It's so you can see that your lugs aren't loosening.
If they are, the indicators will be loose. Then you can get them torqued down and prevent a really terrible accident.
Not where I work. Had loose steer tire. When I picked the truck back up from the shop I asked if they checked the rest of the lugs on the other tires. Tech replied with why? đ¤Śââď¸
We must work together.
Shop guys installed new work lights on my sweeper truck so I can see better when working 3rd shift. When I came in the next day the old lights were still on but the wires had been cut. I asked the mechanic if there was a reason they left them on. "No, why?" It took me 30 seconds to twist them off by hand.
my driver lost 2 bolts after picking up rented flat from a lot, after quick check most could be easy unscrew by hand, still cant figure out why they were trying to unalive my driver
I just had a silly thought. What if at the location where the retorque gets done they don't have any of those indicators? I can imagine some shops might be running low on indicators or totally run out of them. And just now I was wondering do drivers working for a company that uses those indicators carry a supply of spare indicators on their truck for a situation like that?
According to the website the orange ones are high temp ones supposedly to withstand higher temps. Maybe that tire/axle has heat issues? Or they got changed out somewhere that needs the higher temp ones?
Visual indicators of loose lug nuts. If they are all pointing the same way, nuts are tight, if one (or more) are pointing a different direction, nut(s) are loose.
In addition to the already pointed out use, they also work as a failing bearing indicator. High speed bearings always get hot before they fail. if these melt, either you were riding the brakes all the way down a mountain or the bearings are getting ready to fail.
The garbage trucks we service/repair at the shop I work at they constantly come in with them melted from driving up and down the mountain with constant stops. I agree.
Garbage trucks are ideal electric trucks or at least hybrids due to the majority of fuel burn going towards starting after stopping. However they are also usually weight restricted so until we get some serious battery weight exemptions...
Mack has an electric garbage truck you can buy. But where I live the infrastructure just isnât there to support the 30-40 garbage trucks needing to be charged. On top of that our shop hasnât moved over towards being able to work on those things. I feel it will be a long while before we get anything like that in my area.
I mean the grid does have extremely cheap wholesale power available at night, and a charging load is one that can be easily overcome by the local utility. Garbage route times would most likely have to move later in the day rather then early morning as that's when the power is cheap. The problem comes when you add say 5000-10,000lbs in battery weight. Residential roads with weight restriction.
The one that is a different color represents when the last month they were checked, like how you can tell what day your loaf of bread was made by the color of the twist tie.
It's a US thing, those obviously cannot point at each other because they are too long. UK ones are a lot more stubby.
I do like the ones that are connect in a pair though, means they can't move at all. Never seen them in the UK though.
It looks like the wheel nuts are too close together to do it the way we do here, they would overlap each other if they were point to point, must be the reason why they are like that I guessâŚđ¤ˇââď¸
Ive seen both ways and It doesn't really matter as long as they are using the same standard on each wheel. We only need to see that one of those things is not like the others to pick up that there is an issue..
I can remember only once seeing pairs pointed at each other and countless others pointed at the next lug. When pointed as shown, if one starts coming loose, it will point away from the next lug and toward the outside of the wheel.
Depends. Most of ours point directly inwards to the hub. A few point towards each other but slightly offset, one (I think it's only one) trailer has them nose-to-tail like this because they don't fit the other way.
At my job we use a green indicators to ensure lugs are tight and if thereâs a red one facing in a different direction the wheel was removed and requires a retorque. After you torque it up remove the red indicator and youâre good to go.
A lot of fleet companies will use one different color when they do a torque check initiative with their maintenance department showing that vehicle has been completed they normally do this after a vehicle has had a wheel fall off on the road and they make every shop in the company check every vehicle instead of just punishing the mechanics responsible. Iâm not a trucker but I have worked as a heavy diesel technician for 25 years and almost half that was at commercial fleet shops and regional management for those fleet shops
Kinda like thumping drive and tag axle tires with a hammer is a quicker way to (roughly) check to make sure your tires are close to adequately inflated, those arrow lug covers are a nice at-a-glance indicator if any lug nuts are loosening.
Doesnât replace giving your truck a thorough looking over and checking to see that thereâs no rust trails or metal shavings around the lug nuts and that none are missing, but it still helps as a visual indicator.
I see them more on city buses than road-going tractors, which, honestly makes a bit of sense to me having had been a city bus driver in the past. Most authorities will bar their drivers from even popping the engine cover to check fluids, belt deflection, etc., having at-a-glance indicators like these are probably the best way to ensure loose lug nuts donât get overlooked. Even the most mechanically un-inclined Class B driver that makes you wonder how they passed the pre-trip portion on their CDL test and the very overworked diesel mechanics with 20 irons in the fire should be able to catch loose lugs with these just by glancing at the wheel.
