locking wheel nuts (1 Viewer)

[LuckyLuke]

Steel wheels (16") on an a class burstner - anyone else with non alloy wheels bothered with locking wheel nuts?

 

[EX51SSS]

Tbf, it was one of the first things I bought for my Moho. Just keep the 'key' nut safe.

 

[Mel]

Yes I did
If someone wants a spare wheel & tyre they wont care if its steel or alloy

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[DavidG58]

funny enough I was having exactly that thought on my way home from Norway, we have E + P jacks which if the ground is a long way out of true can mean that one or sometimes 2 wheels are left dangling, an easy steal for someone, especially if not on a site, I hadn't really thought of the person in need but will now reconsider even though we only have steel wheels

TBH though the trims are expensive enough and we have never lost one of them

 

[Lenny HB]

Whats the point anyone intent on sealing a wheel will get a locking wheel nut off in seconds they are very insecure.

 

[Xabia]

You need to be careful with locking wheel nuts, I used to leave a note in the vehicle when it went for service asking the mechanic not to use the air gun on the key as it damaged the interior mechanism. Unfortunately this was totally ignored and when it went back to the same Fiat Professional dealer in Lincoln a year later they couldn’t remove the wheels without great difficulty. One of the locks they couldn’t remove and had to send the motorhome to a specialist for removal. They then tried to charge me for the work as you can imagine I refused to pay!

Had a puncture occurred in the middle of France or Spain I would have been in real trouble so I now run my alloys without a wheel nut lock.

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[tacr2man]

Locking wheel nuts are for the most part a waste of time , you can buy the removal tools the professionals use on ebay , as used by RAC etc . The only people they cause problems for are the vehicle owners , as posted above .

 

[LuckyLuke]

I agree re the professional tools - those that are nicking them for onward sale, whether a steel or alloy will use the kit and locking wheel nuts add 20 seconds to the theft, if that.

However, I guess locking wheel nuts would deter an opportunist / amateur thief who wanted a wheel / tyre to replace their worn or punctured tyres on their own van...

 

[Two on Tour]

Whats the point anyone intent on sealing a wheel will get a locking wheel nut off in seconds they are very insecure.

I agree on the whole a lot are, but I would have liked to see you try and get the locking wheel nuts (spinning outer type) off my Nissan Navara when I mislaid the key.
Having been in the motor trade I tried all the normal removal tools and tricks in the book to no avail.
I had to call out a local mobile tyre fitter with a specialist tool that has a soft-ish metal insert that is hammered into the locking wheel nut to take on the key pattern which is then fitted into the removal tool.
I have again put the new key in a safe place I did the last one.

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[GAVLAD]

I have steel wheels with original Fiat wheel trims and I have fitted locking wheel nuts.
The way that I see it is that I can't afford to replace the trims or the wheels with new fitted tyres on.
Not that wheels have been taken (yet) I wouldn't want to turn up at storage to find it missing trims or on bricks, so any deterrent is good in my view.

 

[pappajohn]

When I sold my caravan to a local buyer I forgot to give them the wheel nut 'socket' so he rang next morning asking if I had it (them, a matched pair)
I told him I would drop them off that afternoon.
When I got there the wheels were off.
He had made a tool from an old socket, a 3/4" length of steel bar and 3 short lengths of stainless rod.
he showed me how he did it and said it took him less than 1/2 hour to make.
Obviously impractical if your going to steal someone's wheel but you don't need specialist companies if you lose the tool....unless you have the ones with the endless wavy slot around the circumference, then you ARE stuffed.

 

[Two on Tour]

unless you have the ones with the endless wavy slot around the circumference, then you ARE stuffed.

As were mine hence requiring specialist equipment to remove them and it was a fairly price exercise to boot.

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[mushy]

In 50 years of driving I have had the whole vehicle stolen a few times but never had the wheels taken off.

 

[pappajohn]

In 50 years of driving I have had the whole vehicle stolen a few times but never had the wheels taken off.

Hard to sell a car without wheels, but easy to sell wheels without the car.
They obviously didn't steal the cars for the wheels.

 

[pappajohn]

Wonder if a larger version of this would undo locker nuts.

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[two]

In 50 years of driving I have had the whole vehicle stolen a few times but never had the wheels taken off.

I have had the alloy wheels stolen from one of my cars, even though they had locking wheel nuts. It seems that they are no deterrent to a determined thief.
As far as motorhomes are concerned, I've not heard of someone having a wheel stolen. Perhaps the risk is much reduced for that size wheel?

 

[TheBig1]

the spare wheel is much easier to steal

 

[LuckyLuke]

Wheels and wheelcovers now engraved with registration number; if they are nicked they are now virtually worthless and may be all the police need to link the theives back to the crime...

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[joka250]

Wonder if a larger version of this would undo locker nuts.View attachment 190963

Larger versions are available and would certainly fit some types o locking nuts/studs. I would imagine that the torque required to undo bolts/nuts would defeat this tool.