information needed one of our trucks the wheelnuts came lose now my boss as told us we must torque all the nuts on the truck and trailer at the start every
shift is that right for a driver to do or is it down to a mechanic can you help me
If he’s prepared to provide you with a calibrated torque wrench and the appropriate training on how to use it then it sounds like a fair request to me.
Paul
Given the above seems a perfectly fair request.
But, this wouldn’t be to disguise the fact that the boss knows that the hub, studs, nuts or wheels on the affected vehicle are damaged and therefore the wheels are likely to come loose again would it?
cav551:
But, this wouldn’t be to disguise the fact that the boss knows that the hub, studs, nuts or wheels on the affected vehicle are damaged and therefore the wheels are likely to come loose again would it?
It sound to me that it’s more likely just a panic knee jerk reaction after having a problem on one vehicle that every vehicle should now be checked every shift.
My suggestion would be that he should invest in a set of the checkpoint arrow things that you put on the wheel nuts for every vehicle and just make it a driver’s responsibility to check they’re all pointing the right way at the start of each shift.
Paul
you should be checking your nuts on your walk round everyday as with tyres, lights, wheel arches etc etc. basically anything that has the chance to come lose and fall off should be checked daily.
lizard:
you should be checking your nuts on your walk round everyday as with tyres, lights, wheel arches etc etc. basically anything that has the chance to come lose and fall off should be checked daily.
Yes but when you say “checking your nuts” do you mean a quick visual check to ensure they’re all there and appear tight, or do you mean a full check of all 120 nuts (on a 6 axle artic) with a calibrated torque wrench, or something inbetween?
It’s all very well saying “check your nuts” but you need to qualify it for it to make any sense.
Paul
repton:
lizard:
you should be checking your nuts on your walk round everyday as with tyres, lights, wheel arches etc etc. basically anything that has the chance to come lose and fall off should be checked daily.Yes but when you say “checking your nuts” do you mean a quick visual check to ensure they’re all there and appear tight, or do you mean a full check of all 120 nuts (on a 6 axle artic) with a calibrated torque wrench, or something inbetween?
It’s all very well saying “check your nuts” but you need to qualify it for it to make any sense.
Paul
he wants a full check with a torue wrench i think the day is long as it is dont you
Torque 'em weekly or soon after a wheel/tyre change, torque 'em in a star configuration, doesn’t take very long.
repton:
lizard:
you should be checking your nuts on your walk round everyday as with tyres, lights, wheel arches etc etc. basically anything that has the chance to come lose and fall off should be checked daily.Yes but when you say “checking your nuts” do you mean a quick visual check to ensure they’re all there and appear tight, or do you mean a full check of all 120 nuts (on a 6 axle artic) with a calibrated torque wrench, or something inbetween?
It’s all very well saying “check your nuts” but you need to qualify it for it to make any sense.
Paul
visual check daily.
youll soon notice if there is a loose 1
If you torque your wheelnuts everyday, they will eventually snap 
There has been a lot of discussion and many many case studies done on it, but a knee jerk reaction is probably not the right way to do it. plastic tell tales and rusty marks are as good a drivers check as should be necessary.
ATS also offer a service that will allow the drivers to visit a tyre depot to have their nuts felt
We had a truck loose it wheel, luckily no one was hurt, next day all trucks had yellow markers fitted and ever friday ATS came in to torque up all the truck vosa give the company a VW, and we all had to do two vehicle checks a day. And we had to hand them in before we when out, it was good that it happend cos maintenance inproved. As there say something as to happen before anything get done.
Wheel Nut:
If you torque your wheelnuts everyday, they will eventually snapThere has been a lot of discussion and many many case studies done on it, but a knee jerk reaction is probably not the right way to do it. plastic tell tales and rusty marks are as good a drivers check as should be necessary.
ATS also offer a service that will allow the drivers to visit a tyre depot to have their nuts felt
thank you for the reply some thing i did,t tell you is that the trucks go out twice aday thats two drivers torque the wheels at 700n thats 7 days aweek what i need is
ats or ryder or any tyre firm to coment on this so i can print it out show my boss
michael mason:
Wheel Nut:
If you torque your wheelnuts everyday, they will eventually snapThere has been a lot of discussion and many many case studies done on it, but a knee jerk reaction is probably not the right way to do it. plastic tell tales and rusty marks are as good a drivers check as should be necessary.
