Hi folks.
just had the van serviced and we've been told to get a torque wrench to check the wheels every 50 miles or so? Just been on Halfords and they aren't cheap.
i'd be interested in other peoples opinions and advice on this matter as not sure if this is something thats essential and set in stone?? replies much appreciated as always.
So on a trip from Sheffield to Bournemouth for example you have to stop 5 times to check the wheel nuts?? What a joke.
I have never owned a torque wrench. My nuts have never fallen off. I have towed caravans, driven cars, towed trailers extensively. My nuts have always remained in place.
Complete rubbish.
Halfords!!!! you believe them? their mainly school kids, anyway check the wheels nuts about 50 miles after the wheels have been removed and then put back on and again a couple of hundred miles later, then a routine check before moving the caravan but certainly not every 50 miles lol you would never get anywhere then!
I presume OP was told to check them after 50 miles because the wheels had been off for the service, not every 50 miles thereafter. They can be checked before you start a journey but as already mentioned by clever it's doubtful they they will need to be tightened again, not a big or long job so better safe than sorry.
Dave
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
Well, cheers folks, I'm glad there's no horror stories of people's nuts falling off :-)! That would be painful !!!! Think ill do the checks and tightening as recommended on here!
The paperwork does state to check every 50 miles but I'm guessing now, that's coz the wheels have been off!
I have a torque wrench. Bought it just after my caravan wheel fell off! I lost my wheel just after a service where the wheel hadn't been tightened at all as it fell off after 2 miles. I check mine 2 or 3 times a year and they have never worked loose. I also check them after the wheels have been off following a short journey.
The only reason I can see why wheels come off caravan axles and not cars is because the tyres are always balanced on cars and only sometimes on caravans. Even caravans from new when they leave the factory the tyres are never balanced but they are on brand new cars and vans. If we bought a new vehicle with unbalanced tyres we would take it back and complain how rough the ride was but because we don't travel in our caravans then we are non the wiser to what is really happening when the wheels are rolling. Anything that vibrates will not run smoothly so will have some sort of bearing on shaking things loose over a given period depending on the severity of the unbalanced tyre or even both tyres in severe cases.
Regarding the OP's thread, I have 13" (4 stud) steel wheels on my caravan which I always insist on having the tyres balanced and have never had a loose wheel yet over the past 10 years of caravanning. However, I did buy a torque wrench which cost £30 about 3 years ago not just for the caravan wheels but also for the car merely because if I have a puncture on one of the car tyres I will need to tighten and torque the spare wheel accordingly.
In my view, carrying a torque wrench is no different to carrying a lifting jack. We hope we never have to use it but a valuable tool if we do.
been in motor trade nearly 40 years,i have 4 different types of torque wrenches in my tool kit and never had any near a wheel nut on any of my cars or caravans.
"The only reason I can see why wheels come off caravan axles and not cars is because the tyres are always balanced on cars and only sometimes on caravans. Even caravans from new when they leave the factory the tyres are never balanced but they are on brand new cars and vans. "
If you change wheels on cars and caravans then the reason is immediately obvious.
Car wheels fit tightly onto a boss and are secured with the bolts. They often need a bit of persuasion to come off with all the bolts removed.
Caravan wheels are fitted against a face with just the bolts holding them on.
If balancing had anything at all to do with it then why did Bailey who balance their wheels have problems with wheels coming off, and swift who don't balance their wheels not have the same problem?
I like the vast majority of people have never had a wheel come loose.
That may be the case regarding 'Bailey' and 'Swift' but it still doesn't answer the question why tyres are balanced on cars and not caravans. When caravan tyres are not balanced, statistically it is only a very small minority that have a severely unbalanced tyre that's why it is not deemed as a major issue and more to the fact that neither of the companies could find any contributing factor to the problem.
I only suggested in my own opinion what I thought was a contributing factor to caravan wheels coming off but no means fact as nobody in the industry has yet come to the conclusion of the underlying cause and probably never will.
At the end of the day you make your own choice whether you have your caravan tyres balanced or not without having a debate to what's right or wrong but the people with the real bad experiences are the people who buy from the profit making companies and not the other way round.
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Topic: torque wrench essential?
