Well this is a good introduction to motorhoming

Joined
Aug 24, 2022
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Location
South Killingholme, Lincolnshire.
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90,861
MH
Autocruise Gleneagle
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I'm a newbie had a wobbly box when adam was a lad
Well picked up the van last Wednesday, Sunday noticed one of my tyres was a bit flat o_O 25lbs so pumped it up and took it to my local tyre shop they do HGV's btw could only get 2 of the 5 bolts off they're that tight luckily found a garage with an induction kit fingers crossed.
 
Probably tightened with a impact gun and not a torque wrench.
Kwik fit favourite tool and some other garages who can’t be arsed.
 
Oh, I know why wouldn't go near Kwik fit even if desperate, but these guys deal with 40-ton waggons, admittedly they feared they might break something so threw in the towel
 
Oh, I know why wouldn't go near Kwik fit even if desperate, but these guys deal with 40-ton waggons, admittedly they feared they might break something so threw in the towel

A young, know everything, someone burrowed my 960lbs torque impact gun a few weeks ago and did just that to his car.
Thank goodness I had warned him, in front of his grandfather, before he started, it cost him more than it would if he had had them fitted!
 
I took my Vw T25 in for new tyres a few years ago. The tyre place ( thats all they did) couldn't remove 4 studs off one wheel ( held on with 5) they broke 2 sockets, broke an extension bar and ruined an air gun and said i had a big problem as they must all have been refitted previously and cross threaded.



I drove it home, used an Aldi breaker bar, an old Halfords socket and a 4' pole. Had them all undone in 5 minutes and was back at the tyre place within 15 minutes.



It was the last time i took anything there.

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Similar experience. Quik Fit gave up after claiming they had destroyed tools, including borrowed ones. Ended up having a big bar welded to the bolts to get them off.
 
Probably tightened with a impact gun and not a torque wrench.
Kwik fit favourite tool and some other garages who can’t be arsed.
Impact guns have an adjustment. And also an operator who should know better than to just keep banging it away! I was a mechanic for 50 years (own business mostly and retired now) and have always used impact guns. When checking wheel bolts/nuts with a torque wrench after, they have always been so close to correct as to not need adjustment. Saying that, I used to have a customer with VW transporter and alloys. Even though the wheel bolts were ALWAYS checked and final tightened with torque wrench, next time the wheels were removed the bolts were solid!!

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Reminds me of times past when I was a student in South Africa in the early 70's and I had a VW Beetle. A friend and I did a summer vacation tour of South West Africa and we got a puncture on a very very remote gravel road. We struggled for hours to try and get the wheel nuts off with the cross brace provided and the few tools that I had. The cross brace ended up very bent and those nuts had not shifted at all. Out of sheer desperation (and after not a single car had past us by) I noticed that one of the supports of the roadside barbed wire fence was a tube rather than an angle iron. After an awful lot of wiggling and a few choice words the farmers fence was one support short. Luckily the 4ft pole just fitted over the already bent cross brace and the extra leverage just managed to release those 5 nuts, one after the other!! Took us most of the day to change that wheel but man, were we ever grateful for that farmers mismatched fence pole!!!
 
Reminds me of times past when I was a student in South Africa in the early 70's and I had a VW Beetle. A friend and I did a summer vacation tour of South West Africa and we got a puncture on a very very remote gravel road. We struggled for hours to try and get the wheel nuts off with the cross brace provided and the few tools that I had. The cross brace ended up very bent and those nuts had not shifted at all. Out of sheer desperation (and after not a single car had past us by) I noticed that one of the supports of the roadside barbed wire fence was a tube rather than an angle iron. After an awful lot of wiggling and a few choice words the farmers fence was one support short. Luckily the 4ft pole just fitted over the already bent cross brace and the extra leverage just managed to release those 5 nuts, one after the other!! Took us most of the day to change that wheel but man, were we ever grateful for that farmers mismatched fence pole!!!
I hope you put it back,
having the farmers livestock wandering about would hardly have been a way of showing your appreciation to him? :unsure:
 
I hope you put it back,
having the farmers livestock wandering about would hardly have been a way of showing your appreciation to him? :unsure:
As best as possible . We didn't have a mallet . It was a rickety fence anyway as most of those fences were!!
 
