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Posts: 156
| Wasn't sure exactly where to post this. Here's a little background:
1.)I have some airline miles that are going to expire, and I'm trying to use them on some "nice to have" kinds of things.
2.)last year, we blew out a tire on my buddies Ranger trailer. We were trying to get the nuts off and were struggling in the sand on the side of the road. Luckily, a nice person was driving by and had some sort of cordless impact or torque wrench. He was able to quickly get the nuts off and back on with the tire change and get us on our way.
3.)I've never owned a power tool, and have no idea what to get. I do know in the last 10 years traveling to/from Canada, we've had two trailer tire blow outs (on two different boats), one car tire blow out, and one sliced tire (the shock spring was cracked from a previous accident, came loose, and cut the tire...terrible luck). So it seems it would be a good idea to get one of these cordless tools I can charge and toss in the truck in case this happens (saves lots of time and aggravation being able to get the nuts off/on quickly).
I know nothing about what I would need. Anyone have any suggestions? Whats th difference between a torque wrench and an impact wrench? What size? Are the nuts on boat trailer the same as nuts on a car ( i don't own a boat...yet)? How many volts (seems like there's 12v, 18v, etc). Looks like United Milage plus has Dewalt tools.
Thanks for any help/suggestions. |
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Posts: 166
Location: Merrill, Wisconsin | Well, assuming truck tires are usually suppose to be torqued to 130ft pounds give or take, you need something to be able to bust them loose and then take them off.. Just look up Milwaukee cordless impacts, or dewalt. The volts doesn't matter, that only matters on how long the battery life is,. Look for something in your price range that has 200ft pounds or better.. You will regret not having enough power one day... And probably get 1/2inch drive, seeing as most truck lug nuts are 21/22mm which is a uncommon 3/8inch drive socket size. Ap |
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Posts: 1660
Location: central Wisconsin | The volts do matter. I have a Makita 18 volt with about 150 ft lb torque. It will just barely remove the lug nuts on my F150 which are torqued at 150. When I travel, which is often I carry a 1/2 breaker bar in my truck along with a 21mm and 19mm deep well sockets which will cover my truck and boat trailer. My items are SK brand, buy quality either SK or Snapon no chinese taiwan junk. Good tools will last forever. If you must have electric, get no less than 20 volts, again, high quality is gonna cost you a couple hundy.
Edited by Jeff78 7/5/2015 4:02 PM
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Posts: 84
| I have a 1/2 inch cordless Snap-on impact that works great on lugnuts it will bust loose lugnuts on a schoolbus. The brand you get and volts does matter. I also have Makita and Bosch tools (but not for lugnuts), they work great and charge quickly. The battery technology is improving all the time as far as power and recharging quickly. Do some checking around say comsumer reports to see what work best for you. What ever size your trailer lugnuts are carry that size socket with the boat or truck, if you use a impact tool always use impact sockets cause chrome sockets with shatter. Had a friend use a chrome socket on a impact and his hand was on it when it came apart and he lost a part of his finger. |
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| Even if you use a breaker bar on stuck lug nuts, an impact socket is advisable. A few years ago, I picked up a spike in my front tire on my pick up. Could not budge the lugs with a regular tire wrench. Put a breaker bar and standard socket it on it. Just about fell over when the socket cracked and let loose. Put an impact socket on and was able to remove the lugs using the breaker bar. The tire place had way over torqued them, according to the place I took the tire to be repaired. They checked the other tires and said even with an impact wrench they had trouble removing. |
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Posts: 251
| Is half inch a must with this as well? Home Depot has a 20V Li Drill & Impact Driver combo for $199 right now but the impact does not look to be 1/2 inch. |
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Location: Not far enough north! | Yes half inch is a must for lug nuts. Most of the 3/8" are in the inch/lb category not ft/lb. I use a Milwaukee 18volt impact on the farm all the time and when I head on a long trip with any trailer it gets thrown in the truck... I have a dewalt 3/8" impact too I think it is rated at 100 in/lb. the Milwaukee is somewhere around 450ft/lb. |
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Posts: 156
| Thanks for all the help guys. |
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Posts: 79
| if $ is no object snap-on is the best that i have used.
Edited by ffib 7/12/2015 12:05 PM
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Posts: 295
| Ridgid is the only company with lifetime warranties on everything, including their lithium ion batteries. Thats what swayed my decision last year. Also, if you get the 18v 4.0ah highest end one with over 550lb ft of torque, it will double as the best ice fishing auger youve ever used. Thekit with 2 of the 4ah batteries, a driver, and impact wrench together goes for $279... Just the batteries would be $240 seperately. Best tools i own. |
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Posts: 489
| well this post just cost me some $$$ lol |
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Posts: 28
| I carry a small 18" pipe that I put over the tire iron for extra leverage. If the lug nuts are really stubburn I hit the pipe with a hammer to give it 'impact' and they will come loose every time. |
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