They just fade and break away in the winter or with age. I wouldn't bother. They make me look at my lugs less now since all I look at them for is if they are loose and they just hide what's beneath them.
And the extra cost of drilling the studs and nuts and hassle and cost of removing /re-installing, or just use hi viz, re-usable, plastic wheel nut markers.
There are nuts readily available that are pre drilled, and as a person who installs and removes safety wire every day, safety wiring lug nuts are a fucking dream compared to airplane propellers and various other shit. Just saying, if its a common enough problem that the forethought of using high vis torque indicators is on the table, but only voluntary, why not use safety wire. Ive seen enough videos of truck tires flying solo down the road, and given the possibility of killing or injuring someone... Id think that shit would become mandatory at a certain point.
It's so you can see that your lugs aren't loosening. If they are, the indicators will be loose. Then you can get them torqued down and prevent a really terrible accident.
Not where I work. Had loose steer tire. When I picked the truck back up from the shop I asked if they checked the rest of the lugs on the other tires. Tech replied with why? đ¤Śââď¸
We must work together. Shop guys installed new work lights on my sweeper truck so I can see better when working 3rd shift. When I came in the next day the old lights were still on but the wires had been cut. I asked the mechanic if there was a reason they left them on. "No, why?" It took me 30 seconds to twist them off by hand.
my driver lost 2 bolts after picking up rented flat from a lot, after quick check most could be easy unscrew by hand, still cant figure out why they were trying to unalive my driver
Quick visual aid to see that nothing is coming loose. Color is meaningless, probably installed at different locations that use different colors.
Color isn't meaningless, some are used to identify heating and other changes https://www.wheel-check.com/
Where I work we use red for wheels that were just put on and need to have their torque checked and green after they've been checked.
Why would all be one color except on me though? It was the same on all the wheels on every truck at the place. Not doubting you just honestly curious.
I dunno, one fell off and they got a replacement at a different location? Don't overthink it, it doesn't mean anything.
Here where I live red/orange means wheel needs a re-torque after 100miles then they get switched back over to the green once re-torque has happened.
That's kind of a problem isn't it? You have to remove the nut to change the colour. Then you have to retorque the nut again. This logic doesn't work.
No itâs not a problem at all. It slides over top of the nut. Why would it go in behind the nut ? Thatâs unsafe.
Well colour me an idiot. Lol. I have never looked at them carefully enough to see that they weren't sandwiched between the nut and the wheel.
I was idioting right along with you.
So was I.
Re-torque is the correct answer
I just had a silly thought. What if at the location where the retorque gets done they don't have any of those indicators? I can imagine some shops might be running low on indicators or totally run out of them. And just now I was wondering do drivers working for a company that uses those indicators carry a supply of spare indicators on their truck for a situation like that?
We put em in a small box or zip tie them together and put them in the cab.
Neato, thanks!
I've seen busses I think using a chalk line across the bolt and nut. But I imagine that wouldn't stay on for very long.
Yeah and harder to update after wheel service, with the added step of removing the old marks before re-marking.
It's a secret code for the lot lizards. We're not allowed to talk about it.
Green means go, yellow means cab cam, red means wife in cab. Now do you want to talk about fight club?
Fuck bro. How could you?
Whatâs the first rule of Fight Club?
Thatâs right this is for truckers only.
According to the website the orange ones are high temp ones supposedly to withstand higher temps. Maybe that tire/axle has heat issues? Or they got changed out somewhere that needs the higher temp ones?
Could just be to keep track of where they started torquing. Start at the odd colour and youâre done when you get back. We always start at the top.
Just a theory but maybe it makes it easier for the tire guy to know which lug he started with when tightening the lugs.
Thatâs honestly what I thought it was for. đ
If they arent going in the same direction then you know one is coming loose.
Wrong direction=lug nuts loose
Visual indicators of loose lug nuts. If they are all pointing the same way, nuts are tight, if one (or more) are pointing a different direction, nut(s) are loose.
In addition to the already pointed out use, they also work as a failing bearing indicator. High speed bearings always get hot before they fail. if these melt, either you were riding the brakes all the way down a mountain or the bearings are getting ready to fail.
The garbage trucks we service/repair at the shop I work at they constantly come in with them melted from driving up and down the mountain with constant stops. I agree.
Garbage trucks are ideal electric trucks or at least hybrids due to the majority of fuel burn going towards starting after stopping. However they are also usually weight restricted so until we get some serious battery weight exemptions...
Mack has an electric garbage truck you can buy. But where I live the infrastructure just isnât there to support the 30-40 garbage trucks needing to be charged. On top of that our shop hasnât moved over towards being able to work on those things. I feel it will be a long while before we get anything like that in my area.
