Gembo:
scotstrucker:
i have to torque check the wheel nuts on my truck and trailer once a week even though there is wheel nut indicators fitted.What a load of bollox, theyre gettin you at it!
getting me at what exactly? just because my boss wants the wheels torque checked once a week is’nt a very hard thing to do and after all he pays me too do it.
well after yesterday i will start checking the torques on my wheels once a week, did visual check in morning and drove about 80 miles, tipped and reloaded, was out by the wheels on the trailer strapping down and didn’t notice anything wrong, drove another 20 miles and i have a rear wheel on a tri axel with 2 missing studs (snapped off) a completely knackard wheel and hub. looked at the wheel after it was removed and on the position of the 2 snapped studs there is NO wear to the rim, the rest were worn where the nuts had tried to eat their way through the wheel. 
We are asked to go to ats once a month to get ours checked ( we can book an hours pay). A couple have lost wheels but some have found the wheels have been over torqued and the studs were elongated…
It also seems to be the rear double wheels that work loose sooner and cause problems if not checked…
Seems like this gaffer had it in for you no matter what, you may not have fitted his idea of the drivers they hire, it happens, I had a case of this, one gaffer thought I was too laid back because I didn’t touch my forelock everytime he went into a rant, it must have irritated him to the point where he had to make up stuff to get rid of me, he’s dead now from a heart attack and I’m still around! It does bother you at the time but move on to hopefully something better. You likely won’t win and is it worth the hassle and even expense, in the good old days it was regarded better to give them a smack at least you got some satisfaction from getting the sack. Franky.
Frankydobo:
in the good old days it was regarded better to give them a smack at least you got some satisfaction from getting the sack…
I would have been happy with that…but being the kind of person he is i’d have been spending the night at the local plod station. Just found out today he’s handed his notice in, so now when I find a job I half expect to find him there!
Frankydobo:
This VOSA thing with the straps doesn’t seem to be a regulation as yet and infact its been more like a rumour unless someone has proof it has been brought in Nationwide with an amendment to the Regs.
There isn’t a change to any regs - the LAWS governing load security and whether a driver is operating a vehicles in a dangerous condition have been in existance for years.
The only change is that VOSA have issued some guidlines to their staff as to how to deal with load security issues. They have also launched a load security campaign as from 1st May and there have been a fair few posts on here about that.
As for the OP mentioning internal straps … in most cases these cannot be considered to be load restraint. They usually have no load bearing capacity at all and are actually load containment - not restraint. Obviously you need an employer that provides you with the equipment you need to secure the load.
My advice to anyone not given the equipment - if pulled by VOSA tell them the truth. You asked but didn’t get and have done the best you could. I’m sure VOSAs subsequent visit to the Operator or issue of a GV9 will make the equipment magically appear.
On the question of checking wheel nuts. Using a Torque Wrench is fine if it is available at all times and the correct info is known for the particular vehicle, different wheel sizes, nut sizes and wheel materials all have different settings, the user must also be shown how to set and use the wrench, they are marked with different scales, putting a setting for 500 Newton Metres onto the Ibs ft scale or visa versa would have a marked effect to the tightness of a wheel nut.
This should be left to the workshops and all the driver should do is a daily visual check or a tap check. Once all drivers changed wheels and carried the wheel braces etc to do the job but still some over tightened or under tightened wheel nuts with the resulting problems. Not everyone is mechanically minded or handed, I used to hate my Father helping me when working on the car, he overtightened everything and sometimes snapped bolts. When a wheel is changed the nuts should be run up in opposite sequance, below the torque setting, then set using the wrench. After a run when the wheel has heated up and cooled again the nuts can be checked again, usually there is no movement but sometimes a slight further tightening is made.
Tyre fitters can run nuts up way beyond the setting using their van compressor run windy guns and checking after with a set torque wrench will get Ten nice clicks of the wrench, however those nuts could all be at different higher settings which could later result in problems. Companies should ensure the tyre people they use or even their own workshop staff tighten the wheel nuts in the proper manner, this responsibility shouldn’t really lie with the driver thesedays, after all a company wouldn’t expect a driver to change say a head gasket or worn clutch. There are people trained to do these things.
