Just thought I would pass some good advice / information along. If you need to change your trailer tire due to being flat / blowout / just needs changing for whatever reason. Use whatever you use for leveling out your trailer with.Personally, I carry (3) 2"X8"X5' boards for leveling out my trailer but I would believe the big Lego blocks should work too. So when the need comes to change your trailer tire just put the wood down on the ground and either pull or back up the trailer's good tire onto the wood. This will only work if you have double or triple axles. I do carry a jack but have never used it to change a tire.
So in the end, I hope you never have to change a tire but if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and cannot get road side assistance this is an alternative.
Judy said
10:03 AM May 21, 2008
Sorry but this does not sound like something we would ever do. We have a weight of 20,000 lbs. jmo southwestjudy
debken said
10:31 AM May 21, 2008
Yeah, we thought about doing the same thing recently after a few hours on the side of the road but it just didn't sound like a safe thing to do. Luckily, somebody showed up after 4 hours.
Debbie
retiredsailor said
10:40 AM May 21, 2008
Judy,
I'm not sure why you wouldn't do it because weight doesn't matter. All you are doing is raising the remaining tire higher so you have more ground clearance to install the spare tire since the flat should come off without raising the trailer. As for as your weight goes you should only have approximately 8,000 lbs sitting on the remaining tire which don’t take me wrong this is double what it would normally see. Your tire can handle that weight just sitting there while you’re changing the tire. This is only if you have to change your tire emphasis is on "YOU". I would call roadside assistance and have them change the tire since most fulltimers have some type of roadside service.But, if it was going to take them hours to show up then I would change it myself.
retiredsailor said
10:42 AM May 21, 2008
Debbie,
It was reading your blog that I thought I would post the information to the forum. It's safe since you had to ride on the single tire for a few hundred feet after your blowout.
debken said
12:23 PM May 21, 2008
Rollie,
Thinking back on it now we probably should have done just that. At the time though, it just didn't sound like a good idea. I just figured it was an omen that someone called us right after Rod thought about doing it himself.
Debbie
thebearII said
04:36 PM May 21, 2008
Camping World sells a device designed to do this.
You put it next to the good tire on same side as the bad one, drive up on it and the bad tire is lifted up high enough to change the flat.
It's an old RV'er / Trucker trick. I've seen it done several times, never had to do it myself.
I'd guess it's safer than jacking up the axle, I've heard of more people being hurt from vehicles falling off of jacks. In fact my new truck didn't come with a spare or jack, the reason given- GM had to stop providing spare tires on medium duty trucks due to a lawsuit. Now they provide 3 years of roadside service as part of the warranty.
Racerguy said
08:13 PM May 21, 2008
Actually IF you have to do it your self this is really safer than using a jack. IMO
Speedhitch said
08:19 PM May 21, 2008
Bear, you are sooo correct there. More people get hurt with jacks than any other. This method is tried and true. It is the safest way to change a tire there is. Jacks require you to expose yourself to traffic dangers and laying on the ground is not fun on a hot highway. Pulling the RV up on a block AFTER you loosen the lugs is safe and it will not fall off. Now you do have to chaulk the tires, but there is no chance of a jack flying out or the coach falling to ther ground. Try it out....pull the tires up on the leveling blocks and you will see it is easy.
Sherri will tell you I don't know much but this I do know....and it works
Joe and Sherri
mailman01 said
10:16 AM May 22, 2008
RetiredSailor, that is a great idea, as simple as it is, I probably would have never thought of it and would have been wrestling around with the old jack. I'm a retired Airman, probably explains a lot. Thanks....
mailman01 said
10:24 AM May 22, 2008
Just another follow-up to my previous post, is there any benefit gained from jacking up the camper if it is left sitting for extended periods? Such as over winter? I put it on blocks this past winter, not sure about next winter.....Any suggestions? Thanks Marty
retiredsailor said
11:50 AM May 22, 2008
Marty,
The bear stated previously it's an truckers / rv'er old trick, i watched my dad do it with horse trailers and just never gave it more thought I have only used it on boat trailers and once on a friends fiver that I was moving for him when it had a blowout. After reading Deb's blog about there blowout and it taking them 4 hours for assistance I just thought I would share some advice with my friends in the event that one day it might come in handy.
thebearII said
03:25 PM May 22, 2008
A similar trick works for those times when you need to change an outside dual tire on motorhomes or dual wheel rear axle trucks.
Place a board in line with the inside tire only, drive up on it and the outside tire will be off the ground so you can remove it. Be sure to block the front wheels so the truck won't move.
Unfortunately this trick won't work with the inside tire on duals..... if I have to explain why...here's your sign
Everyone enjoy their Memorial Day Weekend, be safe !!!!
debken said
07:15 PM May 22, 2008
You can bet if it ever happens again and it's on a Sunday we'll definitely give it a try. Thanks Rollie
Debbie
Luvglass said
05:03 AM May 23, 2008
In don't understand why anybody would be changing their own tires when the cost of road service insurance is so Inexpensive.
We've had to use our Good Sam Emergency Road Service a few times now and the service has been extraordinary. They call back when they've dispatched the truck to give you an ETA, and even checked back later to insure that they got to us and we were satisfied.
