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Old 08-10-2017, 02:07 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bhooves View Post
I check the torque on my lug nuts before each trip. NOTE: If you have never torqued them, loosen each one and then torque it to the setting that the wheel manufacturer recommends.

The 16" wheels on my 2013 27' FB Flying Cloud (I added these wheels at the factory so that, then, I could get Michelin tires) were made by Tredit. I bought the wheels and tires from the AS factory. Tredit says: torque between 110 and 120 pounds. The factory technicians have a chart that says 130 pounds for these wheels.. I have assumed that the factory is wrong after talking directly with Tredit.

I have attached (hopefully, I have never tried that before) a photo of the wheels on my Airstream.

Bill
MY 2016 30' FC book calls for 110 ft. lbs. dry.
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Old 08-10-2017, 02:15 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by OTRA15 View Post
Ditto, doing this without a torque wrench is easy to do, and a good habit to get into IMO.

DC -- Once you have used a [borrowed] torque wrench to do one wheel bolt/nut to the correct setting, you will have a feel for how it feels with a breaker bar, and it is hard to over-tighten by hand. [not true while using an electric or air impact wrench -- not sure how accurate the new lithium battery impact wrenches are?]

Of course, having a properly calibrated torque wrench on a trip is the correct way, but the generic breaker bar setup is great to have along also!
"Thou shalt NOT use a 'breaker bar' for torqueing down lug nuts"!
The breaker bar is used for 'breaking loose' the nuts for wheel removal only.
Using it for tightening is akin to going by "Mechanic's Feel" which is a Hobson's choice at best.
Use a calibrated torque wrench to preload bolts to spec. 'dry', unless specified otherwise in the specs.
Anything else is on you.

(Trailer trash; living in a tin-can shed; and the 'voice of experience.')
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Old 08-10-2017, 02:28 PM   #23
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So DC@ViennaVa you asked do any of us really do this and the answer i clear. Yes, religiously. Do we check the tire pressure, yes, often. Many of us use a Tire Pressure Monitor. It saved us a dramatic tread separation when it gave an early alert of pressure loss.

As noted, go to Harbor Freight, and get a torque wrench that clicks. The dial ones cost almost as much and aren't very accurate. Always return the torque wrench setting to -0.0- after you are through, and keep it clean, dry and away from oil.

If my wheel has been off for any reason, it is torqued tight. Twenty five miles down the road I pull over and retighten. At 75 miles I check again. If any of the nuts actually move at the 75 mile check, I will recheck at 150, but if they are all tight at 75 miles I'll check them the next morning before I start.

I don't check them constantly, but always at the start of a trip, and if anything has happened to the wheel, the routine given above. My specs call for tightening my aluminum wheels to 110 ft/lb and I want to hear the click.

My GMC 2500HD calls for 140 ft/lb of torque and I follow a similar routine with them, although they don't seem to loosen as much.
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Old 08-10-2017, 03:41 PM   #24
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Torque with a calibrated torque wrench regularly. Harbor Freight is a hood source.
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Old 08-10-2017, 04:48 PM   #25
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I have a very nice torque wrench and I do use it but I have a problem and would love some advice. I am not physically strong enough to torque to 110. The best I can do is 100. I know I am not to use a cheater bar so what can I do? These are the times when being a solo female and only 5'3" sucks. I really put all I have into it but I just can't get those last 10. Help?
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Old 08-10-2017, 05:59 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kendrick.l.j View Post
I have a very nice torque wrench and I do use it but I have a problem and would love some advice. I am not physically strong enough to torque to 110. The best I can do is 100. I know I am not to use a cheater bar so what can I do? These are the times when being a solo female and only 5'3" sucks. I really put all I have into it but I just can't get those last 10. Help?


Well, if batting your eyelashes doesn't work, I'd suggest going to Harbor or any number of tool dealers and getting a longer torque wrench. The additional length will give you more leverage over the nut, and the extra torque won't be a problem. Kudos for getting after it yourself, BTW.

Another thing I haven't heard mentioned is to follow the correct 'star' pattern for torquing the nuts down. This will provide a more even torque than "going around the circle" ever could.

Larry
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:01 PM   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kendrick.l.j View Post
I have a very nice torque wrench and I do use it but I have a problem and would love some advice. I am not physically strong enough to torque to 110. The best I can do is 100. I know I am not to use a cheater bar so what can I do? These are the times when being a solo female and only 5'3" sucks. I really put all I have into it but I just can't get those last 10. Help?
Why are you not to use a cheater bar? As long as it didn't interfere with the operation of your torque wrench, slipping a cheater bar over it for a little extra leverage shouldn't hurt. Am I missing something?

