I used a half inch 150 lb torque wrench for 40 years and it took care of
everything except the really big stuff like axle nuts. A few years back I
bought a 3/8 drive that goes to about 80 pounds and I use it for almost
everything. You could probably skip the half inch for the 3/8 and do just
fine.

The least torque open a vanagon I can think of is going to be for the 6mm
nuts on a gasket like those on a diesel valve cover. Next up is the 12-18
lb range on many 8 mm nuts. That's the most common anyway.

Jim

On Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 5:51 PM Steve Williams <
steve@williamsitconsulting.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> So something like 150 ft lbs would generally be the max for "normal"
> work... outside of the stupid axle nut!  lol
>
> What would be the "least" torque that one would use a torque wrench on?
>
> Please understand, this is a new world to me.  I've always just done
> things "tight enough"... except for my carbon fiber road bike which came
> with a little 5 nm torque wrench for tightening the seat so as to not
> crack the frame!
>
> :)
>
> Thanks,
> Steve W.
>
> On 28/04/2017 2:13 PM, John Rodgers wrote:
> > I keep two, a 3/8" drive and a 1/2" drive because there are times you
> need
> >   both, like lug nuts which take 133 ft/lbs of force. Need a bigger
> wrench
> > for that.
> >
> > John
> >
> > On Apr 28, 2017 12:32, "Sudhir Desai" <sudhir.desai@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> 3/8" beam-style analog torque wrench is my favorite.  YMMV
> >>
> >> On Fri, Apr 28, 2017 at 1:23 PM, Steve Williams <
> >> steve@williamsitconsulting.com> wrote:
> >>
> >>> Hi,
> >>>
> >>> I am going to service my CV joints this weekend.  I've decided it's
> >>> worthwhile to invest in a torque wrence as I will be doing more work on
> >>> my van over the next while.
> >>>
> >>> I didn't realize there were so many ranges available for a torque
> >> wrenches!
> >>> I believe the CV bolts are 35 foot lbs of torque.
> >>>
> >>> 10-150 ft lbs
> >>> 25-250 ft lbs
> >>> 10-80 ft lbs
> >>> 30-150 ft lbs, etc
> >>>
> >>> Then there's the size... I'm thinking 3/8 is probably fine, or should I
> >>> go to a 1/2"?
> >>>
> >>> Thanks,
> >>> Steve Williams.
> >>>
>