Lug nut torque specs?

CavemanCharlie wrote:


Ha Ha,, are you so sure the bearings in your passenger vehicle are made so much better ? I had a 2004 Chevy pickup and the front wheel bearing went bad at 80000 miles. I could not service just the bearing and had to purchase the whole assembly new for like 300 dollars.

Yes, I am sure. I've had trailer bearings go bad almost immediately because of defective manufacturing. I only replaced two passenger vehicle wheel bearings, in well over a half century, and that was because of bad service during a PA State Inspection.

GrandpaKip wrote:
I use a torque wrench after replacing a tire. I do check periodically, but not every 300 miles. Never had to tighten the nuts. Nobody says to do this on vehicles that I ever noticed. So what’s the deal? Is there something different about trailer lug nuts that can make them come loose?

The biggest difference is the truck will give an early warning.
Trailer warning is when the wheel passes you.

Lynnmor wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
I use a torque wrench after replacing a tire. I do check periodically, but not every 300 miles. Never had to tighten the nuts. Nobody says to do this on vehicles that I ever noticed. So what’s the deal? Is there something different about trailer lug nuts that can make them come loose?

Trailer lug nuts center the wheel and take all the load. Most other vehicles have a center hole that precisely fits the axle. Trailer wheels have a painted or clear coat finish that will displace as the lug nuts bear on that soft material. Most of the loosening will take place when the trailer is first used.

Trailers have cheap Chinese bearings and components, so one cannot compare them with passenger vehicles.

Ha Ha,, are you so sure the bearings in your passenger vehicle are made so much better ? I had a 2004 Chevy pickup and the front wheel bearing went bad at 80000 miles. I could not service just the bearing and had to purchase the whole assembly new for like 300 dollars.

I have noticed that after changing tires, checking brakes or any time I have to remove a wheel, the lug nuts do loosen a bit the next time we take it out.

They are not sloppy but most will need to be snugged up to the manufacturer's recommended 95 lbs. After that they seem to stay tight.

Diameter and grade, bolt and lubricant, threads clean or corroded make a difference. I worked on airplanes and you had to use a dial torque wrench and it had to be recertified every year. My trailer has US made Timken bearings not cheap Chinese.

GrandpaKip wrote:
I use a torque wrench after replacing a tire. I do check periodically, but not every 300 miles. Never had to tighten the nuts. Nobody says to do this on vehicles that I ever noticed. So what’s the deal? Is there something different about trailer lug nuts that can make them come loose?

Trailer lug nuts center the wheel and take all the load. Most other vehicles have a center hole that precisely fits the axle. Trailer wheels have a painted or clear coat finish that will displace as the lug nuts bear on that soft material. Most of the loosening will take place when the trailer is first used.

Trailers have cheap Chinese bearings and components, so one cannot compare them with passenger vehicles.

GrandpaKip wrote:
I use a torque wrench after replacing a tire. I do check periodically, but not every 300 miles. Never had to tighten the nuts. Nobody says to do this on vehicles that I ever noticed. So what’s the deal? Is there something different about trailer lug nuts that can make them come loose?

I'm wondering if alloy wheels are more likely to need re-torquing. All our vehicles have them now and all have needed re-torquing after 50-100 miles. I never had that happen with steel wheels.

GrandpaKip wrote:
I use a torque wrench after replacing a tire. I do check periodically, but not every 300 miles. Never had to tighten the nuts. Nobody says to do this on vehicles that I ever noticed. So what’s the deal? Is there something different about trailer lug nuts that can make them come loose?

There isn't.

Oh you will find blue noses on this forum that want to talk about side thrust in turns and all of that; bla, bla, bla.

Same way with checking bearings. I always ask people if they "gun" their TV bearings like they do with their TT bearing when they get out on a stop. Most say no; and I ask why not? Silence and blinking eyes is about all I get after that.

I use a torque wrench after replacing a tire. I do check periodically, but not every 300 miles. Never had to tighten the nuts. Nobody says to do this on vehicles that I ever noticed. So what’s the deal? Is there something different about trailer lug nuts that can make them come loose?

As nobby points out, many torque wrenches use a spring to set the torque value. A spring under constant tension can lose some of its spring force. This would make the wrench reading inaccurate.

By taking the tension off the spring between uses, we tension the spring only when necessary.

Change of spring tension over time, is one of the reasons many spring scales have a zero-set knob.