Tire/wheel change on the road

My 3500 lug nut spec is 140 ft-lbs. Nuts are easy to remove if torqued correctly to begin with. I use a Proto 6014 250 ft-lb torque wrench which is long so I use it to break the nuts and retorque correctly. Tire shops almost always over torque the fastener. Best when you get home from the shop is to loosen the fasteners and tighten correcty so you won't have issues on the road.

Sorry, I didn't bother to look up your suggested items.

I torque check them at home, but did not have the physical ability to break them loose with hand tools on the roadside.

LOL. I doubt you'll bust a lugnut loose with anything less than a 36v cordless impact.

jdc1 wrote:
LOL. I doubt you'll bust a lugnut loose with anything less than a 36v cordless impact.

The impact is a 1/2” drive with 500-600 ft lbs. It’ll break loose wheel lugs no problem.

I'd be carrying the correct size 3/4 socket with a long breaker bar. Even the ones on my 1500 can be a bear to loosen at 130 ft/lb with a short bar.

"Last time I had a flat I couldn’t break the lug nuts loose."

Get a breaker bar with a longer handle. It won't have a battery issue when you need it most.

If, as Old-Biscuit says, this is a 1/2" drive impact wrench and not just an impact screwdriver, it ought to get the lug nuts loose pretty readily provided they were properly torqued when the wheels were put on (and have not sat for years getting seized in place).

That being said, my tool of choice for my motorhome (which uses 140 ft-lb lug nuts) is one of the inexpensive 25" Harbor Freight breaker bars with the appropriate socket and, for the dually rear wheels, a 1/2" socket extension. I've never had any trouble breaking them loose with that, and it's a lot cheaper than an impact wrench and never needs recharging.

If a long breaker bar won’t remove a lug nut, something is seriously wrong. Never needs charging, takes up almost no space under the seat and it’s $300 or more cheaper. I can put around 5 times the torque spec for the lug on my breaker bar easily.

Grit dog wrote:

jdc1 wrote:
LOL. I doubt you'll bust a lugnut loose with anything less than a 36v cordless impact.

The impact is a 1/2” drive with 500-600 ft lbs. It’ll break loose wheel lugs no problem.

That's amazing. 700ftlbs.

DrewE wrote:


That being said, my tool of choice for my motorhome (which uses 140 ft-lb lug nuts) is one of the inexpensive 25" Harbor Freight breaker bars with the appropriate socket and, for the dually rear wheels, a 1/2" socket extension. I've never had any trouble breaking them loose with that, and it's a lot cheaper than an impact wrench and never needs recharging.

Exactly what I went out and purchased after that incident. Problem is I am getting older and not as coordinated!!!