I'm reassured by all this that the bolts holding the wheel on are as tough as they need to be. I'm surprised none of them sheared.
 
I hope you put it back,
having the farmers livestock wandering about would hardly have been a way of showing your appreciation to him? :unsure:
Oh ye of little faith…

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I used to run an LDV Convoy as a mobile workshop. Heavyweight vehicle with an onboard compressor and generator under the floor (ex gas board) it ran twins on the back axle. The provided wheelbrace was pathetic, and was always augmented by a 4ft scaffold pole. When tight, the pole and wheel brace were re-positioned horizontally, and I stood on the end of the pole and bounced up and down until the nuts squeeked, at that point, they were tight. Never had a problem.
 
All sorted took it to these guys AS Motors Ltd in Humberston, Grimsby they do MOTs servicing repairs so there on my go to list they do loads of motorhomes.
That is very useful information - at the moment I have to go to Mercedes truck and van for MOT as I couldn’t find anyone to MOT a +5 tonne van

Edit: I remember seeing them - almost opposite Screwfix. Don’t think they have a pit though
 
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Oh ye of little faith…

Yes, SADLY, I have got very cynical in my old age and seen too many gates not closed properly after walker have passed through them.

It's no fun when the policeman calls late on a cold wet night and tells you that your wandering cattle has caused a serious accident to a motorcyclist.
How does one prove that the gate was chained properly the last time you used it? :mad:
 
Earlier this year, before a month’s trip to Portugal, I decided to change the tyres front to back. I’m glad I did.
The ‘van was only 18 months old, with alloy wheels. The bolts all came out OK, but 3 of the 4 wheels were ‘welded’ onto the hubs, totally seized on. This is a common condition with alloy wheels that aren’t lubricated onto the hub when fitted, (in a hurry, like, say an Italian van factory!). When you have dissimilar metals in close proximity, with moisture present, they corrode together; be warned!!
After much thumping with a lump hammer (and a large block of wood) on the inside faces, they eventually relinquished their grip. The corrosion around the central shoulder was considerable,(18 months old!).
I cleaned everything up and applied copper ease around the mating surfaces, so next time it won’t be such a struggle.
 
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Well picked up the van last Wednesday, Sunday noticed one of my tyres was a bit flat o_O 25lbs so pumped it up and took it to my local tyre shop they do HGV's btw could only get 2 of the 5 bolts off they're that tight luckily found a garage with an induction kit fingers crossed.
Had to take one of my wheels off for the first time the other week, the plastic wheel trim that is held on by the wheel bolts was covering the valve so I couldn't check pressure, anyway needed a long pole and my not inconsiderable body weight to shift them.

I always torque the wheel nuts on my car but what are the torque settings for a MH?

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I used to run an LDV Convoy as a mobile workshop. Heavyweight vehicle with an onboard compressor and generator under the floor (ex gas board) it ran twins on the back axle. The provided wheelbrace was pathetic, and was always augmented by a 4ft scaffold pole. When tight, the pole and wheel brace were re-positioned horizontally, and I stood on the end of the pole and bounced up and down until the nuts squeeked, at that point, they were tight. Never had a problem.

