check u bolt torque

[lwmcguir]

I agree, we would have gotten to use our Augusta this year. Would have checked underneath before towing it out of the lot.

 

[4ever]

Thanks for the heads up. I just went out to my unit with a torque wrench and check all of them. Two nuts took a very slight turn and all the rest were good.

Hope all works out for you.

Ted

 

[Elder1]

hehe well one more thing to add to my walk through Friday.

 

[2wanderers]

Thanks for the tip. This prompted me to check mine and while none were really "loose", several needed to be tightened to the proper torque. I'm really surprised they don't list these along with the lug nuts, etc. to be checked regularly.

 

[Delaine and Lindy]

Have read the same problems on another forum. The must be something or someone not doing the proper Torq from the begining. I never had a problem with U-bolts but will check to insure they are correct. It you don't have the wet bolt type suspension that need to be checked also for wear and tear. GBY...

 

[SmokeyBare]

We needed a broken spring replaced on our (SOB) old fifth wheel.

Work was done at a spring & Welding shop. I had all new springs installed.

I was told that I should check the bolts after driving for a few hundred miles. I would guess this would be the case on any new RV as well. The reason the mechanic claimed is that on a new installation, the axle U-Bolts will stretch after some driving time... which requires the U Bolt Nuts to be checked for their proper torque.

 

[geeksrus]

We needed a broken spring replaced on our (SOB) old fifth wheel.

Work was done at a spring & Welding shop. I had all new springs installed.

I was told that I should check the bolts after driving for a few hundred miles. I would guess this would be the case on any new RV as well. The reason the mechanic claimed is that on a new installation, the axle U-Bolts will stretch after some driving time... which requires the U Bolt Nuts to be checked for their proper torque.

Had a similar experience... spring manufacturer told me to re-tighten the Ubolts at 800KM.

Eh!

 

[newbie]

After reading this post last week I checked my u bolts and everyting was tight. I got my owners manual out to make a note of when I checked the torque and what the proper torque is and the first line of the maintenance schedule on page 14 is to inspect the axles and springs. I would argue that checking bolt torque would be a part of any inspection.

John

 

[jbeletti]

Hey gang,

I asked Lippert to put together a document for us that addresses suspension system torque ratings.

We have added it to the Heartland Owners Manuals (HOM) tool. Here's the link. HOM is still not I.E. 8 compatible. So use I.E. 7, Firefox or Safari to access it.

Also, if you have never looked at HOM, please take it for a spin as there's a bunch of manuals there.

Finally, if you have a PDF version of any manuals for anything in or on your RV that is not already on HOM, please use the Manual Submission link on HOM to submit it to us for adding to HOM.

Jim

 

[JohnDar]

Hey gang,

I asked Lippert to put together a document for us that addresses suspension system torque ratings.

We have added it to the Heartland Owners Manuals (HOM) tool. Here's the link. HOM is still not I.E. 8 compatible. So use I.E. 7, Firefox or Safari to access it.

Also, if you have never looked at HOM, please take it for a spin as there's a bunch of manuals there.

Finally, if you have a PDF version of any manuals for anything in or on your RV that is not already on HOM, please use the Manual Submission link on HOM to submit it to us for adding to HOM.

Jim

I was able to open the .pdf for the torques, but HOM does not work with IE7 for the rest of the site. But, on another note, this is the second Lippert document that shows the springs mounted UNDER the axles. Is my suspension wrong, since the springs are on top of the axles and the U-bolts pointed up?

 

[lwmcguir]

You can mount them as under hung if you want the trailer to ride lower. Only mounted this way in the case that you need the trailer to ride lower. The axles must be mounted correctly to have the spring holders in the correct orientation.

 

[John Gaffney]

Good timing for this post for tomorrow I head For Florida for the winter. Will get the torque wrench out. Thanks guys your the best.

 

[lwmcguir]

Sounds great, where are you going to over winter?

 

[JohnDar]

You can mount them as under hung if you want the trailer to ride lower. Only mounted this way in the case that you need the trailer to ride lower. The axles must be mounted correctly to have the spring holders in the correct orientation.

I see. Thanks!

 

[tmcran]

Don't have a clue what mine are torqued at but I could not move them at all .

 

[JohnDar]

Don't have a clue what mine are torqued at but I could not move them at all .

After reading about the various torque requirements and how things may loosen, I went out and bought two clicker type wrenches at HD. The beam style one I had can't be read if you can't see the scale.

While we're talking about torques, what is the correct setting for the wheel lugs on the 3670? I recently had the bearing repacked and the dealer set them to 100 ft-lbs. I thought it was 120.

 

[sunflower]

I was told by a fabricator when flipping axles on a fiver years ago that he would not reuse the u bolts because once they stretch you cannot maintain proper torque again.Apparently the stretch is part of the dynamics.

 

[lwmcguir]

I set mine at 110-120 pounds for 1/2 inch studs

If you have 9/16 studs you can go up to 140 pounds

These settings are pretty common

 

[lwmcguir]

http://www.keystonerv.com/media2/pdf/Lug_Nut_Torque.pdf

Kestone data sheet for lug bolt torque

 

[cookie]

Well, if we are talking torque on a Lippert axle, we should probably follow Lipperts guidelines for axle maintenance. Correct procedures can be found starting on page 15 right HERE.

Peace
Dave