Basic Maintenance - Loose bolts after a hard track?

finished? what's that?

 

After a long day of washboard roads in and around Death Valley, I managed to rattle my RTT loose. I stopped to set up camp and the damn thing nearly slid of my truck... I'm so glad it didn't come loose on the highway.

Anyhow, that's a long way of saying I'd check the things YOU put on first. Armor, racks, tents and bed bars, truck cap, etc...

 

In all my years of motorsports activities, I have never had a routine of checking torque on any fastners. With the exception of hearing or noticing something that needs to be looked at. I have also never had a major failure outside of a battery cable terminal failure that left me stranded in the loading area of a local ferry.

I do visually inspect when I wash or perform routine maintenance.


If you maintain the proven method of marking any and all bolts that you have removed and reinstalled once torqued, with a paint pen or marker, you should have trouble free motoring.

 

Solid responses everyone. Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond so far!