Like Randa, never used one, never had one and not liekly to get scared by that report in the C&CC mag.

Remember we had one in our factory for some use, but that was for the fabricators if it was specified in the official engineers spec

And there goes the man that will first buy a smoke alarm after the Fire Brigade have dragged him out of the house or carry an extinguisher for the Caravan once it's nothing but ashes.
I don't really think it's a case of 'getting scared' but more a case of there being both a right way and wrong way to go about things. If vehicle manufacturers go about stating specific torque values for their wheel bolts along with every other bolt on the car come to think of it, then surely it must be foolhardy to ignore this instruction.

Torque wrenches were for many of us (of 'our age' !) way out of our affordability !! We were taught by 'feel' how to use various tools . I have never lost a wheel or had any bits fall off anything I've maintained - experience and good teaching is what counts.

Certain areas do require precise and methodical tightening - especially modern motor cylinder heads and alloy parts, a torque wrench pretty well essential in these applications ! but I really do feel competent in tightening up car wheels or caravan wheel nuts without the obligation to use a torque wrench for the job - yes I do have one and know how to use it !

Sorry no, if we all did everything told, asked or bullied into we would be in strife for everything, It's simialr being one day told we should drink two glasses of wine one day and the next don't drink wine. It's your elf and safety issue all over again..

Caravan brake drums do not have a central mounting boss and so the wheels rely solely on the tensile load that the wheel bolts provide to locate them.
If the wheel bolts are under-tightened then the weight of the caravan is borne partially or totally by the bolts/studs alone rather than the wheel/brake drum mating surfaces - this will cause the bolts to wear and loosen.
Over-tightening causes the thread to stretch and may result in a sheared bolt.

So yes, it is important to ensure the wheel bolts are tightened to the manufacturer's torque setting.

When checking the wheel bolts (after servicing or before a trip) you should loosen them off slightly off before re-applying the correct torque.

It's also important to tighten the wheel bolts (which must clean of oil and grease) in the correct sequence:

4- bolt hubs are tightened North, South, East, West
5-bolt hubs are tightened 1, 3, 5, 2, 4.

Alloy wheels require a higher tightening torque than steel wheels. If you have alloys fitted and need to fit the steel spare the correct bolts must be fitted and tightened to the lower torque setting.

A suitable DIY torque wrench for occasional use, with a maximum setting of around 200Nm, can be bought for around £20 and may even include a combination 17mm/19mm socket and 5" extension bar. It's worth checking to see if it includes a calibration certificate but should at least conform to ISO 6789 which means it has been calibrated at manufacture to an accuracy of +/- 4%.

As has been mentioned you must wind the wrench back to it's minimum setting after use and also don't use it to slacken the wheel bolts off.

If you look after it and keep it in its protective case it should last many years.

I use three torque wrenches - they cost an arm and a leg and I have them calibrated annually.

My valet looks after them for me

On the basis that Ihavethe van serviced by AL and havenever hadthe wheels off for any reason, I am expecting maybe wrongly so that they areon to proper torque.

Quote: hampshireman wrote in post #21

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On the basis that Ihavethe van serviced by AL and havenever hadthe wheels off for any reason, I am expecting maybe wrongly so that they areon to proper torque.

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A very balanced and accurate response :) Despite my belief that I can 'get it right' - I do actually check my wheel nuts with a torque wrench before a trip !

Quote: Wordspace wrote in post #22

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I know how long the air in my BA tank will last my own particular breathing pattern (so does Deeps, I expect)

Martyn

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can just add yours supposed to recheck wheel nuts / bolts after a certain mileage, after the wheels have been removed. no matter who has torqued them.

that's both good practise on car and caravan,
this lack of checking does catch people out, and wheels go missing.
in worst situation cars can be wrote off. from the following actions of wheel gone, and the wheel could seriously injure a person walking on pavement.

over tightening stretches the threads and can also have implications.

of course this thread can be ignored and you carry on regardless until you find yourself writing a letter to warn others..

dare I mention the lack of light checking on cars, another problem that can be checked easily at night and never done..

Quote: Pop540 wrote in post #25

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can just add yours supposed to recheck wheel nuts / bolts after a certain mileage, after the wheels have been removed. no matter who has torqued them. that's both good practise on car and caravan,

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I was chatting to another caravanner who lives locally and he has one of those newer digital attachment types Looked a bit fragile but very easy to adjust and attaches to his tools

"When checking the wheel bolts (after servicing or before trip) you should loosen them off slightly, before re-applying the correct torque."



I didn't know that..........Are you saying that I should loosen off all the nuts,(not with the wrench, of course) then apply the correct torque, and in the right sequence ? And that I need to do this before every trip ? (I normally do this torque check every month.....maybe, it should be before every trip ? Exhausting, this caravanning preparation, isn't it. Ian.

Correct - when first tightening a bolt with the torque wrench there will come a point when the spring tension set meets resistance and this is when you will hear the click and is an indication that the set torque has been reached.
You should only do this ONE time. Some people repeat the procedure in the false belief that they are making sure. What happens though is that when the sequence is repeated, the wrench applies just a touch more torque before letting go once more. Following this logic through means that if you keep on applying torque to a bolt that is already torqued you will keep applying small amounts to the tension each time.
Far better, although very seldom done in the real world, is to slacken off the bolt a bit and then re-apply the correct torque. Personally even I don't go this far although I do at the start of the season and before any long trip. If the journey is say just a couple of hundred kilometres down the road to a campside where we'll be parked up for a week or two before returning home, I'll quickly check the bolt torques before the return journey back home without the backing off bit.