Squeaky Fastguns

The squeak comes from the square nut and spring that the bottom rod screws into moving up and down inside the square outer housing. Over time the nut wears a spot inside the housing and in high humidity areas it starts to rust. Much like the rotors on disc brakes. If you encounter very dusty conditions, I would recommend taking them apart annually and cleaning the inside out and putting a small amount of grease on the square nut and spring before re-assembly.

Butch50, I had a loud squeak develop about 10 years ago with some Happijac tie downs. Same solution, unscrewing the threaded rod and putting in a couple of squirts of oil. One lube was all it took as I used them for another 3 or 4 years before switching to the TLs.

Bob, that was a great post above. Hugely informative. Thanks for that.

Your camper must be built like a tank

You stay well too and have a great summer.

joe b. wrote:
I am real curious as to what causes the squeaks. Anyone ever cut one of the damaged ones apart to see? On the broken one, it looks to be stainless on stainless, normally a somewhat brittle metal.

This trip we are running a new set of Fastguns on the front tie downs of our Lance Chevy combo. We have been on the road for about a month now and these new Fastguns so far are problem free. .haven't had to adjust them a single time. These are the models with the new handle on them, similar to the handle used on the older Derringers. I am doing a product evaluation on the new Fastguns for Torklift International on this summers trip.

My Fastguns are still functioning the way they should, I have not had to adjust them but I have been on so many fine dirt roads on this trip that I just think they got dry and dusty. I have added some 3 in 1 oil and they are hanging on the camper upside down so the oil can run down into them. I'll be loading up again tomorrow so I well see how they are doing, I'm sure they are fine and when I get hom3e I'll take the caps off and tear them apart and really clean them up. Then I'm going to add slip plate to them, which is a dry graphite lub. The stuff works great and does not attract dirt.

covered wagon wrote:
I don't think the break we are looking at started from rust because the fast guns are made of stainless steel so don't rust.

Anyone ever ask TL what the breaking strength is on those fast guns?

I know that Tork Lift is a very great company, they might tell what their tests showed.

Howdy, im not sure about the hook on that particular FG. Being that the hook broke and not the tie-down on the camper, i was thinking it was a weakness in the hook somehow.
AS "wnjj" said , it does look like a hollow void (cavity) in the metal if that's possible, it may have been because it does seem to be something missing . Maybe the tie-down hole was wearing the at the SS hook, im not sure. If my wife's dad was still here i would ask him.
I didn't notice that it was wearing as i would taken action to prevent a break. I remove that FG all the time to access my fuel fill door. Im always removing that hook and looking at it and didnt notice anything. Im constantly checking this n that to see if something is rusted so it doesnt fall off and crash thru someone's windshield.
I thought the same as you, that ss doesn't rust, until my German FIL ( tool n die maker, Sklar surgical instruments ) abrubptly informed me that there is different ss quality,which i never knew.:S I know this because he made me write it 100x and have my mother sign it.
I have since learned it is also possible for stainless steel to corrode (rust). There are over 150 grades of stainless steel and some are more prone to corrosion than others. Generally, the higher the chromium content, the less likely the steel will rust. However, over time, rust can and will develop on stainless steel. To prevent stainless steel from rusting, you need to passivate it. Passivating stainless steel is a process that allows stainless steel to retain its corrosion resistance.
process,passivate ss


As you said, TL is a VG company. When i called to find out if i could purchase the hook and put it on myself, they said, send a photo of the broken FG and a few days later , a complete new FG was on my truck. They were not interested in shipping the broken one. They were as surprised as i was that a hook snapped. I felt like i should have replaced my camper brand decal with a Hercules decal. That was a happy ending to a "Snap" that was so loud i thought i ripped the entire tie-down off. :E I was relieved to find that it was just a snapped hook and nothing more serious.

Be well my friend,stay safe , Bob .

I am real curious as to what causes the squeaks. Anyone ever cut one of the damaged ones apart to see? On the broken one, it looks to be stainless on stainless, normally a somewhat brittle metal.

This trip we are running a new set of Fastguns on the front tie downs of our Lance Chevy combo. We have been on the road for about a month now and these new Fastguns so far are problem free. .haven't had to adjust them a single time. These are the models with the new handle on them, similar to the handle used on the older Derringers. I am doing a product evaluation on the new Fastguns for Torklift International on this summers trip.

I don't think the break we are looking at started from rust because the fast guns are made of stainless steel so don't rust.

Anyone ever ask TL what the breaking strength is on those fast guns?

I know that Tork Lift is a very great company, they might tell what their tests showed.

Shhhh don't tell anyone we're suppose to be hiding up here :B Should work good it did for me and the travel partners also.

Flyfisher86 wrote:
Butch I turned mine upside down and poured a little marvel mystery oil down into it, took care of the squeak. You could also use some 3 in 1 oil something lite and does not need a lot of the oil to rid the squeak

Thanks for the hint, this is what I tried. Hey didn't I just see you a few days back :B

We have the TC unloaded in Anchorage so I got some 3 in 1 oil and put it on the screw section and hung the fastgun upside down from the camper to let it run down the screw. I only added a little and think I'll add a little more in the morning to see if this well take care of it.

Thanks for the ideas.