hard to pull. When you tighten a nut, the thick bar (called a beam) deflects (bends) and the thin pointer rod above it stays straight. The gauge indicates in ft-lbs the degree of bend. This kind of wrench is simple and reliable.

The proper name for this item is a beam torque wrench, but everyone I know calls it a "bender bar torque wrench."

Larry
Yes, beams are simpler. I used one for 30 years because I was too cheap to buy a click-type wrench, which used to be quite expensive. But the beam is difficult to pull and read at the same time by yourself, while bending over a wheel. Eventually I got old enough (read "less limber) that I finally got fed up and spent the $$ on a click-type.

It didn't hurt that as the digital types have now come out, the click-type have gotten cheaper.
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