Torque Wrench Advice, Please.

[Walt]

I have a 1/2" and 3/4" drive from Harbor Freight and feel they are good enought for lug and axles nuts. The 3/4" has a long handle for easier leverage than the 1/2". To each his own!!

[USA in a Chevrolet]

Originally Posted by Richard Miller

Sorry (USA IN A CHEVORLET) I do not post very often on any forum but I can't resist it right now. The Torque wrench from Lowes (KOBALT) is made in the USA!!! the one from Harbor Freight IS NOT. Just pick it up and you can tell the difference in quality.

I try to buy items made in the USA whenever possible. However, I use that torque wrench only a few times a year & it is not worth spending the money on the one made in the USA. Are you suggesting buying the Kobalt tool because of its quality or because it is made in the USA?

[Motor31]

Unless a tire has been changed there should be no reason to reset the torque on the wheels. If they were torqued properly before they should remain so even after storage. In the case of aluminum wheels with steel cone lug nuts the nuts tend to gall the wheels in contact with the nuts further reducing the chance of loosening them by sitting much less rolling down the road. It took far more than 150 lbs to remove the lugs when I changed tires the other year and again when I replaced a bent axle last year.

Talking to the dexter folks after we got the rig I asked about the torque procedure. Once the lugs have been torqued properly there was no reason to redo it without having removed the lugs first.

I also agree that the cheaper unit from harbor freight is adequate for the job. Unless you are going to use the torque wrench regularly getting one of the premier brands is simply a waste of money. It's your money though so spend it as you wish.

[terry and jo]

Beachgirl,

If I remember right, I think you were getting a 38-foot Mobile Suites. As such, you will have the 17.5" wheels. Ours is a 38TKSB3 so it has the same. I went with the Kobalt from Lowes at roughly $95. It is capable of up to 250 foot lbs of torque.

When I researched, I was told to purchase a torque wrench where the range of torque needed was in the middle of the range of the torque wrench. Since the wheel lugs on ours are rated at 125 ft lbs, I wanted a wrench that went up to 250 ft lbs and the Kobalt met that need. It was also a lot cheaper than the 250 ft lb wrench at Sears. Oddly enough, while the paperwork says it has a one year warranty, the box it came in says it is a lifetime warranty.

I looked at both Harbor Freight and Northern Tools and didn't like what I saw as options, even though they were cheaper. My philosophy is that a cheap tool is just that. As such, a cheap torque wrench may get out of calibration.

Your owner's manual gives a procedure for torquing after changing a tire. On ours, one first torques all nuts to 20 ft lbs, then back off the wrench to "0" then set to 80 ft lbs and torque all of them again. Then back off the wrench to "0" before setting it to 125 ft lbs and doing the final torque.

As for tire pressure monitoring systems, we have one called nVISION and I'm not too pleased with it. However, I know of quite a few RV'ers that have the Pressure Pro system and really like it. I haven't heard as much from those that have the TST system.

Good luck with your traveling.

Terry