Kaper II Lug Nuts

How to remove [and lengthen] the lug nuts on the KII wheel covers.


Even if you will never to do this yourself, you need to know how so a tech at a tire store does not tear up your wheel covers.
There are two “nuts” on each cover that have dents in them. They look like this.

Place the Mothership supplied tool over these “lug nuts” and turn.





After both “lug nuts” are removed the wheel cover can be taken off.

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If your “lug nut” is a bit short, you can use the Mothership supplied Allen wrench to extend it. About half-way on the real lug and half way in the faux lug nut is about right.




 

Repairing a Cracked Tire Cover

OK, so some supposedly immoveable object jumped right behind your LD as you were backing up and it cracked the fiberglass tire cover. Oh woe is you....what to do? Here are some tips for a DIY repair:

The spare tire cover on every LD, manufactured in the last ten years or more, are made out of plastic, not fiberglass.

One can repair cover cracks using PVC or ABS solvent plumbing cement forced into the crack and then covered on the inside with a glued on sheet of PVC or ABS plastic. The PVC glue seems to soften the plastic deeper than ABS, leading to better bonding.

<http://www.homedepot.com/buy/plumbing-plumbing-accessories-pipe-cement-primer-cleaner/oatey-16-oz-pvc-clear-solvent-cement-161500.html>

<http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/Sheet-Stock-1YYG3?Pid=search>

When the cover and repair sheet are glued, the solvent melts the two surfaces together. Place tape over the outside of the cover before gluing to prevent damage to the paint, cause by glue squeeze out.

A fiberglass patch may work fine but is a lot of messy extra work, compared to the plastic patch. Make the patch too stiff and the cracks will reappear elsewhere. (See below for details on using a fiberglass patch.) The small West System repair packets contain enough material for a fix, if desired.

It is best to prevent cracks by not allowing the cover to hang open without placing a support under the end of the cover. The covers can be be very flimsy, depending on the production run.

Protect the mounting hole with a large nylon washer placed under the acorn nut. The link below is to a photo of a repair piece Larry Wade recently made. The mounting hole in the tire cover had completely blown out, leaving nothing to glue.

<http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/7210354508/in/set-72157623383483881>

Contributors: Larry Wade, John Woodruff, Ken Fears
Revised: 17 May 2012
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