This is a maintenance item that a lot of people not do, even the dealership skips that when they deliver your new or used RV!
What is Torque (The technical explanation)
Torque, moment, moment of force, rotational force, or “turning effect” is the rotational equivalent of linear force. The concept originated with the studies by Archimedes of the usage of levers. Just as a linear force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist to an object around a specific axis. Another definition of torque is the product of the magnitude of the force and the perpendicular distance of the line of action of a force from the axis of rotation.
Torque is a certain power of twist using a torque tool. You probably all heard of torque when it comes to the nuts of your wheels but we are not going to talk about that.
Because our RV is bouncing around and vibrating on the road screws, nuts and bolts can get loose and stuff can break. The biggest problem is electricity where the wires are fed into a connector and a screw is holding the wire in place. For example, motorhomes have an Auto Transfer Switch (ATS) where the shore power cord and the generator are connected to the electrical system. The ATS switches the power source automatically between shore power and generator. There can go about 30 to 50 amps through the ATS. The same for breakers in any RV on 120 volts. When a connection gets loose it can still provide electricity but the wire is getting hot as the contact surface diminishes. This can char the wire or burn it and cause a short circuit that can take out a controller board, tv or microwave, etc.
Most electricity connectors must be torqued to a certain level. Sometimes it is printed somewhere on the surface of an item. In general, the torque is between 25 and 32 lbs.
To fasten these screws you can use a Torque Wrench like the one I bought;
https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Accurizing-Measurement-Gunsmithing-Maintenance/dp/B0012AXR4S
A lot of electrical problems are caused by loos wires therefore
CHECK ALL ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS
ON A REGULAR BASIS
(START WITH EVERY 6 MONTHS)
Also, check for charred wires and correct the issue. With any electrical problem start with checking connections.
This is my old ATS when I checked it last year, I replaced it for a better one since then because of the hum it had. (See the yellow circle with the charred white wire, the black one was also charred.) The new ATS had the torque settings printed on the cover.
