Got my X12 from TIA Products, www.times12.com/ or 1-800-332-4450. Been a couple of years, hope those are still current. They also have one that they call the P-30 which is a 4 to 1 ratio that they recommend for motorhomes built on Chevy and Ford chassis, light trucks, vans, etc. Less than 1/2 the price of the X12. I just bought 6 new steel wheels for my bus, at least 2 of the old ones had cracks that i believe were caused by the use of air guns over the years. These new wheels will never have an air gun used on them as long as i have the bus!

quote:

Originally posted by Shadow man:
at least 2 of the old ones had cracks that i believe were caused by the use of air guns over the years. These new wheels will never have an air gun used on them as long as i have the bus!

Be very alert and paranoid. Those tire professionals are so set in their ways that, even with promises to the contrary, they will still use their rattlers, with lame explanations that a torque stick or something makes it OK. Several of my vehicles have aluminum wheels that require EXACTLY the right torque to avoid damaging or losing a wheel(that cost me a car, boat and a trailer). I have experienced both. Also broken-off studs, galled threads, etc. Buy me a beer, and I have some horrible stories about tire monkeys.

I guess what i should have said is that I will be THE ONLY ONE to ever take my wheels off or put them on!!! That is the only way to know for sure that an air gun is never used on them.

quote:

Originally posted by Shadow man:
Got my X12 from TIA Products, www.times12.com/ or 1-800-332-4450. Been a couple of years, hope those are still current. They also have one that they call the P-30 which is a 4 to 1 ratio that they recommend for motorhomes built on Chevy and Ford chassis, light trucks, vans, etc. Less than 1/2 the price of the X12.

I am still able to muscle my P30 lug nuts, but just in case, I used to carry a notched plastic thingie that served as a fulcrum, but it broke. I now have a home-made telescopic fulcrum so I can stand on the bar (and its extension) to provide more leverage.

As Archimedes said, "Give me a lever (and a fulcrum), and I can move the world."

If you stick to tire stores that work on large trucks they not only avoid air guns, they also will generally replace all the lug nuts and any loose or worn lugs. Southern Tire, Goodyear Fleet Centers, etc are two and others abound. My last work involved them using a hydraulic wrench set to match the exact wheel torque. Car tire stores have no clue.

I use a torque wrench with my X12 and can set it to anything i want.

I used to carry my X12 and a torque wench while trucking.When you got out the wrench some of those tire people would look and say they never saw anything like it. One even went to get the manager to buy one. I used a 1/2 racket to take the wheel off.. What torque do you pull your steel wheels? Mine are really tight,had to use a 3/4 breaker and a 6' pipe and jump up and down. They were put on by Toyo in LA.

I use the 1/2" ratchet to pull my wheels, not the torque wrench. When i put them on i have a spec of 450-500 lbs. so i set mine for 480lbs. Tom, i just bought my wheels from a truck tire outfit and had them mount the tires on the wheels, then took them home and put them on. Only did one side at a time as i was doing some work underneath and they had to have some more wheels shipped in. Thing is, all i ever saw them using there were 1" air wrenchs.

Not too long after we got the bus i needed to pull the wheels and could not do it with anything i had or anything the neighbor had either. And he also had a bus. He did have a friend who is very small and in his late seventies who loaned me his X12. When i first saw how small the box was i had my doubts, but it worked so well that i bought my own....not cheap but well worth it to me, i have used it alot.

Shadow man, I went to the web site x12 and looked at the about us and when I saw The picture of Bob I know that is where I bought mine around 85 -86 at Louisville Truck Show Remember Bob as a very pleasnt person. He was going next to New England and tried to get my wife and I to go up and work the show with him. Thought I payed around 400 for mine....sold it for 200 talk about dumb!

Last year the guy that had the one that i borrowed, sold his bus, and sold his X12 for $350. I already had mine so did not need another.

No more lug wrenches - a product to restore fogged plastic headlight lenses. The vehicle is a '95 Dodge B350 van that spent most of its life in AZ. Headlights were badly fogged.

I bought the product from Harbor Freight for $!2.99, but it's made in U.S.A. & probably available at your local parts house. Took 6 minutes of polishing on each side with an electric drill - 3 minutes with a fine abrasive, followed by 3 minutes with polishing compound. The before & after photos don't do justice to the amount of improvement visible to the naked eye.

There are 3 photos, before, after, & the product label, on Barthmobile Uploads, but I couldn't get my Mac to move them into this post.

Moved Images: Bill N.Y.