When I had my trucking company, I bought a heavy-duty L shaped wheel nut remover, it has two interchangeable ends,
one for Transits, the other for larger trucks.
Scaffold poles fitted snugly over the ends. They are still in my garage and for sale if anyone wants to make me a reasonable offer. :giggle:
 
Earlier this year, before a month’s trip to Portugal, I decided to change the tyres front to back. I’m glad I did.
The ‘van was only 18 months old, with alloy wheels. The bolts all came out OK, but 3 of the 4 wheels were ‘welded’ onto the hubs, totally seized on. This is a common condition with alloy wheels that aren’t lubricated onto the hub when fitted, (in a hurry, like, say an Italian van factory!). When you have dissimilar metals in close proximity, with moisture present, they corrode together.
After much thumping with a lump hammer (and a large block of wood) on the inside faces, they eventually relinquished their grip. The corrosion around the central shoulder was considerable,(18 months old!).
I cleaned everything up and applied copper ease around the mating surfaces, so next time it won’t be such a struggle.
I was told that copper ease should never be used as it gives an incorrect torque, A little clean oil is sufficient.:unsure:
 
That is very useful information - at the moment I have to go to Mercedes truck and van for MOT as I couldn’t find anyone to MOT a +5 tonne van

Edit: I remember seeing them - almost opposite Screwfix. Don’t think they have a pit though
That's the place (y)
 
Hi Folks, I have been around cars and trucks all my life. I can remember as an apprentice, bouncing on the end of a scaffold pole, over a breaker bar waiting for the CRACK that sent a shock wave up my legs. The other day I tried to take a wheel off a Land Rover and broke a Snap-on breaker bar! - thanks Mr Snap-on for the replacement.

A couple of tips - 1) Take time to remove all the wheel nuts and put them back on before a long trip - putting them on with the brace, bar or wrench you carry. After a quick trip down to the shops, fuel station or LPG place, check they are all still tight with the Torque wrench.
2) If you can't shift a nut - wheel or otherwise, use brains not just thuggery. Soak the thread in WD40 ( or other) and leave it to work its way in. Try using heat - a hand held blow torch can warm up the nut and free it off - check what else is getting warm though!
3) Once the nut has moved a bit, work in both ways - undo, then re tighten, with WD40 etc all over the place. Keep this up, and the bolt will get warm, freeing off the crud.

One last thing - check it is not a left hand thread. I can remember a fellow apprentice working on a transit - he spent about half an hour trying to shift a wheel nut before someone said 'Left hand side, left hand thread'. it then shifted in 30 seconds!

Above all - Have fun - it is all part of the 'Joys of motoring'.

D

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Earlier this year, before a month’s trip to Portugal, I decided to change the tyres front to back. I’m glad I did.
The ‘van was only 18 months old, with alloy wheels. The bolts all came out OK, but 3 of the 4 wheels were ‘welded’ onto the hubs, totally seized on. This is a common condition with alloy wheels that aren’t lubricated onto the hub when fitted, (in a hurry, like, say an Italian van factory!). When you have dissimilar metals in close proximity, with moisture present, they corrode together; be warned!!
After much thumping with a lump hammer (and a large block of wood) on the inside faces, they eventually relinquished their grip. The corrosion around the central shoulder was considerable,(18 months old!).
I cleaned everything up and applied copper ease around the mating surfaces, so next time it won’t be such a struggle.
Very common, I was taught by out MT workshop when I worked for BT (HA Viva vans were prone to this) that the trick was to loosen all the bolts than drive in 'wiggly lines' around our compound. It worked well for them and I have had to resort to the same procedure with my own vehicles when removing the wheel for the first time. A smear of lubricant solves it for the future.
 
Easy way to move stuck on wheels.


Undo nuts/ studs a couple of turns, move vehicle back and forth a few times.

This should be enough to break any corrosion holding wheels onto the hub.

Better than hitting with a big hammer especially out on the road when you might not have a big enough hammer.
 
Who needs wheel nuts? Couldn't get my wheels off either. Due new tyres this winter so it can be someone else's problem.
 
Had to take one of my wheels off for the first time the other week, the plastic wheel trim that is held on by the wheel bolts was covering the valve so I couldn't check pressure, anyway needed a long pole and my not inconsiderable body weight to shift them.

I always torque the wheel nuts on my car but what are the torque settings for a MH?
Depends on your wheel size - my figures give 160 Newton Metres (118 lbs/ft) for a 15 inch wheel and 180 Newton Metres (133 lbs/ft) for a 16 inch wheel.

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