Torque wrench

[bdreinv]

Maybe pick up a big breaker bar at Harbor Freight!

[hang1here]

Good Lord! Any tire shop or wherever you get your family vehicle service, oil change, etc, will handle this for you!

[CowboyCoffee]

I bought the 3/4 drive 300 ft lb Tekton torque wrench from the Tekton website. Well under $100 and lifetime warranty. It worked great for adjusting my Equalizer hitch and will come in handy in the future I’m sure.

[Bassdogs]

???? Do people really go to bed at night worrying about how to torque a nut on their hitch assembly / trailer lugs?? At 70 I doubt I am able to over torque anything and if in question it is easy to have my auto mechanic give it a go. Just this week I had to take a hitch ball in to have the ball flipped on a 1 1/2" drop bar. Needed it and did it. Just seems we have had a spirited thread about something about as inspiring as watching grass grow. Not sure why but if there is a question about torque, and considering this question comes up what?? maybe a couple times in a lifetime, why would you buy a special tool??

[KillerIsMe]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

???? Do people really go to bed at night worrying about how to torque a nut on their hitch assembly / trailer lugs?? At 70 I doubt I am able to over torque anything and if in question it is easy to have my auto mechanic give it a go. Just this week I had to take a hitch ball in to have the ball flipped on a 1 1/2" drop bar. Needed it and did it. Just seems we have had a spirited thread about something about as inspiring as watching grass grow. Not sure why but if there is a question about torque, and considering this question comes up what?? maybe a couple times in a lifetime, why would you buy a special tool??

Slow your roll there big fella.

The purpose of asking questions on a forum such as this one is:

1) Learn something new, which I'll admit I'm not too old to do.
2) Maybe - and I realize the chances are very slim because everyone on this forum knows everything about everything - but just maybe there's some uninformed doofus out there with the same question. I mean, you can't rule it out, right?

I'm 62 my friend, and undoubtedly not as mechanically handy as you. My area of expertise is laboratory science and I'm very handy with that. Torque though? Never gave it much thought until I read somewhere about over-torquing and under-torquing, and how disastrous both can be. I guess I could have asked my brother about it - he's handy in many ways, maybe even more so than you if you can imagine that - but I asked here. And folks chimed in with all sorts of advice and I learned about impact wrenches and pipe extensions and breaker bars and homemade torquing methods - all things I was clueless about. I also learned the torque of a couple hitch bolts is not so crucial as I was initially thinking. Peace of mind is important.

You know, one of the prevailing themes on this forum is going down the road safely, and if a safety question bothers you or anyone else because of its blind stupidity (as you apparently perceive it) just don't type a response. Don't waste your time. All I was doing was shaking the tree to see what fell out, and as always I am deeply appreciative of the responses I received. With one exception.

[hang1here]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Slow your roll there big fella.

The purpose of asking questions on a forum such as this one is:

1) Learn something new, which I'll admit I'm not too old to do.
2) Maybe - and I realize the chances are very slim because everyone on this forum knows everything about everything - but just maybe there's some uninformed doofus out there with the same question. I mean, you can't rule it out, right?

I'm 62 my friend, and undoubtedly not as mechanically handy as you. My area of expertise is laboratory science and I'm very handy with that. Torque though? Never gave it much thought until I read somewhere about over-torquing and under-torquing, and how disastrous both can be. I guess I could have asked my brother about it - he's handy in many ways, maybe even more so than you if you can imagine that - but I asked here. And folks chimed in with all sorts of advice and I learned about impact wrenches and pipe extensions and breaker bars and homemade torquing methods - all things I was clueless about. I also learned the torque of a couple hitch bolts is not so crucial as I was initially thinking. Peace of mind is important.

You know, one of the prevailing themes on this forum is going down the road safely, and if a safety question bothers you or anyone else because of its blind stupidity (as you apparently perceive it) just don't type a response. Don't waste your time. All I was doing was shaking the tree to see what fell out, and as always I am deeply appreciative of the responses I received. With one exception.

Having been responsible for industrial safety for years, I can report that 'pipe extensions' are safety violations in every setting and would reward you with an OSHA violation and attendant fine, unless in your own home-garage. But, so are things welded to the forks of a fork life. So there's that.

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Slow your roll there big fella.

The purpose of asking questions on a forum such as this one is:

1) Learn something new, which I'll admit I'm not too old to do.
2) Maybe - and I realize the chances are very slim because everyone on this forum knows everything about everything - but just maybe there's some uninformed doofus out there with the same question. I mean, you can't rule it out, right?