I've read that there are a number of companies and they are all good. I'm getting to old to keep crawling under there.
Fred
retiredsailor said
05:33 AM May 23, 2008
Fred, I agree roadside assistance is very cheap and good insurance and all the fulltimers I know have it. But if "YOU" have to change your tire this is a quick and safe way to change it and be on your way if time is a factor. By the way if we are traveling with or in an RV why are we in a hurry?
Larry, I agree with if you don't know why here's your sign but on my Dodge 1 ton it will not work not sure about Ford or Chevy 1 tons. However, it's great for most MDT's or larger vehicles. Just for info for those wanting more knowledge, most dual wheel axles have nuts holding on the inside tire then the outside tire goes over nuts and gets bolted to it. To put it real simple each tire/rim is bolted to the axle/hub.
With all that said I would still recommend that if you have never removed your tires before from a dual wheel axle then call roadside assistance.
thebearII said
08:46 AM May 23, 2008
I changed a tire once on the 5th wheel instead of waiting for roadside service. It was in Bakersfield CA., it was very hot, the truck began to overheat with A/C on sitting at idle and it would have taken at least a half hour to cool down the trailer. My wife is bothered by the heat and we had two very furry dogs at the time, better suited for artic weather.
The dispatcher said they had a lot of calls and few trucks available (sunday) and it would take a minimum of 60 minutes for them to show up.
I had the tire changed in 15 minutes and we were back on the road headed for cooler climate.
debken said
09:34 AM May 23, 2008
We DO have roadside service but when it happened to us it was 2:00 in the afternoon on a Sunday on Mother's Day and we were in the middle of the Navajo Indian Reservation an hour and a half from Gallup to the south and an hour and a half from Shiprock to the north. If I had known that it was perfectly safe to do it ourselves we would have instead of waiting FOUR HOURS for someone to come.
tripen said
12:47 AM Feb 24, 2010
You are write I have done this several times aver the last 9 years it works well. If you carryed 2 ft. block rather than 5' would save backing up space when leveling one sideways between tires stright an the outside. I also carry 2 4X8 about 12in'' long will help
53 Merc said
08:59 AM Feb 24, 2010
One caveat here on blocking up to change a flat. If you have Mor-Ryde suspension, you will need a BIG pile of boards to get the flat off the ground. Camping world sells a "fix-a-flat device built like a curved wedge. Will raise the flat about 10 inches total. Still won't lift Mor-Ryde high enough. Best bet is a cell phone and road side service. I'm like Fred, only I call it lazy. LOL
So in the end, I hope you never have to change a tire but if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire and cannot get road side assistance this is an alternative.
Sorry but this does not sound like something we would ever do. We have a weight of 20,000 lbs. jmo
southwestjudy
Debbie
I'm not sure why you wouldn't do it because weight doesn't matter. All you are doing is raising the remaining tire higher so you have more ground clearance to install the spare tire since the flat should come off without raising the trailer. As for as your weight goes you should only have approximately 8,000 lbs sitting on the remaining tire which don’t take me wrong this is double what it would normally see. Your tire can handle that weight just sitting there while you’re changing the tire. This is only if you have to change your tire emphasis is on "YOU". I would call roadside assistance and have them change the tire since most fulltimers have some type of roadside service. But, if it was going to take them hours to show up then I would change it myself.
It was reading your blog that I thought I would post the information to the forum. It's safe since you had to ride on the single tire for a few hundred feet after your blowout.
Rollie,
Thinking back on it now we probably should have done just that. At the time though, it just didn't sound like a good idea. I just figured it was an omen that someone called us right after Rod thought about doing it himself.
Debbie
The bear stated previously it's an truckers / rv'er old trick, i watched my dad do it with horse trailers and just never gave it more thought I have only used it on boat trailers and once on a friends fiver that I was moving for him when it had a blowout. After reading Deb's blog about there blowout and it taking them 4 hours for assistance I just thought I would share some advice with my friends in the event that one day it might come in handy.
Place a board in line with the inside tire only, drive up on it and the outside tire will be off the ground so you can remove it. Be sure to block the front wheels so the truck won't move.
Unfortunately this trick won't work with the inside tire on duals.....
if I have to explain why...here's your sign
Everyone enjoy their Memorial Day Weekend, be safe !!!!
Debbie
We've had to use our Good Sam Emergency Road Service a few times now and the service has been extraordinary. They call back when they've dispatched the truck to give you an ETA, and even checked back later to insure that they got to us and we were satisfied.
I've read that there are a number of companies and they are all good.
I'm getting to old to keep crawling under there.
Fred
Larry, I agree with if you don't know why here's your sign but on my Dodge 1 ton it will not work not sure about Ford or Chevy 1 tons. However, it's great for most MDT's or larger vehicles. Just for info for those wanting more knowledge, most dual wheel axles have nuts holding on the inside tire then the outside tire goes over nuts and gets bolted to it. To put it real simple each tire/rim is bolted to the axle/hub.
With all that said I would still recommend that if you have never removed your tires before from a dual wheel axle then call roadside assistance.