Fitz’ 2016 Sprinter 4x4 RB 150S Build

[Fitz]

Post #326 showed the transition from Aluminess Nerf Bars to Van Compass Sliders. Yesterday Mark & Karen (mkkbven here on the forum) drove up from Ventura to give the Nerf Bars a new home. Their van is a 2wd version of Flint, right down to the same color and floor plan, and it was great sharing ideas and learnings with them. They will be at Overland Expo (out-of-country family commitments will keep us from attending), look them up and pick Karen's brain for some great ideas! She gave me several, next on my list this morning is to get a couple of packages on the way to me!

[Fitz]

Here is one of the ideas mentioned in the post above.

MB doesn't use the wheel lug most of us are used to, rather they use a threaded stud that is completely removed when the wheel is taken off.



As you can imagine, putting the (heavy) wheel back on is a bit difficult as you hold the wheel in place and thread the stud in.

Enter Terrawagen's simple solution. https://www.terrawagen.com/collectio...alignment-tool



It's a simple matter to thread in the tool (get two, they are sold individually), lift the wheel in place letting the tool hold the weight and provide alignment, screw in four of the studs, remove the alignment tools, and then screw in the remaining two studs.



I added two of these alignment tools to the bag that contains the deep wheel sockets and the wheel lock fittings needed to change a tire. Simple, lightweight and effective, thanks to Mark & Karen for the great idea!

And don't forget, the torque setting for the wheel studs is 133 ft-lbs.

[EmMay]

Fitz, this site can always count on you to ferret out a new trick to add to a tool bag...

[TomH]

Fitz,

Do you carry a long handled torque wrench, electric or pneumatic impact wrench, or something else?

Thx,
TH

[buggymancan]

Not to digress, but what highway pressures do you run your BFG 's at?
I have the Moto metal 8:" rims and 265/70R17 BFG tires

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by buggymancan

Not to digress, but what highway pressures do you run your BFG 's at?
I have the Moto metal 8:" rims and 265/70R17 BFG tires

I run the front at 50 and the rear at 70, see post #335 above for a bit more detail regarding tread wear.

BFG KO2 265-70R17's

The van weighs 8,600 lbs. and handles really well at these pressures.

[TomH]

Fitz, did you see my post #354 above?

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by TomH

Fitz,

Do you carry a long handled torque wrench, electric or pneumatic impact wrench, or something else?

Room and extra weight is a consideration, thus I only carry a long handled 1/2" breaker bar for this purpose. The impact gun and the 1/2" torque wrench both live in the garage, but I broke a couple of the studs free and put them back on with the breaker bar (and then checked the torque) just to get a feel for it so if I need to do it away from home I'll be able to get it close enough to get back on the road.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by EmMay

Fitz, this site can always count on you to ferret out a new trick to add to a tool bag...

We've had the van for 8 months and 11,000+ miles so far. This will be our first full summer with it and I'm looking forward to seeing what new things we learn that we need to have with us along the way. I'm thinking a future post will take a look at the details in the tool bag(s), but not until we have gone through all four seasons of use!

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by BroncoHauler

Looks great. Be sure to check the u-bolts once in a while. As new spring packs move around and settle, sometimes the nuts need to be tightened up.
Herb

Good advice that was seconded by member tig in an additional comment.

I took the torque wrench under the van this past weekend and found 7 of the 8 u-bolt nuts holding the new rear leaf spring pack were below spec. Nothing dramatic, but definitely a best practice to go back and re-tighten. Thanks for the tip!