Lug nuts on trailer shearing or coming loose?

[Hamin' X]

Over tightening of the lugs can be just as bad as under tightening them. Over tightening can stretch the stud and cause cyrstalization of the metal and greatly weaken the stud. Always use a torque wrench on clean threads to 120 Lbs/Ft +/- 10%. Cheap torque wrenches from Harbor Freight will work fine for occasional use, if kept in a dry environment. A little WD-40 is usefull on raspy threads, but wire brushed and shiney is better. You should be able to easily run the lugnut down to the brake drum with your fingers. If not, then the threads are not clean enough. Lock-Tite is not recomended, because it will give false torque readings when you check the nuts at a later date. For salt water use, especialy with aluminum wheels a light coating of Never-Seize will prevent electrolisis between the dissimilar metals. Just the advice of one who has twisted wrenches for a living. YMMV

[Chip Hindes]

Over tightening of the lugs can be just as bad as under tightening them. Over tightening can stretch the stud and cause cyrstalization of the metal and greatly weaken the stud. Always use a torque wrench on clean threads to 120 Lbs/Ft +/- 10%.

Yes, but I don't believe it's even marginally possible to achieve 120 lb-ft on a 1/2" trailer lug nut.

Normal recommended torque on these is, I believe, 90-100 lb-ft for steel wheels, but only 65-75 for aluminum.

A pipe extension on your lug wrench is OK for loosening, but I recommend against it for tightening. If you don't have the torque wrench on the road with you, crank them up pretty tight, then check and retighten after 10 miles or so, and again during your walk around once per hour.

I've found they can be surprizingly loose after the first ten miles. After the second retightening, they no longer loosen. On long trips, I check them one per day.

[richandlori]

[quote If you don't have the torque wrench on the road with you, crank them up pretty tight, then check and retighten after 10 miles or so, and again during your walk around once per hour.

Once per hour? Chip are you making an exaggeration here to make a point? or do you actually stop and check your tow rig every hour?

WOW, I hope I'm missing something here, becuase that seems a little excessive to me

Rich

[Chip Hindes]

Chip are you making an exaggeration here to make a point?

Nope. That's my routine, and once per hour is not an exagerration. My first mate does not drive the truck when pulling the trailer, so except for moral support, I'm on my own. I've driven solo as many as 16 hours in one day, though a "normal" day is usually around 12. Lots of coffee and caffeinated soda, so frequent bathroom breaks are a necessity anyway. At 6' 220 lbs, with a marginal back and bad shoulder, I've yet to find a comfortable drivers' seat for long distances, so hour is pretty much my limit between stretch breaks as well. The way I usually time it is to drive about 45 minutes, then begin looking for a rest area. It usually works out to just over an hour. On a "short hop" of a couple hundred miles or so, I might stretch it to 90 minutes or rarely, two hours, but absolutely no more. If I'm not on the Interstate, grocery store or WalMart parking lots are good, but I'll even pull over onto a wide shoulder and set the flashers rather than skip my break. I alway plan gas station and meal breaks to coincide as well; two birds, you know

It's as much a mental thing as well as physical and safety. Thinking, "Only thirty minutes to the next break," even though it's a whole bunch of times per day, it's a lot easier than, "Five freaking hours until I can quit for the day."

Including the once around the rig and the bathroom if necessary, pour a cup of coffee or grab a soda from the cooler, I'm usually back on the road in around 10-12 minutes. With two axles and four brakes on the trailer, and plenty of tongue weight, on the Interstates my rig is reasonably comfortable and I believe reasonably safe up to 75 mph or so, and if I maintain close to that I can still average 60mph or better over the long haul. Occasionally I'll even grab 30-45 minute nap if I'm not feeling up to being back on the road right away.

I wouldn't try to eat a burger or the like while towing the trailer at speed, so even if it's fast food, lunch is always 30-45 minutes to relax and chill.

This has worked well for me. I'm not kidding when I say stuff normally doesn't go way wrong in an hour, but given much more than that...