The point is not being mechanically experienced [which I'm not] but rather talking all around a question or subject instead of getting to the real point. In this case owning a 300lb torque wrench so you can torque your hitch bar doesn't seem that necessary given the rarity of needing one and the easy availability of heavy duty speciality tools at a near by tire or auto center.

PS: I don't advise a "dufuss" to buy a chainsaw just to cut down one tree in his yard, having never needed one in the first 60 years of life. There are things in life that you rely on a friend or professional rather than doing it DIY.

[hang1here]

Will someone tell me (fairly new here) how to start a new thread question? I've tried to find it in the 'click buttons' but have had no luck. Please be gentle...

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by hang1here

Will someone tell me (fairly new here) how to start a new thread question? I've tried to find it in the 'click buttons' but have had no luck. Please be gentle...

Go to a category and click on button on the left near the top.

[KillerIsMe]

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

The point is not being mechanically experienced [which I'm not] but rather talking all around a question or subject instead of getting to the real point. In this case owning a 300lb torque wrench so you can torque your hitch bar doesn't seem that necessary given the rarity of needing one and the easy availability of heavy duty speciality tools at a near by tire or auto center.

PS: I don't advise a "dufuss" to buy a chainsaw just to cut down one tree in his yard, having never needed one in the first 60 years of life. There are things in life that you rely on a friend or professional rather than doing it DIY.

Point taken my friend.

I asked the original question because I truly don't know whether or not 300 lbs. of torque on the hitch bolts is crucial or if it's just a "tighten 'em up as tight as you can get 'em" thing. I have no trailering experience before this one and the last thing I want to have happen is a bolt shearing off or a nut backing out and seeing my trailer sliding down the road behind me - all because I didn't apply the right amount of torque. Owning a travel trailer is a learn-as-you-earn proposition, and if I don't disconnect the battery when the trailer is parked and it runs dead - . But if the trailer disconnects from my truck, well that's different. So please excuse my asking a dumb question once in a while.

As far as my getting butt-hurt goes, I apologize to you. It's me, not you - I really really really hate feeling stupid .

[LuckyDuck]

As a newbie who has learned a ton from this forum (more everyday), keep the questions coming, even “dumb” ones. If they are too mundane, or something I already know, I just ignore ‘em. Easy enough.

[JetTech]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

As a newbie who has learned a ton from this forum (more everyday), keep the questions coming, even “dumb” ones. If they are too mundane, or something I already know, I just ignore ‘em. Easy enough.

X2

[CowboyCoffee]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Point taken my friend.

I asked the original question because I truly don't know whether or not 300 lbs. of torque on the hitch bolts is crucial or if it's just a "tighten 'em up as tight as you can get 'em" thing. I have no trailering experience before this one and the last thing I want to have happen is a bolt shearing off or a nut backing out and seeing my trailer sliding down the road behind me - all because I didn't apply the right amount of torque. Owning a travel trailer is a learn-as-you-earn proposition, and if I don't disconnect the battery when the trailer is parked and it runs dead - . But if the trailer disconnects from my truck, well that's different. So please excuse my asking a dumb question once in a while.

As far as my getting butt-hurt goes, I apologize to you. It's me, not you - I really really really hate feeling stupid .

Hey man, your question isn't even remotely dumb. This is a good thread and a good discussion. You've got no reason to apologize, the guy who came into your thread and took a dump on it with his lousy attitude should be the one apologizing. He could have just offered his point - that you could have a shop do the torquing for you and save the expense of buying a torque wrench - without the unnecessary snark. And complaining about people having a relevant discussion on a discussion forum? Maybe the internet isn't really the place for Bassdogs if he can't handle that.

You're going to get varying opinions on this (like everything) and mine is that the manufacturers and engineers are not pulling these torque requirements out of thin air and imposing them on you just to make your life more difficult. So the flippant attitude some people have about why you would worry over this is not something that I understand. We're talking about a critical piece that withstands a huge amount of force to hold your whole setup together and keep your most precious cargo safe. It's not like we're talking about torquing down the toilet to the floor here.

For me, waffling over $85 on a torque wrench (we're not talking about a $600 SnapOn here) after spending $60k on a tow vehicle and trailer is a waste of time. If you think about it that way it's a pretty insignificant investment to get the piece of mind that your hitch is properly adjusted for your setup and torqued down to manufacturer specs. Plus you can adjust it in the future and check your torque before every season. It's not like you will only use it once. In fact, the first thing I did before I tore my Equalizer down was check how well the dealer torqued it. Surprise surprise, it was very under-torqued on several bolts. The wrench paid for itself right then. I've learned that relying on the "professionals" to take care of fairly simple procedures for you doesn't always work out so well.

[RVhiker]

Here's another thought about torque and lug nuts.

