Battery powered Impact WRENCH or Impact DRIVER?

[ParkCountry]

I've been thinking of doing this for years, and this past weekend was the straw that broke the camel's back, sweating my butt off in 90F heat. Simply stated, I want to use a battery powered portable tool to raise and lower my Stabilizer Jacks. Do I need to purchase an Impact WRENCH or an Impact DRIVER? The tool also needs to do double-duty by being able to Remove and Install the LUG NUTS on my F-350 Super Duty, which have a torque spec of (what I've been able to glean from the internet) 145-150 ft-lbs of Torque. Also, should I get an 18VDC tool or a 20VDC tool? Any brand suggestions? Thanks in advance for your help!

[j-d]

Bobbo wrote:
This impact wrench is the one I use, but I have a lot of the tools that use that same battery and charger. It claims 300 ft-lbs of torque.

A fellow camper was using that RYOBI on trailer stabilizer jacks. Told me he actually bought it to use on his fleet of lawn service trucks and trailers. Said it does well on those (roughly 1/2" diameter) lug nuts.

I have a RYOBI Drill Motor, and a RYOBI Impact Driver. That Impact Driver won't do Lug Nuts. Not sure it'd do Stabilizer Jacks.

Since we have an onboard genset, I have a $49 Harbor Fright 120-VAC 1/2" impact wrench. Rated only 230-ft-lb but... With a HF Deep Impact (sounds like a movie title!) socket, it'll handle the lug nuts on our E450. The E-Series dually wheel nut spec is 140-ft-lb. Daughter has a DeWalt electric impact that looks like my HF one, and its rating is 345-ft-lb. Pretty strong tool.

If I had it to do again, just might go with the RYOBI. I have the circular saw along with Drill and Driver. I've been pleasantly surprised with their performance.

BUT BUT BUT!!! Don't store LiON Batteries in Extreme Temperatures! Daughter lost two RIDGID batteries in a cold garage in AK. I left my RYOBI in the sun for half an hour while I did some table saw work inside. Battery never worked again.

NEW PLAN: Wait'll Ryobi goes Brushless on that Impact... They've already gone from 200-ft-lb on P260 to 300 on P261, and P261 still has brushes. That Kobalt brushless is powerful, but I really don't want to buy into another tool/battery/charger system.

Unless... RIDGID!!! I'm seeing a RIDGID that looks like the Ryobi but $149 for Tool, 4A Battery, and Charger! Register w/HD for Lifetime Warranty INCLUDING Batteries... For THAT, I'd add a brand...

EXTRA WARNING: The old NiCd batteries are awful, compared to LiON, but they give a little warning when they run down. Not much, it's almost a level line, dropping off a little, then a lot. You might get a last "grunt" from the tool. NOT LiON. Those guys are On/Off. Doing good, then nothing. So the "fuel gauge" that's on some of them isn't a bad idea. A good idea? Always a second battery...

[schlep1967]

I am anti-impact for stabilizers.
I am a fan of Home-Depots Rigid tool line. You can get a good 18 Volt drill driver there and the best warrantee you will find. Lifetime on the drill and the batteries.
I could understand having a separate impact driver for removing lugs but I would caution against over torqueing them on install. Any mechanic worth anything will run the lugs on and then use a torque wrench to finish.

[Halmfamily]

Ahhh, there's nothing like the sound of impact wrenches echoing through the campground from fellow campers lowering their stabilizers. It's almost as serene as nails on a chalkboard.

Never seen the point for an impact wrench to do this, a good quality cordless drill will work fine and not rattle the campground.

Ok, I feel better

[fj12ryder]

You're going to have to spend some big bucks on a cordless impact to remove the lugnuts. And with any kind of luck you'll never have to use it. Pretty silly to spend a couple hundred bucks for something you'll use rarely, if at all. My 3/8" Dewalt 20v impact will not loosen the lugnuts on my Dodge dually. So you're looking at a good 1/2" impact, which will run you an easy $200-$300+. Save your money and just buy a 24" breaker bar with an extension and socket to fit your lug nuts. And a torque wrench to tighten the nuts to proper torque. FWIW I've never had to change any of my truck tires out on the road. At home I use my 1/2" drive air impact.

Then get a 12 volt cordless drill motor to raise and lower the stabilizers. IMO using any kind of impact driver is going to kill the stabilizer gearbox/mechanism.

[Tiger02]

jesseannie wrote:
I work at Lowes part-time in the tool dept. and if you are going to use it for wheel lug nuts I would consider the new Kobalt 24 volt impact wrench. BUT you need the highest amp battery in the lineup you may have to buy it separately but it is worth it.
This is a powerful tool.
Jesseannie

This is what I have, and use it regularly. Very powerful breaking torque for removing stubborn bolts, and makes removing wheels a breeze. I do use it to tighten lug nuts, but just a single squeeze that gets the nuts to around 80 ft/lbs then I tighten with a torque wrench to spec.

[azrving]

Use it to break them loose. Use a torque wrench and pattern to tighten

[kzspree320]

Well if you have ever had your tires rotated at a dealer/ shop you can forget about the torque ratings for the lug nuts. My experience is that they use impact wrenches and the torque is way more than spec. Often it is almost double spec. Lug nuts on my fiver are supposed to be torqued to 120 lbs. When I had a blowout one of the lug nuts was almost impossible to remove with the t lug wrench. I had to use almost all of my 230 lb weight to push down and all my strength to pull up on the other side. I will guaranty it was torqued to over 250. Point is, get way more than you think you need unless you do all your own tire changing with a torque wrench. Good luck.

[jesseannie]

I work at Lowes part-time in the tool dept. and if you are going to use it for wheel lug nuts I would consider the new Kobalt 24 volt impact wrench. BUT you need the highest amp battery in the lineup you may have to buy it separately but it is worth it.
This is a powerful tool.
Jesseannie

[kerrlakeRoo]

Since you have a specific torque setting for your truck you need to only verify the ability to reach that. I've got a Dewalt cordless 20 volt driver, but I've never tried to use it to torque or break the lug nuts, it's only a 1/4 inch drive. For Lugs I'd get a cordless torque wrench something with 1/2 " drive. Milwaukee and Dewalt both make them with about 220 ft lb capabilities.

[Bobbo]

This impact wrench is the one I use, but I have a lot of the tools that use that same battery and charger. It claims 300 ft-lbs of torque.

[B-goat]

I have yet to figure out why someone would want to use an impact on their stabilizers. A decent cordless drill will do the job just fine. If the stabilizers are so tight that one would need an impact, that person needs to do some maintenance on their stabilizers.

[azrving]

I just searched Makita and found this 325 ft lb. Now you got me wanting one. 🙂

OH WAIT! I found this monster. When the stabilizer reaches the end of it's travel it would just rip it right off the rig! lol

[azrving]

I use my Makita drill motor vs the Makita impact. I like the smoothness of the drill vs the slapping or hammering of the impact. Mine is 18 v and 12 years old with half of that time being used while wrenching daily. Makita is excellent. The batteries are just starting to fail now. I have thought about going from air powered 1/2 drive impact to an electric but my wheels are really the only thing I'd use it for or hopefully the only thing as I'm trying to ease the beating on my old body by limiting my wrenching.