You could buy a longer torque wrench.

You could try the massage therapist maneuver where you lock your elbows and put your body weight on the bar rather than using your upper body muscles to turn it. Only works where you're pushing the bar straight down, but if it's only to get that last 10 lbs, it shouldn't move very far.
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:25 PM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DC@ViennaVa View Post
Folks, I'm new to Airstream but have over 10 years in Winnebago a couple different Sprinter Chassis's, View and Via.

I want to get off on the right foot with "Bella" my new 27FB International Serenity. In reading safety warnings etc. I see the recommendations to check the torque on the trailer lug nuts. Do folks really do this?
Yes.

Torque check (in the order prescribed in your owners manual) before any trip and any time the wheels have been removed and replaced. If the wheels have recently been replaced, check after driving just a few miles (25 sounds about right) and then again 50 miles later until you detect no change--then they're set.

"Before any trip" means daily if you're driving every day! I'll often do this at the end of the day for an easy get away, especially if it's going to be before morning coffee! Again, any time you find no looseness, you can extend the period that you check.

Please also regularly check your cold tire pressure, and physically examine the tires, especially sidewalls, to look for any small bubbles starting to form, and chafing that indicates that you might have hit a curb and need to examine that tire even more often, and also for physical signs of cracking where the tread surface meets the sidewall. If your tire pressure is holding every day on a long trip, a good sign that everything is good. Tire Minder device is highly recommended to avoid having to check the pressure manually--we went 7 years without one, and finally bit the bullet and did it, and it's a been tremendous convenience and confidence booster.

Highly recommend having your tires visually inspected by a tire professional at least once a season. Most will do it for free (in the hopes of finding a problem so they can sell you a new tire!) Les Schwab is great in the Pacific Northwest, American Tire (aka Discount Tire) have been terrific on the Southwest run from California to Texas each year. Don't forget your spare tire!

Finally, budget to replace your whole set every four years. You can stretch to six if you do all of the above regularly, but the research shows that oxidation alone, and especially in combination with inactivity (during storage), will break down the tire compounds even (or maybe especially is a better word) if you move the trailer very little. This is true even if the tread still looks and measures brand new.

All of these of course apply to your tow vehicle, too. But most people don't pay a lot of attention to their tires on their personal vehicles. Personally, I think that's an expensive and potentially extremely dangerous oversight.

Airstreams and glamping are a lot of fun! But it is just going to take longer in every way than traveling without a trailer. So relax, take the time to do it all right, and then you'll have tons of fun! Airstreams handle like no other trailer on the road, and they are just beautiful!

Now go forth and enjoy!
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:31 PM   #29
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kendrick.l.j View Post
I have a very nice torque wrench and I do use it but I have a problem and would love some advice. I am not physically strong enough to torque to 110. The best I can do is 100. I know I am not to use a cheater bar so what can I do? These are the times when being a solo female and only 5'3" sucks. I really put all I have into it but I just can't get those last 10. Help?
The longer torque wrench advice is very good! Might as well let the longer lever and associated increased mechanical advantage do the work instead of you!

But the advice to improve technique is good, too. You can take the time to make sure that the wrench on each nut is just above or right at parallel to the ground. Then when you lean the full weight of your body on it through stiffened arms (with your hands at the very end of the wrench for maximum leverage--even one on top of the other to get further out) you may find a dramatic improvement in your "strength."

The strongest part of your body is....your brain!
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Old 08-10-2017, 06:45 PM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MelGoddard View Post
"Thou shalt NOT use a 'breaker bar' for torqueing down lug nuts"!
The breaker bar is used for 'breaking loose' the nuts for wheel removal only.
Using it for tightening is akin to going by "Mechanic's Feel" which is a Hobson's choice at best.
Use a calibrated torque wrench to preload bolts to spec. 'dry', unless specified otherwise in the specs.
Anything else is on you.

(Trailer trash; living in a tin-can shed; and the 'voice of experience.')
It's actually not bad to use a breaker bar for torquing lug nuts WITH a digital torque adapter. Actually that way using a cheater pipe is no problem and it doesn't use as much space as a torque wrench and breaker bar.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-68283.html
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Old 08-10-2017, 07:24 PM   #31
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Alright, I bought the Torque Wrench

Thanks to all who contributed
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Old 08-10-2017, 07:49 PM   #32
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My 2015 AS was delivered new by the dealer with 40 lbs of air pressure in all 4 of the tires (specs called for 50) and a several loose lug nuts (less than the spec of 110 for my wheels). Since then an installer at a major and well regarded tire dealer chain I have done business with for 35 years insisted on torque of 130 ft pounds. Fortunately I stayed with my AS and they deferred to my request, though not without protesting. Check your manuals and/or documents for any upgrades.