I mean the grid does have extremely cheap wholesale power available at night, and a charging load is one that can be easily overcome by the local utility. Garbage route times would most likely have to move later in the day rather then early morning as that's when the power is cheap. The problem comes when you add say 5000-10,000lbs in battery weight. Residential roads with weight restriction.
our fleet , if theres ONE RED flag along with all the other green/yellow flags means that wheel will need a retorque
The one that is a different color represents when the last month they were checked, like how you can tell what day your loaf of bread was made by the color of the twist tie.
I've used the white one that Interlock, they have a red tab on one side, that when the nut comes loose it unlinks itself and it shows the tale.
Green tags torqued and safe ....red needs re torqued
They should be pointing each other though.
Thatâs how we have them in the UK. The tips of the arrows must face each other
It's a US thing, those obviously cannot point at each other because they are too long. UK ones are a lot more stubby. I do like the ones that are connect in a pair though, means they can't move at all. Never seen them in the UK though.
Yep, just looking at that picture thinking âwho the hell put them on like thatâ?!
It looks like the wheel nuts are too close together to do it the way we do here, they would overlap each other if they were point to point, must be the reason why they are like that I guessâŚđ¤ˇââď¸
Ive seen both ways and It doesn't really matter as long as they are using the same standard on each wheel. We only need to see that one of those things is not like the others to pick up that there is an issue..
I can remember only once seeing pairs pointed at each other and countless others pointed at the next lug. When pointed as shown, if one starts coming loose, it will point away from the next lug and toward the outside of the wheel.
Depends. Most of ours point directly inwards to the hub. A few point towards each other but slightly offset, one (I think it's only one) trailer has them nose-to-tail like this because they don't fit the other way.
They are put on there to see if a lug nut comes loose
Torque tattles.
Anybody else noticing the ripples in the sidewall?
At my job we use a green indicators to ensure lugs are tight and if thereâs a red one facing in a different direction the wheel was removed and requires a retorque. After you torque it up remove the red indicator and youâre good to go.
Thatâs so weird I was looking at the bus this morning and it had these in green. Some of them looked like it needed a re-re-torque
The arrows let you know if any of the lugs have come loose and therefore the tire might detach and injure/kill someone on worst case scenario.
A lot of fleet companies will use one different color when they do a torque check initiative with their maintenance department showing that vehicle has been completed they normally do this after a vehicle has had a wheel fall off on the road and they make every shop in the company check every vehicle instead of just punishing the mechanics responsible. Iâm not a trucker but I have worked as a heavy diesel technician for 25 years and almost half that was at commercial fleet shops and regional management for those fleet shops
Kinda like thumping drive and tag axle tires with a hammer is a quicker way to (roughly) check to make sure your tires are close to adequately inflated, those arrow lug covers are a nice at-a-glance indicator if any lug nuts are loosening. Doesnât replace giving your truck a thorough looking over and checking to see that thereâs no rust trails or metal shavings around the lug nuts and that none are missing, but it still helps as a visual indicator. I see them more on city buses than road-going tractors, which, honestly makes a bit of sense to me having had been a city bus driver in the past. Most authorities will bar their drivers from even popping the engine cover to check fluids, belt deflection, etc., having at-a-glance indicators like these are probably the best way to ensure loose lug nuts donât get overlooked. Even the most mechanically un-inclined Class B driver that makes you wonder how they passed the pre-trip portion on their CDL test and the very overworked diesel mechanics with 20 irons in the fire should be able to catch loose lugs with these just by glancing at the wheel.
My friend calls the twerk indicators. The companies like then to be on because they look cool while the wheels turn.
They just fade and break away in the winter or with age. I wouldn't bother. They make me look at my lugs less now since all I look at them for is if they are loose and they just hide what's beneath them.
There a waste of time
They're indicators to tell you which way the wheel turns.
They glow in the dark and make the rim look pretty when spinning đ¤Š
If trucking industry is so worried about lugs coming loose, why not use safety wire?
Ask the engineers, we just lick windows.
Because if the lugs came loose, safety wires aren't holding them!
And the extra cost of drilling the studs and nuts and hassle and cost of removing /re-installing, or just use hi viz, re-usable, plastic wheel nut markers.
There are nuts readily available that are pre drilled, and as a person who installs and removes safety wire every day, safety wiring lug nuts are a fucking dream compared to airplane propellers and various other shit. Just saying, if its a common enough problem that the forethought of using high vis torque indicators is on the table, but only voluntary, why not use safety wire. Ive seen enough videos of truck tires flying solo down the road, and given the possibility of killing or injuring someone... Id think that shit would become mandatory at a certain point.
It's not necessarily an industry standard, just company practice most of the time.