What's With The Red & White Nuts???

[BIG X]

Can anyone shed light on why The Airfix Bedford MWD shows a paint scheme with RED & WHITE wheels nuts - as seen here...

It is probably a daft question - but vehicles are not my normal area of work.

 

Thanks in advance for any pertinent information - Steve

[Troy Smith]

I remember this from a jeep when I was a child,  and  IIRC the answer is this

The wheel has two halves to the wheel, which are bolted together, but also holes to hold wheel on, so to avoid problems,  the red ones hold the two halves of the wheel together, white are the ones to remove when you take the wheel off.

 

HTH

 

 

 

 

 

[malpaso]

I seem to recall different colours meant different checking regimes?  Something like red = check daily, white = check weekly and so forth.  Certainly I've seen white patches on Army Land Rover diff casings, though maybe that's to better show leaks?

Cheers

Will 

[stevej60]

7 minutes ago, malpaso said:

I seem to recall different colours meant different checking regimes?  Something like red = check daily, white = check weekly and so forth.  Certainly I've seen white patches on Army Land Rover diff casings, though maybe that's to better show leaks?

Cheers

Will 

Hi Will.I believe the white diffs were for night convoy driving without main light's, you often see 3 tonners  with a white disc on the chassis.

[Gorby]

13 hours ago, BIG X said:

Can anyone shed light on why The Airfix Bedford MWD shows a paint scheme with RED & WHITE wheels nuts - as seen here...

I'm glad you've pointed it out Big X. I've just done a different version of this kit and the painting instructions didn’t show this detail (or I didn't notice, which is just a likely). So it's going back to the work-bench.

[dcrfan]

Red = drivers don't bl***y touch or you could get hurt.  White = take these off to change wheel. 

[Kingsman]

Agree with the first post and the one above about the nuts holding the split rims together and those holding the wheel to the hub.  In theory the scheme is still in use on split-rim wheels, which are less common than they used to be.  But the red is often omitted and just the white ones painted.  Of course with the regulatory requirement for wheel nut indicators - even on military vehicles - identifying the "wheel nuts" is even easier now.  It was very much a UK thing.

[BIG X]

Thanks Everyone - super informative as always - now all I need is my magnifying glass - thinnest brush - a steady hand...

... or maybe just some mud to cover them up...

[Mancunian airman]

Would this apply to all wartime vehicles ???

[Andrew Jones]

1 hour ago, Mancunian airman said:

Would this apply to all wartime vehicles ???

Many wartime vehicles only seem to have the red [ danger ] nuts painted , the" white" nuts being left in camouflage colour , Obviously this will not apply to all vehicles so if possible check photographic evidence. 

 

Andrew

[Mancunian airman]

Thanks for the clarification Andrew 

[Okdoky]

On 5/6/2017 at 9:25 AM, BIG X said:

Thanks Everyone - super informative as always - now all I need is my magnifying glass - thinnest brush - a steady hand...

... or maybe just some mud to cover them up...

You could undo them, paint them, then do them up again !

I will get my coat ! 

 

[Mike Starmer]

Yes, it did apply in wartime, especially in this period when many soldiers couldn't drive and knew very little about vehicle maintenance.  Basic knowledge about  vehicles was not so commonplace as it is today.  

[Chimpion]

And there was me thinking Hornby were just hoping to shift their stock of red and white paint a bit more quickly

[fewr9fkr9595]

On 4 May 2017 at 23:24, stevej60 said:

Hi Will.I believe the white diffs were for night convoy driving without main light's, you often see 3 tonners  with a white disc on the chassis.

 

True. There is a small light that shines onto the white disc or painted diff. 

Latest MAN trucks have a shield shape plate with a white cross on it. Small covered light in the centre 👍🏿

[BIG X]

...well I took the plunge and painted my nuts red and white...

I did need a magnifying glass though - take a look here...

 

 

[Gorby]

38 minutes ago, BIG X said:

..well I took the plunge and painted my nuts red and white...

I did need a magnifying glass though - take a look here...

Are those sort of photos allowed on BM?

