Is it illegal when a trucker change tire on the road by him self?

Here let me put it this way .. say they torque check your truck .. the torque spec let's say is 300 ft lbs and they throw the wrench on its set at 300 ft lbs and it clicks off so he wants to just see where they are torqued at so he ends up at 3 45 ft lbs ..
Now According so some members on here its a huge No No to over tighten the lug nuts because you could be doing damage to the studs or the lug nuts or both or some claim you could damage the rims also
So my question is does the DOT Officer wtite you.up for that or not ?
Me if for some reason they ever wanted to torque check my wheels and they found them under torqued I would challenge ithe ticket because I would want proof that torque wrench was certified correctly calibrated before they checked my lugs
Iam sure I will catch a ration of grief ..but I don't torque lug nuts when I change a tire I use a 1" Ingersoll air gun and they are what they are when I done I have never had 1 come loose and never pulled the threads

 

Been a good while back, I had some rear drive tires put on. I was watching from the office window as the used the 1” impact to all but twist the studs off!!! Then they put a torque wrench on the lugs which never turned, but the torque wrench did click. I had walked into the shop at that point and was listening before they even finished.

I ask the guy if the torque was correct, he told me yes lol…. I ask him how he knew it was correct, he said because I put a torque wrench on them!

Then… I explained to him that of course the torque wrench clicked, you never let up off the impact until it completely stopped turning!! So what’s the true torque, about 850 ft lbs…?!! He just looked at me. Some of these shop guys are just as ignorant as these book trained diesel cops! Yea I know there’s some good ones too….


Around 2001 - 2002 I was in a 1998 379 pulling a 3 axle Talbert beam trailer for R&L.

Owner was behind me in the 1976 W900A we called Tweety Bird, yep it was yellow, and had a big IR compressor on it. Sadly it’s grown up in a weed patch now.

Anyways, I roll across the west bound coops in Shelbyville, KY…. No them coops are no longer there.
I get the green light, roll on slowly but Roger never caught up.

To shorten things up, they red lighted Roger, and he walked down the side of the big road to get to me, no cell phone then. We go back to see what the problem is, and this 100 lb blonde girl is telling me that it’s out of service because of a loose linkage in the steering… I’m like WTH?!! I was concerned since I was also the mechanic for R&L Drilling.

Then she shows me the loose linkage….. I’m my mind I’m like how stupid are you lady!!

This truck had hydraulic assist steering, NO not power steering, Hydraulic assist steering!

The drag link was the control valve for the hydraulic cylinder on the front axle and tierod. I explained to her that the drag link was a control valve, and I ask her…, hey, you ever see 4 hydraulic hoses hooked to a drag link like this?? Which she responded no.

I explained multiple times how the system works, and she could not grasp it because of HER BOOK. HER BOOK said no movement in the linkages, but she couldn’t comprehend that her book was not taking about this setup, only modern power steering and manual steering.

She was a total idiot, which many are, but there is some good ones out there too, just not enough of the ones that are willing to learn…

 

I use a 1” here at home as well, but I never set it to WFO like some of these shops do.

Had to replace a front lug stud few months ago, snapped off clean about 2 weeks after having the tire put on in a shop…

 

With the advancement of air tools the last decade or so, I'm finding a good 1/2" is all you need most of the time. I haven't had a need for my 3/4" impact in a few months now.

 

It took me about 5 wheels to get this 1 " dailed in but I have it set alittle above the torque specs on most wheels ..
I also don't have it set at WFO

 

I do not have said certificate nor any formal education in the workings or procedures of diesel technology. However I carry a spare tire and you can bet your ### I’ll change it

 

No, a friend of mine runs super singles. He has extra air tanks that he had installed, air impact guns, and hoses just for that purpose.

 

I actually had drivers call in on me for changing a brake chamber while in line waiting to load. “You’re not certified!”

Mind your business.

 

And they know your qualifications and abilities?

 

Nacho.

Not your business.