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Old 11-28-2011, 10:19 PM   #1
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Thumbs up Proper torque for lug nuts.

I know most of all you veteran Airstreamers know the proper torque for the lug nuts, but some of the newbies, might use the story I am telling to their benefit......I bought a Bambi 19ft. a few weeks back, and It is sitting at the North Dallas Rv shop getting a major repair job done on the curb side next to the wheel well.......In purchasing the trailer from a member of this forum, I requested (2) new tires put on at my expense, so I wouldn't have to worry about bad tires pulling the unit home to Arkansas......All the lug nuts broke at the hub, running about 60 miles an hour, 30 miles North of Nashville, TN. Just to show you how well these silver buckets are built, the wheel never did come out from under the trailer.....it acted like a crutch....This saved the plumbing underneath as well as the bumper...According to the repair shop, the nuts were over torqued.....So make sure when changing tires pulling regular maintenance, you check the nuts with a proper torque wrench....
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Old 11-28-2011, 11:47 PM   #2
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WOW! You were lucky, ole-red...

Also important to remember is that there are different torque specs from factory installed wheels, and after market aluminum wheels as the tourque specs do vary. To properly install the wheel lugs the torque must be set to the recommended specification for your vehicle.
These specifications can be found in your vehicle's shop manual or obtained from your vehicle dealer, ( and or the wheel manufacturer, if custom, or after market )!!!!

The last thing us RVer's want is for the wheels to fall off, out and over??
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Old 11-29-2011, 12:37 AM   #3
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Hi, Airstream has too many different torque settings for their trailers. I torque my aluminum wheels at 120 lbs, but my spare wheel is steel and it is supposed to be torqued at 90 lbs.
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Old 11-29-2011, 06:31 AM   #4
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Torque spec???? I just tighten them until the squeak.
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Old 11-29-2011, 06:31 AM   #5
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Specifications on torque.

Both of you have good points......Different specifications for different models and wheels......Appreciate the feed back..... I know now I check the wheel nuts about every couple of hundred miles, just to make sure everything is ok.....
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Old 11-29-2011, 07:00 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ole-red View Post
I know most of all you veteran Airstreamers know the proper torque for the lug nuts, but some of the newbies, might use the story I am telling to their benefit......I bought a Bambi 19ft. a few weeks back, and It is sitting at the North Dallas Rv shop getting a major repair job done on the curb side next to the wheel well.......In purchasing the trailer from a member of this forum, I requested (2) new tires put on at my expense, so I wouldn't have to worry about bad tires pulling the unit home to Arkansas......All the lug nuts broke at the hub, running about 60 miles an hour, 30 miles North of Nashville, TN. Just to show you how well these silver buckets are built, the wheel never did come out from under the trailer.....it acted like a crutch....This saved the plumbing underneath as well as the bumper...According to the repair shop, the nuts were over torqued.....So make sure when changing tires pulling regular maintenance, you check the nuts with a proper torque wrench....
We all say "That's what insurance is for" - but you or your insurance company should be going after the shop that installed the new tires. Being in the profession of installing tires they should know that nuts can be overtorqued and break. Someone just used an air gun and set it to max.

Under the "It could have been worse" heading - at least the first one going didn't snap the lugs on the second one!

Sending you some "thanks" or as I prefer to remember it "KARMA". You deserve it.

May I recommend Snap-On's torque wrench? Pricy but idiot proof - which is what I must have to buy a tool!

Paula
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Old 11-29-2011, 07:37 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Foiled Again View Post
We all say "That's what insurance is for" - but you or your insurance company should be going after the shop that installed the new tires. Being in the profession of installing tires they should know that nuts can be overtorqued and break. Someone just used an air gun and set it to max.

Under the "It could have been worse" heading - at least the first one going didn't snap the lugs on the second one!

Sending you some "thanks" or as I prefer to remember it "KARMA". You deserve it.

May I recommend Snap-On's torque wrench? Pricy but idiot proof - which is what I must have to buy a tool!

Paula
I'm sure they will. Most of the time, Insurance companies will not expose their customer (claimant) in the nasties of the subrogation claim against whomever they think is at fault.
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Old 11-30-2011, 07:08 AM   #8
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The owner of the trailer, lug nuts mentioned, took the wheels off, and had the tire company install the tires.....The owner then installed the tires back on the unit.....So the owner was the one who was responsible.......And yes I have purchased a Snap on Torque wrench.....Wouldn't go anywhere with out it.....
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Old 05-31-2014, 07:01 AM   #9
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Torque isn't Tension........

You can torque your A/S wheel lug nuts to the proper torque setting, but this video puts forth the argument that if you apply proper torque, you can still have loose lug nuts.......

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Old 05-31-2014, 08:58 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by Bigskyrider8 View Post
You can torque your A/S wheel lug nuts to the proper torque setting, but this video puts forth the argument that if you apply proper torque, you can still have loose lug nuts.......

....and while that is interesting and accurate as far as it goes, it does not tell us the whole story, as it applies to attaching wheels to trailers.
We are generally spec'ed to use "clean, dry" threads and the cone as well.
It would have been interesting to see what results he would have acquired had he taken one of the "slightly rusty" bolts, nuts and washers, wire brushed them, cleaned the threads with solvent and then done up the assembly in the test rig.

I go back to my statement in another thread here about lug studs snapping off, that if we really knew the truth, the studs more likely failed because the assembly was "loose" ( not enough clamping force ), and the studs were subjected to shearing forces. Not because of over-torque ( although that is possible, it just seems less likely to me. Read the bolt specs on what the tensile strength of a 1/2" grade eight fastener )
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