In 1970 I got a '51 Plymouth. At that time, it was a just a used car; today it would be a classic.

Trying to get one of the wheels off, the lug nuts just would not budge. I got a longer lug wrench, but could not budge them. I used a cheater for the lug wrench, still they would not budge. Frustration grew. But some brain cell finally fired in my young 20's brain with the thought "Left Hand Threads".

The lug nuts were so much easier to remove once I knew which way to turn them.

[Crabman]

Originally Posted by hang1here

Will someone tell me (fairly new here) how to start a new thread question? I've tried to find it in the 'click buttons' but have had no luck. Please be gentle...

Go to the forum main page. Find the appropriate forum you wish to post in, for example "Jayco travel trailers". Click on that forum. Click on "new thread" at top of page. Post away.......

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Point taken my friend.

I asked the original question because I truly don't know whether or not 300 lbs. of torque on the hitch bolts is crucial or if it's just a "tighten 'em up as tight as you can get 'em" thing. I have no trailering experience before this one and the last thing I want to have happen is a bolt shearing off or a nut backing out and seeing my trailer sliding down the road behind me - all because I didn't apply the right amount of torque. Owning a travel trailer is a learn-as-you-earn proposition, and if I don't disconnect the battery when the trailer is parked and it runs dead - . But if the trailer disconnects from my truck, well that's different. So please excuse my asking a dumb question once in a while.

As far as my getting butt-hurt goes, I apologize to you. It's me, not you - I really really really hate feeling stupid .

No apology needed here and there are no dumb questions. I get a little direct when after the first 6 or 7 people said go to a tire or auto shop and a few then wanted to get into the weeds on where to buy this wrench or that one. I think you had it figured out early on even though the jousting about wrenches continued from a few tool jocks. Keep the questions coming.

Welcome to the forum.

[Colorado]

Somewhere someone asked about Battery operated impact wrench’s

A couple things to consider before running out and buying an impact wrench.

1) Buy a quality brand do not buy cheap, there is no such thing as cheap in life. The tool will be built better, the batteries will last longer and the company will back the tool up if there’s ever a warranty issue.

2) Once you decide on a brand, buy all your battery operated tools from them. This will allow you to buy their bare tools (no batteries) rather than having to buy a kit (batteries)every time, it’s much cheaper in the long run .

3) For most people a quality 3/8” impact is MORE THAN ENOUGH to handle all your needs! They’ torque to the better side of 140 FT LBS, they’re lighter, take up less space and cheaper too!

4)NEVER, underestimate the power of these new battery operated impacts, you WILL REGRET IT…SERIOUSLY!!

5)Always, start all nuts/bolts with your fingers, then always start impact on the LOWEST SETTING.

6)Harbor Freight impact sockets and extensions are very good and cheap, cheap enough to buy an extra set and leave it in the truck. Make sure you buy both METRIC & SAE. I rattle can all the Metric sockets and wrenchs with fluorescent orange paint then a clear coat. Easier to identify the metric, and you won’t mix them up with your standards.

7)CL-has KILLER deals, Ebay (auctions), Amazon and box stores all have deals if you’re patient.

I have this kit, two batteries are more than enough run time to handle all your needs.

DEWALT DCF880HM2 20-volt MAX Lithium Ion 1/2-Inch Impact Wrench Kit with Hog Ring https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWFIKJA..._S0LABb9C231F4

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by KillerIsMe

Push comes to shove I have a friend with every tool known to man - hate to impose though.

If he is a true friend with all those tools you won't be imposing...

[KillerIsMe]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

If he is a true friend with all those tools you won't be imposing...

ALMOST every tool known to to man. He doesn’t own a torque wrench

I ended up buying a DeWalt high torque impact wrench on sale at a Lowe’s for $249. Somebody here suggested it and it was too good a deal to pass up. It’s a nut-saver.

As an aside, I’m going to go ahead and assume it’s Newburgh NY because of your camping map. I’ve been going through there a lot this summer. Our 12-year-old is a science nerd and we’ve been bringing her up to New England for marine biology camps- we live about 40 miles west of Scranton and travel out 84 through Connecticut. Right now I’m sitting in the Mystic Hampton with my dog waiting for my sentence to be up. Beautiful out 84 (wish it was paved though ) but those are some sizable hills. I too have a 6.2L Ford and we’re thinking about a Jay Flight 28BHBE or a 28BHS. Curious as to how your truck handles the mountains.

Side tracked

[Kurtomac]

My CURT 30,000lb 1 1/8” shank ball required 450ftlb of torque. I rented a 3/4” drive torque wrench from autozone and bought a 3/4” drive socket from sears and knocked it out. Wasn’t that hard to get that amount of torque when your wrench is over 3ft long