Several of you indicated that using a 4-way lug wrench one would likely be unable to take off the lug nuts on my camper ('91 VW Vanagon GL Campmobile).  One problem mentioned was that tire shop techs might be prone to set their impact wrenches at too high a torque.  So, I decided I needed to run a drill to make sure I could loosen the nuts if need be.  I also wanted to run a drill with the OEM jack again, to see how I went with that (it'd been a while since I tried it).

1.  I think the jack is ok, maybe better than I formerly thought.  It raised the van perfectly well, and seemed as stable as one might expect of any except a floor jack.  I chocked the wheels with 4"x4" wooden blocks before jacking.

2.  I was able to loosen the lug nuts perfectly well with the 4x4, which has torque arms about 8" each way, giving me 16" of torque (8" for each of my arms).  No problem.  I then tightened them as tightly as I could with the 4-way.

3.  Does this mean, in your minds, that the nuts might not be adequately tightened (the owner's manual states 130 ft lb or 180 Nm, and that any person of average strength should be able to obtain that with the OEM lug wrench).  I do have the OEM wrench, but it looks completely inadequate, and I did not try it.

4.  I'm taking the van in to the tire shop today to have the five wheel rotation and balance.  I'll make it a point to tell the tech to torque to 130 ft lb, then I will check the nuts again myself when I get home.  Should I still get a breaker bar, or is torquing as tightly as I can with the 4-way wrench ok?  I have never had a heavy vehicle like this before, and have always been satisfied with the torque that I could get with a lug wrench.

Thanks, David McNeely