You dont HAVE to use a torque wrench, ever.... However, motor traders, tyre fitters and caravan dealers use them in order to check the wheel nuts are tight enough and prevent any accidents following a wheel coming off. I even had our caravan dealer insist I observed them check the wheel nuts following some minor work on the body. I thought that a bit paranoid. If I had one to hand say at home, I would use one, but away from home I would not, but have confidence, from experience that I would get them tight enough.
A torque wrench is used so that you can check that the nuts are tight enough, but also to check that the nuts have not been over tightened.
Most people working on cars don't know how to use a torque wrench. I have observed supposedly trained wheel fitters use an air gun to tighten wheel nuts and then use a torque wrench to check they are tight enough. By using an air gun on the wheel nuts they will have probably already over tighten the nuts and then the torque wrench is having no use. Wheel nuts should be finger tight and then tighten in an even motion with the torque wrench until it clicks at the correct setting for the car.
------------- Ollie
2016
Monplaisir - Provence
Camping Les Gorges du Loup
Theres little point in buying a torque wrench unless you pay out for a quailty tool. ie not from Aldi's. I've never used one for wheel nuts. I just check them regularly on car & caravan with a wheelbrace.
I frequently check mine with a torque wrench as i had a wheel fall off the caravan on my 3rd trip which didn't do any good to my confidence. There are torque settings for a reason and the wheels should be tightened as recommended.
I use one regularly. Don't use the Torque wrench to "change a wheel" just to check that the nuts are properly set once finger tight as indicated above. It is part of the Approved Workshop scheme that the engineer checks the Torque in front of the customer so that the customer knows that the wheels are correctly set before they drive off. It is good practice to check the wheels using the torque wrench before every journey. In the nature of the structure of the van/wheels they behave differently to the nuts on your cars wheel and are more likely to come loose. That is not to say that they will come loose, just "more likely", hence the practice of checking the nuts before a journey. Takes a few seconds
I would add that I have never seen anyone doing it on a camp site before they set off. Never seen anyone check the noseweight either and very few have been spotted checking their lights!!!!
You may have read the advice to Unicorn owners to check their wheel nuts as some wheels have worked loose and come off. It does happen
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
If they use an air gun, they should set its torque to a low setting then do final tighten with a torque wrench-saw them do that on my car when I had a puncture fixed.
If you have to change a wheel if you use the wrench supplied with the car (not with an extension bar) it should tighten the wheels sufficiently and not over torque.
Our Bailey came with a wheel spanner as well as the steady winder. The steady handle is not for the wheel bolts!
When I remove the Al-ko wheel lock I quickly check the bolts with the brace (you need it to get the lock off!). If any bolts are loose it will show. I use the torque wrench at home for periodic checks.Never found any loose yet.
Did have a wobbly wheel on my Land Rover once, I stopped and found 2 nuts gone 3 loose! I obviously did not torque the bolts that time! Lesson learned!
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
A torque wrench is a handy piece of kit to have evan if it is from aldis.For a start you can do your caravan wheels with it and second,try taking off wheel nuts or evan the bolts on the tow ball if they have been torqued on,you can use it as a extension bar,evan on the car wheels.
The ratchets WILL slip on a cheap torque wrench after a very small amount of use. If it slips when you are putting strain on it then you are very likely to be hurt. They also need regular calibration. The accuracy of the cheap ones as also devious. I normally use a wheel brace set to bl00dy tight when I fit a wheel and never yad one come loose yet.
See this video scroll down to the bottom of the page
Phil
------------- If you're not on a fell your wasting your feet and for 2014 it's.......Feb Castleton Mar North Yors Moors; Apr Sutton on Sea; May Thirsk; Jun Clapham/Riverside (Lakes); July Wharfedale; August Crakehall; Sept Knaresborough; Oct Wirral Park/Clitheroe
Quote: Originally posted by jeff juke on 08/6/2011
A torque wrench is a handy piece of kit to have evan if it is from aldis.For a start you can do your caravan wheels with it and second,try taking off wheel nuts or evan the bolts on the tow ball if they have been torqued on,you can use it as a extension bar,evan on the car wheels.
A torque wrench is a precision instrument. The easiest way to put the calibration out is to use it for undoing nuts. To do what you describe you need a 2 foot breaker bar.
Jeff my OH is going to use a comressed air gun (when we get one) to undo nuts. Nearly crippled him last time trying to get them off (& he's not exactly puny) so this'll save his back without bu**ering his torque wrench.
Just get a 2 foot long breaker bar, that will shift anything. Halfords item for about £20 odd is good quailty. You need correct size impact socket to go with, 17 or 19mm. A standard socket can split on very tight nuts.
another thing that will ruin the accuracy of a torque wrench if its the click type is to leave it under tension and not reset it to zero after use. i have found that halfords professional range are very accurate and offer good value for money
What a lot of nonsence about using a torque wrench,i have used one in the trade for years for various things and i think the people who are blurring them or taking the hex of the nut do not know how to use them and,as for the lidl and aldi torque wrenches,they may not be made of the finest steel but they are well calibrated for the job or else i wouldnt have one.A breaker bar IS the right tool for cracking wheel nuts but if you HAVENT got one of them a torque wrench will suffice..
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Topic: torque wrench
