Lug Nut Torque

[Paul Bowers]

I have a 2001 Beaver Monterey Trinidad 30.  Running Bridgestone R250 F's, 265-75R-225.  Just had all new tires replaced, and the dealer said to retorque the lug nuts after 100 miles.  They put the lug nuts on with an air wrench, but would like to use torque wrench to make sure it is correct.

I had to take the coach back, because they did not get the hub caps on tight enough, and found the front cover nut had been stripped.  They retapped, and put a Heli-Coil in and appears to be ok.  Since they are fine thread, might buy a couple and put in the parts bin just in case.  Also, coach (bought used) does not have the wrench to take the hub caps off.  Are the nuts and wrench available at Beaver RV Coach in Oregon, or is there a better place?

thanks in advance

pb

[Gerald Farris]

If Beaver Coach Sales Parts Department does not have the parts that you want for your wheel covers, they should be able to tell you where they are available. The proper torque for your lug nuts is 550 foot pounds.

Gerald

[Paul Bowers]

Gerald,

Thanks for the info.

pb

[Ken Buck]

Reading Geralds response above about 550 lbs ft for lug nut torque sounded different than what I've seen before. Thinking there might be a difference because I have aluminum wheels I checked Accurides manual again. They do recommend 450 - 500 lbs for both steel and aluminum. Perhaps other wheels are different or Gerald has some other information?

http://www.accuridewheels.com/safety_manual.asp

Ken

[Gerald Farris]

I stand corrected. My first Beaver, a 1993 Patriot on a Spartan chassis listed the lug nut torque at 550 lbs ft, and I had never looked at the manual for my 2000 Marquis to see if it was the same since I do not own a torque wrench that reads above 250 lbs ft.

My Marquis manual list the lug nut torque at 450 lbs ft. This torque setting will be calculated with cleaned and lubricated threads on the lug bolts. Since I have never seen a truck tire shop that cleans and lubricates lug bolts, the torque will probably need to be in the 500 to 550 range with dry bolts.

The one inch drive impact wrenches that are use at truck tire shops normally tighten the wheels to around 1,000 lbs ft if they are allowed to hammer very long at all. So if your wheels were installed at a truck tire shop, they are almost certainly torqued way above the 450 to 500 lbs ft range.

Gerald  

[Richard And Babs Ames]

Gerrald are there different torque requirements for hub pilot and stud pilot wheels? We have stud pilot wheels which are not being produced by either Alcoa or Accuride any more.

 They are 22.5 by 7.5 inch and I have two extra usable al wheels that are scared on the edge from tire failures on the front of the motorhome. I would be reasonable with anyone who needs one.

[LEAH DRAPER]

Not being an expert on torquing wheels, what is the danger in over torquing a wheel?  Say to the 1000 lbs, as Gerald mentions truck tire places often do?

[Gerald Farris]

Stud pilot and hub pilot wheels, usually specify about the same torque. However, hub pilot wheels require 2 or 3 drops of 30 weight oil on the stud as well as between the two parts of the lug nut, where stud piloted wheels can be installed dry. There are heavy duty stud pilot wheels that have a torque spec as high as 900 lbs ft, but no hub piloted wheels go over 500 lbs ft, that I know of.  

The reason that you do not want to over torque your wheels is, that it can lead to lug bolt stretch and breakage, as well as cracking in the wheel flange. It can also cause accelerated wear on the lug bolt and nut threads. These problems are more common in the trucking industry, were the wheel can be removed 3 or 4 times a year vs. the RV industry were most of them are only removed once every 3 or 4 years, and a lot of them are only removed once every 6 to 8 years for tire replacement.

Gerald.

[Paul Bowers]

Thanks for the reply on the torque issue.  I have two torque values to look at; first is the main lugs and secondly is the nut that holds the wheel cover in place.  As I mentioned, they striped one of the nuts because they are fine threads by using an adjustable wrench.

I believe the only way to torque everything properly is to buy a torque wrench and do it myself.  I already have three of them but none goes high enough.

thanks again

pb

[Gil_Johnson]

You need a torgue multiplier.  Thier prices are all over the map.  http://torque-multipliers.com/


Gil