During my hourly once around I've discovered 1) a big chunk of rubber missing out of a brand new trailer tire 2) loss of air pressure in the trailer tires caused by nails in the tires (twice; are these things nail magnets?) 3) a dragging halyard 4) an almost dragging backstay, 6) inoperable taillights (this one was at night, and yes, they had been working at the previous hourly check) 5) disconnected emergency brake cable 6) loose lug nuts (numerous times) 7) fender dragging on the tire. In each case, I found it early enough that disaster was avoided.

And once (I regret to confess) "somebody" forgot to latch down the trailer hitch. Found it before it came off the ball and before I got a chance to see if the safety chains worked.

[kmclemore]

Kevin,
This may be carrying this a little far, but, which Locktite grade do you use?
Thanks, Jeff

Jeff, my apologies, I just realised I'd never answered your question!

I use 'red' which is available at your local auto store as Loctite part number 271. The 'blue' should not be used as it's not made for high temps (from the brakes) - red is.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

My first mate does not drive the truck when pulling the trailer, so except for moral support, I'm on my own.

Ha...thats the only way we ever go on trips, trailer or not...

And once (I regret to confess) "somebody" forgot to latch down the trailer hitch.

Wow Chip, sounds like you need a safety chain to the bow eye in case that same somebody forgets to engage the clicker!

[Captain Steve]

On long trips I too do walk arouns...the first at 100 miles and then 100 miles or at breaks...peace of mind. I carry a digital pressure gage and monitor tire pressure as well as the feel the hub test.

[Jack O'Brien]

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/InstallChecklist.pdf

Good two-page PDF primer here with torque tables. The 125 pounds sombody above mentioned looks to be too high.

My concern is more being able to remove a lug nut on the road, if necessary, rather than having them come loose by themselves. When I bought my 2000 X in September of 2002, after a couple salt water dunkings in 2000 and two years unused, I had the selling dealer remove and reinstall the lug nuts for this reason. He had to change some of the lug bolts because the nuts were frozen.

On my new trailer, with 1/2 x 20 fine thread lug bolts I've removed, lubricated with "Anti-Seize" and torqued the nuts to 80 pounds. Although 80 is on the low side of the torque table, it seems to be more than I would use "just by feel" without a torque wrench and I never had a nut come loose before I bought the torque wrench.

By the way, I read somewhere that the major reason one feels their disc brakes "pumping" is because the nuts have been tightened unevenly thereby distorting the disc. A torque wrench seems a good investment.

Harbor Freight Tools sells 1/2" drive torque wrenches and FOLDING 4-way lug wrenches, sometimes on sale.

[kmclemore]

My concern is more being able to remove a lug nut on the road, if necessary, rather than having them come loose by themselves. When I bought my 2000 X in September of 2002, after a couple salt water dunkings in 2000 and two years unused, I had the selling dealer remove and reinstall the lug nuts for this reason. He had to change some of the lug bolts because the nuts were frozen.

Actually, Jack, despite what you'd think, Loctite actually helps prevent that sort of rust-siezing, since it coats the threads and helps prevent corrosion.

What I do is clean the threads thorougly with some laquer thinner to make sure I've got good oil-free surfaces (don't forget the threads inside the nuts), apply a stripe of Loctite red to the studs, then torque them up to spec with a 'click' type torque wrench (90 ft. lbs, in my case). Remember to tighten in a 'cross' pattern - do each nut opposite of the others, in rotation - and tighten in about 20 ft. lbs. increments until you reach 90 ft. lbs. on all the lugs.

Then when I'm driving I check them again after the first couple of miles, then the first 50 miles, then every 100-200 after that. Just put the torque wrench on, pull it up to the 'click' and you've properly checked them... the click should occur before they ever rotate if they've maintained their torque... and in my experience I've never had any lug ever go loose after that first tightening.

By the way, I read somewhere that the major reason one feels their disc brakes "pumping" is because the nuts have been tightened unevenly thereby distorting the disc. A torque wrench seems a good investment.

Absolutely right, Jack. This is the #1 cause of warped brake rotors, which causes that 'pumping' or 'throbbing' feeling as you apply the brakes. I've seen it most often when folks have cast alloy wheels, but it can happen with any type of wheel. Always, always, always use a torque wrench! They're really cheap insurance.