Only you can prevent loose lug nuts and improperly inflated tires. Oh, yeah, and forest fires!

Be careful out there. I don't want wheels from other trailers hitting my rig!😕
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Old 08-10-2017, 09:37 PM   #33
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to torque or not

New to airstreaming myself.
Went with conventional wisdom and checked half way through my recent circle tour of lakes michigan and superior.
Found 3 loose nuts, maybe saved my a..
will check regularly from now on
A BIG YES to TORQUEING
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Old 08-10-2017, 11:29 PM   #34
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To Torque or Not to Torque

The adjustable torque wrenches that click when the set point is reached will work the same with a pipe cheater IF you choose a pipe that fits the handle closely, and remember to LOCK the setting once you adjust it. And, like others have noted, stiff arm it with body weight. It's a lot easier. Just use slow, gently increasing force. If you "go beyond the click" you can over torque the nut without realizing it. "Jumping on the wrench" is an easy way to go past it just clicking, and lead to over torque. Finesse is the way of using this tool.
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Old 08-11-2017, 07:45 AM   #35
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Torque!

By all means torque your lug nuts! If your trailer came with the "jacketed" lug nuts replace them with solid ones. The jackets will fail at the most inappropriate time and then you can neither tighten nor loosen the lug nut.
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Old 08-11-2017, 11:13 AM   #36
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dcasr View Post
So DC@ViennaVa you asked do any of us really do this and the answer i clear. Yes, religiously. Do we check the tire pressure, yes, often. Many of us use a Tire Pressure Monitor. It saved us a dramatic tread separation when it gave an early alert of pressure loss.

As noted, go to Harbor Freight, and get a torque wrench that clicks. The dial ones cost almost as much and aren't very accurate. Always return the torque wrench setting to -0.0- after you are through, and keep it clean, dry and away from oil.

If my wheel has been off for any reason, it is torqued tight. Twenty five miles down the road I pull over and retighten. At 75 miles I check again. If any of the nuts actually move at the 75 mile check, I will recheck at 150, but if they are all tight at 75 miles I'll check them the next morning before I start.

I don't check them constantly, but always at the start of a trip, and if anything has happened to the wheel, the routine given above. My specs call for tightening my aluminum wheels to 110 ft/lb and I want to hear the click.

My GMC 2500HD calls for 140 ft/lb of torque and I follow a similar routine with them, although they don't seem to loosen as much.
GIVE THIS MAN AN ICE-CREAM CONE!
HE'S GOT IT EXACTLY RIGHT!
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Old 08-11-2017, 11:21 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rmkrum View Post
The adjustable torque wrenches that click when the set point is reached will work the same with a pipe cheater IF you choose a pipe that fits the handle closely, and remember to LOCK the setting once you adjust it. And, like others have noted, stiff arm it with body weight. It's a lot easier. Just use slow, gently increasing force. If you "go beyond the click" you can over torque the nut without realizing it. "Jumping on the wrench" is an easy way to go past it just clicking, and lead to over torque. Finesse is the way of using this tool.
ANOTHER PERSON WHO HAS EARNED AN 'ICE-CREAM CONE'.!
SEE? There ARE actually intelligent people out there.
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Old 08-11-2017, 11:30 AM   #38
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The batting of the eyelashes can work and I have used that technique before but I prefer to do things myself. Good to know that I can use a cheater. Picked one up this morning and was able to get to 110. Yeah me! Thanks for the advice and bit of humor.
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Old 08-17-2017, 01:46 PM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Troutboy View Post
I use torque wrench and then mark
Each lug with a paint marker, a vertical line. That way I can do a continuos visual check on the lug nuts. I will also hand check
With a torque before trips. Great price of mind to look and see all those lug nuts are vertical.

Note: they do loosen, and every so often, I have to re-torque a few. The vertical lines work and immediately show when it's loose.
You must work in Aviation.
Witness marking is standard for anything that screws on.
(The trucking industry sometimes use them too.)
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Old 08-17-2017, 01:56 PM   #40
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Originally Posted by Wazbro View Post
It's actually not bad to use a breaker bar for torquing lug nuts WITH a digital torque adapter. Actually that way using a cheater pipe is no problem and it doesn't use as much space as a torque wrench and breaker bar.
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...ter-68283.html
I'll buy that!
I use a 2" I.D. PVC pipe on mine, as it is a shorter wrench. (Many years old, but still calibrated.)
I need it to torque the Ford wheels at 150 ft. lbs.
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