Frankydobo:
This should be left to the workshops and all the driver should do is a daily visual check or a tap check.
Frankydobo:
this responsibility shouldn’t really lie with the driver thesedays, after all a company wouldn’t expect a driver to change say a head gasket or worn clutch. There are people trained to do these things.
My point entirely. I agree.
Gembo:
Frankydobo:
This should be left to the workshops and all the driver should do is a daily visual check or a tap check.Frankydobo:
this responsibility shouldn’t really lie with the driver thesedays, after all a company wouldn’t expect a driver to change say a head gasket or worn clutch. There are people trained to do these things.My point entirely. I agree.
i dont agree at all, if a driver is incapable of securing the load or the wheels you might as well train a chimp to sit behind the wheel
Moose:
Gembo:
Frankydobo:
This should be left to the workshops and all the driver should do is a daily visual check or a tap check.Frankydobo:
this responsibility shouldn’t really lie with the driver thesedays, after all a company wouldn’t expect a driver to change say a head gasket or worn clutch. There are people trained to do these things.My point entirely. I agree.
i dont agree at all, if a driver is incapable of securing the load or the wheels you might as well train a chimp to sit behind the wheel
Right then, every driver here is to go into his TM’s office first thing monday morning and ask them to buy a half dozern Nor-bar torque wrenches and associated sockets at about 500 quid a pop!
What a great idea
I wonder what the answer will be
Never heard so much crap in all my life!
Securing a load is a drivers bread and butter, visualy checking his vehicle for safety items including wheel nuts for any slack or broken nuts/studs, yes, but not wheel changing thesedays when specific settings and tools are required along with knowledge of how and why he’s doing it, unless companies are prepared to spend time and money to train correctly. A driver would feel agrieved if he got the blame for an exhaust falling off or a fuel tank strap but when a wheel becomes lose or comes off he’s immediately put on the rack.
Frankydobo:
On the question of checking wheel nuts. Using a Torque Wrench is fine if it is available at all times and the correct info is known for the particular vehicle, different wheel sizes, nut sizes and wheel materials all have different settings, the user must also be shown how to set and use the wrench, they are marked with different scales, putting a setting for 500 Newton Metres onto the Ibs ft scale or visa versa would have a marked effect to the tightness of a wheel nut.This should be left to the workshops and all the driver should do is a daily visual check or a tap check. Once all drivers changed wheels and carried the wheel braces etc to do the job but still some over tightened or under tightened wheel nuts with the resulting problems. Not everyone is mechanically minded or handed, I used to hate my Father helping me when working on the car, he overtightened everything and sometimes snapped bolts. When a wheel is changed the nuts should be run up in opposite sequance, below the torque setting, then set using the wrench. After a run when the wheel has heated up and cooled again the nuts can be checked again, usually there is no movement but sometimes a slight further tightening is made.
Tyre fitters can run nuts up way beyond the setting using their van compressor run windy guns and checking after with a set torque wrench will get Ten nice clicks of the wrench, however those nuts could all be at different higher settings which could later result in problems. Companies should ensure the tyre people they use or even their own workshop staff tighten the wheel nuts in the proper manner, this responsibility shouldn’t really lie with the driver thesedays, after all a company wouldn’t expect a driver to change say a head gasket or worn clutch. There are people trained to do these things.
+1 perfect answer.
If a wheel is correctly fitted in the first place and then re-torqued within 30 minutes or 50km followed by correct checks by the driver there shouldn’t be a problem.
I have investigated wheel loss before and in all instances it should have been spotted by the driver. This by no means it was the drivers fault - it wasn’t - but had they been a bit more diligent (and better trained) they would have seen it coming.
The main issues lie in the fitting of the wheels. Tyre fitters aren’t all correctly trained and to some ‘banging it up’ with the air gun is better than a torque wrench … some believe in two settings. TIGHT and F*****G TIGHT.
A company needs to have a proper wheel control system in place. All removals documented, re-torque procedures and a full audit trail of who did what. Add to this good training for the driver, what to look for, how to check etc and it should be a fool proof system.