[BIG X]

4 minutes ago, Gorbygould said:

Are those sort of photos allowed on BM?

That's why viewer discretion is advised

[bzn20]

Remove the red nuts and get prepared for a head full of high speed wheel flange followed by your  Funeral...Don't be late !

[andygif290368]

Hmm, I don't think you could remove the red nuts and have the rim explode off, as soon as you'd start to loosen them the air would begin to leak and you'd know your being a nominated for a Darwin.  Though if any of you feel like demonstrating it's possible to remove the nuts and have the rim explode off, please post the video so the health and safety audit can use it.

[bzn20]

2 hours ago, andygif290368 said:

Hmm, I don't think you could remove the red nuts and have the rim explode off, as soon as you'd start to loosen them the air would begin to leak and you'd know your being a nominated for a Darwin.  Though if any of you feel like demonstrating it's possible to remove the nuts and have the rim explode off, please post the video so the health and safety audit can use it.

 

They already have...We were watching them in 1970 in Training. Flight safety Warning posters in Hangars, workshops and Tyre Bays. Somebody was killed not long ago doing that very thing. Always best to observe safety precautions , there for a reason, Red nuts for a reason. Wonder what happens if I do this is a killer.

What happens if its inner tubed? Same pressure no leaking air ? They don't always come flying off in one lump either, flying shattered split rims/split flange.

 No offence intended but you'd be an interesting guy to work with.

[GordonM]

A while back I went to a tyre fitter who had a large off road tyre blow as he inflated it at a wind farm site. No safety equipment in use, he was lucky to be blown backwards with only abrasions, as it blew he threw his arm across his eyes which possibly saved his eyesight.

[SleeperService]

1 hour ago, GordonM said:

A while back I went to a tyre fitter who had a large off road tyre blow as he inflated it at a wind farm site. No safety equipment in use, he was lucky to be blown backwards with only abrasions, as it blew he threw his arm across his eyes which possibly saved his eyesight.

That fitter needs a slap you NEVER do that. If you haven't got a cage put the tyre on the ground inflate it slowly in stages checking the bead lines are even all round. Once you've got it bedded both sides lie it flat and stand in the hub while you get it to pressure. It's the safest place to be.
Back to the original the white markings were meant to be applied at ALL times. Trucks aren't fighting vehicles so any camouflage compromise is minimal. If a fitter/driver needed to work on the wheel first job is wiping all the nuts clean. The red ones aren't touched but the white ones were checked for tightness daily as was the tyre pressure. Any drop of more than a couple of psi or visible damage and you fetched the tyre specialist. Even today truck drivers do the same check indicators, tyre walls, pressures and object trapped between dual-wheels. But anything amiss needs specialist attention. The reason there are so many blown tyres on the major roads is drivers not bothering and hoping that everything's fine.

 

[rayprit]

When I was in the army, BAOR in particular(1960-1975), very rare to see painted wheelnuts, I drove Armoured vehicles, amphibitious vehicles, soft skin vehicles..........I personally did paint wheel nuts on one occasion and that was for an open day at a German Barracks....I had a brand new Stalwart, no mileage on the clock, bright bronze green, I polished with car polish and I thought white and red would look nice as a contrast on the wheels....out of 14 stalwarts, mine was the only one with pretty nuts.  In those days exercises were plentyful and going through mud, swamps, forests, etc, etc, last thing anyone wanted to do after an exercise  was paint wheel nuts.

Occasionally you may see Ferrets with the odd painted nuts, but it was a rarety.

As for inflating tyres, it wasnt till late 60s that cages started appearing.  We had 1 fatality and numerous injuries through split rims blowing apart when inflating....one of our hanger roofs had an indentation of a split rim embedded in it from when a tyre blew apart..........one person with a bedford RL tyre flat on the ground inflated his tyre, one foot in the centre of the wheel and the other resting firmly on the wall of the tyre ---------the tyre inflater in the valve neck which he held with his hand...........tyre came apart!!!!  Split rim took his leg off.........it wasnt long before tyre cages started to arrive

[John_W]

I recall seeing the red/white nuts on Bedfords at Warminster, probably mid seventies.