โOct-24-2020 10:49 AM
โOct-27-2020 04:55 AM
โOct-26-2020 10:55 PM
โOct-26-2020 09:05 PM
Grit dog wrote:
what makes you need all this hardware for a little cargo trailer? Plan on pulling it with a Hyundai or something? Any newer midsize pickemup or full size SUV, or larger should have no issue with a trailer that size unless it's loaded all wrong.
โOct-26-2020 12:22 PM
dolfinwriter wrote:
After lining up all the bolts and checking them against the manual and kind of mock-up test fitting, they left off a 1-1/16" socket for the nylock nut on the 3/4" bolt and a 5/8" open end wrench for the square head frame bracket bolts. I could use a Crescent hammer for those, but adjustable wrench isn't listed either.
So thank you to BenK for mentioning the bolt hex head size vs. bolt diameter, because that prompted me to verify everything I need.
The 3/4" bolt hex head is 1-1/8", but the nylock nuts on those bolts are 1-1/16". Those 1-1/16" nylock nuts are the ones that need to be torqued to 380 ft-lbs.
The install instructions leave a bit to be desired. Maybe they're written "correctly" for the way engineers think and talk, but most people putting this together won't be engineers. And if you assume that a 3/4" bolt means both hex head and nylock nuts are 1-1/8", then you'd be wrong.
What amazes me is the most common response I have gotten is to take it to a semi or big rig maintenance facility and bother them to borrow a proper torque wrench for this. Is that really what most people who are doctors, lawyers, cybersecurity professionals, carpenters, electricians, teachers, bankers, police officers... do? I doubt most people even know where to find one.
Probably the second most common is some version of a "calibrated elbow" approach. I don't torque spec every single thing I work on that lists a torque spec, but torque specs exist to ensure that things are properly tightened, but at the same time not OVER-tightened. This seems like something where it is really important to get it right. One of the reviews of this was a user who winged it, and down the road it came loose. He was smart enough to be checking it at intervals, so he caught it and had tools to tighten it. But would it have come loose at all if he'd gotten the torque to spec to begin with?
So I bought a 3/4" breaker bar, a 3.4" torque adapter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GLITFW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1), and a 3/4" 6-pt impact rated socket set w/ratchet and extensions. It's costing me about as much as the proper rated torque wrench by itself, but I'll do this right and I'll have some versatile tools for future use.
โOct-26-2020 12:20 PM
carringb wrote:
You guys are over thinking this.
Just buy the appropriate length breaker bar so your body weight will generate the torque needed.
If you weigh 180 pounds. A 2 foot breaker bar will apply 360 foot pounds.
โOct-26-2020 08:05 AM
Durb wrote:Mike134 wrote:
I have no idea why the springs compressing would concern you.
To compress the springs that force must flow though the wrench, then the bolt after it stops turning at 380ft/lbs then the chassis. End result bolt is tightened to 380.
Doesn't work that way. If you extend that thinking just put the shank on the ground. When the fastener quits turning and the shank flops around you must be at 380 ft-lbs - wrong.
Simple test for doubters: Tighten the fastener without supporting the hitch. Then tighten again with the hitch supported to the same spec - the nut will move. How much will be determined by the stiffness of the truck's springs.
One of the first rules of proper torque wrench technique is to secure your work.
โOct-26-2020 01:26 AM
time2roll wrote:
Amazon has 3/4" 600# wrench for about $200.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08543L2DY/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B08543L2DY&pd_rd_w=sume4&pf_...
โOct-25-2020 06:37 PM
โOct-25-2020 06:12 PM
Mike134 wrote:
I have no idea why the springs compressing would concern you.
To compress the springs that force must flow though the wrench, then the bolt after it stops turning at 380ft/lbs then the chassis. End result bolt is tightened to 380.
โOct-25-2020 12:50 PM
โOct-25-2020 12:32 PM
Durb wrote:
Good decision. I hadn't realized digital in-line torque readers had become so inexpensive. They used to be a lot more expensive than a 3/4" torque wrench. Still make sure you support your work to the ground with a floor jack. Your torque reader will read 380 ft-lbs but the energy used to compress the truck's springs will not make it to tighten the fastener and you will be under torqued.
โOct-25-2020 11:07 AM
โOct-25-2020 09:51 AM
dolfinwriter wrote:
After lining up all the bolts and checking them against the manual and kind of mock-up test fitting, they left off a 1-1/16" socket for the nylock nut on the 3/4" bolt and a 5/8" open end wrench for the square head frame bracket bolts. I could use a Crescent hammer for those, but adjustable wrench isn't listed either.
So thank you to BenK for mentioning the bolt hex head size vs. bolt diameter, because that prompted me to verify everything I need.
The 3/4" bolt hex head is 1-1/8", but the nylock nuts on those bolts are 1-1/16". Those 1-1/16" nylock nuts are the ones that need to be torqued to 380 ft-lbs.
The install instructions leave a bit to be desired. Maybe they're written "correctly" for the way engineers think and talk, but most people putting this together won't be engineers. And if you assume that a 3/4" bolt means both hex head and nylock nuts are 1-1/8", then you'd be wrong.
What amazes me is the most common response I have gotten is to take it to a semi or big rig maintenance facility and bother them to borrow a proper torque wrench for this. Is that really what most people who are doctors, lawyers, cybersecurity professionals, carpenters, electricians, teachers, bankers, police officers... do? I doubt most people even know where to find one.
Probably the second most common is some version of a "calibrated elbow" approach. I don't torque spec every single thing I work on that lists a torque spec, but torque specs exist to ensure that things are properly tightened, but at the same time not OVER-tightened. This seems like something where it is really important to get it right. One of the reviews of this was a user who winged it, and down the road it came loose. He was smart enough to be checking it at intervals, so he caught it and had tools to tighten it. But would it have come loose at all if he'd gotten the torque to spec to begin with?
So I bought a 3/4" breaker bar, a 3.4" torque adapter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GLITFW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1), and a 3/4" 6-pt impact rated socket set w/ratchet and extensions. It's costing me about as much as the proper rated torque wrench by itself, but I'll do this right and I'll have some versatile tools for future use.
โOct-25-2020 09:35 AM
โOct-25-2020 08:15 AM