ATS also offer a service that will allow the drivers to visit a tyre depot to have their nuts felt
thank you for the reply some thing i did,t tell you is that the trucks go out twice aday thats two drivers torque the wheels at 700n thats 7 days aweek what i need is
ats or ryder or any tyre firm to coment on this so i can print it out show my boss
Do a search on here for a respected operator called John English. He has been through it all with engineering reports, wheel manufacturers and truck manufacturers. If you can get him to point you in the right direction that may help. I know I contributed a little to the discussion, but didn’t have the original documents.
I personally see no problem with what you are being asked.
As long as the torque wrench is calibrated and you are trained accordingly. If the torque wrench is used correctly it will do no harm. If used like half the fitters I have seen - then wheel nut is correct the studs will probably snap. I would think you would trust you more than trust an ATS fitter etc
Beats me when they wack the nuts up with a 1" drive air gun on full pelt, then pull out the torque wrench, which clicks straight away because the nuts are already over tightened 
When will they learn. Wheel nuts should be tightened by hand - then torque wrench. Then re-torques after 30 minutes or 50kms or otherwise if stated by manufacturer
Loose wheel nuts are definitly very frowned upon by VOSA. A company I work with has 2 loose at MOT. They now have regular weekly VOSA site inspections and they go into the finest detail on paperwork etc. They only had to introduce yellow indicators and not a full torque check daily. I think your boss is over reacting
my boss fitted these nord-lock wheelnuts after a wheel nut slackening session at our place, not had any slacken since
There is a good Sigma PDF download here which I have linked to. If you can get your boss to read it, he may have solved half his problem. It is well written and gives the main reasons for wheel loss.
shep532:
I personally see no problem with what you are being asked.As long as the torque wrench is calibrated and you are trained accordingly. If the torque wrench is used correctly it will do no harm. If used like half the fitters I have seen - then wheel nut is correct the studs will probably snap. I would think you would trust you more than trust an ATS fitter etc
Beats me when they wack the nuts up with a 1" drive air gun on full pelt, then pull out the torque wrench, which clicks straight away because the nuts are already over tightened
A company I work with has 2 loose at MOT. They now have regular weekly VOSA site inspections and they go into the finest detail on paperwork etc. They only had to introduce yellow indicators and not a full torque check daily. I think your boss is over reacting
I hate it when the tyre fitters overtighten tem with the air gun too Shep, I like the nuts to move a little when the Torque wrench is put on them.
Getting back to the tread, I don’t think I’d be happy torquing wheel nuts daily, surely that’s over doing it. I walk round and lok at them to see if any of them are “working” but I only retorque when they’ve been off and the lorry’s done a few miles. I don’t even like the 30 minute retorque a lot of firms insist on these days. 
BB
If the wheel comes off it is classed as an absolute offence against the driver
so do you know they are tight or not ■■?
the choice is yours
my firm ,all the trucks carry wheelbraces this is not ideal but does help after tyre change on the road 
It shouldn’t be necessary to check the wheel nuts on a daily basis with a torque wrench.
The most sensible policy is for the wheel nuts to be torqued to the correct torque setting whenever a wheel is removed and refitted. Your company should have a retorque policy. This will be either 30 minutes after then wheel was initially torqued or once the vehicle has travelled 50 miles/80 km.
Some operators, mainly waste disposal company’s, have a policy of checking the wheel nuts with a torque wrench on a weekly basis. It has been accepted for sometime that these vehicles are more prone to wheel loss due to mud/dirt getting between the wheels.
For general haulage operations, so long as a proper retorque policy is in place, it shouldn’t be necessary for the wheel nuts to be checked other than on the 6 weekly inspection. Checkpoint wheel nut indicators are a good visual aid to the driver as part of his daily checks. Drivers should also look out for rust marks splaying out from the wheel nuts. Any wheel that comes loose on a regular basis will have an underlying issue such as stretched studs, elongated stud holes, dirt on the mating surface of the wheel or a mis-centred wheel.
Torquing the wheel on a daily basis is NOT rectifying the problem, just masking it.