1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144 
BYTIlfeel the bite
Page 24
Page 25
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• Eleven drivers employed by Brian Yeardley Transport were ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £1,380 after they admitted a series of drivers' hours and tachograph offences before the Pontefract Magistrates. • First results from the Institute of Road Transport Engineers wheel loss operational trials have been extremely encouraging.
More than 25,000 vehicles from IRTE-member company fleets had their wheelnuts tightened to 800Nm for the trials.
Of the 3,110 vehicles which have been reported on so far, only one wheel nut was discovered to have loosened — to 515Nm — and there is some doubt whether the correct procedures were followed in this case.
All fleet engineers taking part in the trials have been instructed to tighten the wheel nuts to 800Nm and leave them. Periodic checks ensure that the nuts tightness does not fall below 650Nm.
Torque level
The trial was designed to determine whether it would be possible for operators to follow a 'fit and forget' approach to wheel nuts at this torque level. In the event some operators have tweaked the wheel nuts back up to 800Nm if they loosened. However, this has still demonstrated that consistent running at the higher torque is not harmful.
So far detailed results of the trials have been submitted by CP Transport, Weetabix and Pandoro.
Northamptonshire-based CP Transport has suffered an average of about six stud breakages or nut loosenings each year. Since January last year the company has been operating its 22 Seddon Atkinson and ERF trucks with wheel nuts tightened to 800Nm with checks made every six weeks. There have been no failures or nut loosening, no stud stretching, and no wheel hole spreading of cone fixings.
Lightly loaded
Weetabix's fleet comprises mostly Volvo FL6s and FL7s, which are lightly loaded, mainly for urban delivery work.
All wheel nuts on the fleet, which also includes a number of Volvo works buses, are tightened to 800Nm and retorqued 15km later. There have been no instances of stud breakage or wheel loosening since the trial began.
As a result of the trials Weetabix has been able to cli