RV FEATURE
Remember to use the old-fashioned way of spinning spanners when needed.
I’ ll wager a wheel nut has come undone, or a stud has snapped from a caravan axle or tow vehicle while driving due to excessive forces applied while fitting a wheel nut too tight.
Yes, many tyre shops are unaware of the damage they cause by being overzealous with their rattle guns. Folk often find they can’ t undo a wheel nut after a tyre shop has been heavy-handed on the tools; their tools are most likely going to emit more force than some battery-powered tools.
The best practice, which I ' ve observed in a few tyre shops I ' ve visited lately, is to perform the initial threading by hand, then use a rattle gun, and finally complete the job with a torque wrench set to the appropriate settings. That ' s precisely what you should be doing trackside, in the caravan park or at home.
If you don ' t carry a torque wrench while travelling, at least compare the effort required to meet the torque settings with your ratchet set, spanner or wheel brace at home so that you ' re confident of being within cooee of what the wheel nut torque settings should be.
In the right hands and the right applications, a rattle gun is an excellent tool. In the wrong hands and the wrong place, the damage that can be caused is immeasurable.
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