YOU ARE IN THE GIRLS' ROOM!!! re: Changing Tires

[anewbiewannabe]

Just curious if anyone has practiced changing her tire?  Mine is mounted under my vehicle so it's been a while since I've had my spare out.  Spring would be a good time for me to do it so I can lubricate any mechanisms that need it and take it to my tire guys for inspection---oh wait---I could save myself a bit of work and have them take it out to inspect if they'll do it at no charge since I have other work I need done that I can't do myself.  :idea:  I don't remember if the spare got nitro with the last set of tires or not.

So, for those of you already on the road in a van or bigger, I don't know what kind of jack comes with each vehicle.  I don't like scissor jacks too well and prefer hydraulic but I don't think I'll be packing my floor jack. LOL  What kind of jack do you use to lift your vehicle to change a tire on the road? Do you carry at least one jack stand?

Thought this might be a good subject for us to talk about, especially for those traveling solo or planning to travel solo.

 

[Almost There]

I've never been able to loosen the lug nuts on a tire that has been put on with an air gun. Not even with an extension bar. Something about lack of upper body strength....

I carry the jack that comes with the vehicle and make sure that the spare has been taken off it's mounting and serviced when my tires are replaced/rotated/seasonal change.

I carry road side assistance with Paragon. I've used them for years because of international travel (I'm Canadian). CAA is useless in the states and AAA is similarly useless up here. While Paragon staff in Texas repeatedly have trouble locating my whereabouts in Canada when I need them, they also cover me for up to 100 mile towing instead of the Canadian 100km which won't get me far!

When I had a full sized RV I carried appropriate road side assistance plan for it. No jack I could carry would lift that baby...

I also have a car charger for my cell phone so I don't end up stranded.

 

[offroad]

You can use body weight and your foot to loosen lug nuts. I never use my arm. Of course you might break the lug.

 

[Almost There]

You can use body weight and your foot to loosen lug nuts. I never use my arm. Of course you might break the lug.

I've seen that trick used on a car but when I tried it on a van years ago I found precious little hold on to. Cars you can use the hood or the trunk.

Today I have balance problems...standing on flat ground is hard enough for me, jumping on an extension bar on a tire iron is out of the question.

I'd rather sit and wait for road service than end up flat on my ass on the ground. I do enough damage to me as it is....

 

[anewbiewannabe]

I've never been able to loosen the lug nuts on a tire that has been put on with an air gun. Not even with an extension bar. Something about lack of upper body strength....

LOL, that reminds me of the time I had a flat in the middle of nowhere 3 miles from home in the wee hours of the morning. I called 911 instead of AAA for some reason, or a sheriff passed, don't remember. Anyhow, he was a hefty guy and he had to bounce his weight on my tire iron to get one of the lugs nuts loose---lucked out that he didn't break a nut or anything else. Makes me kinda want to go out and try my luck on the lugs to see if they've been torqued too tight for me to loosen. Eh, when I change the oil I will. Err, after I get a heavy duty breaker bar again.

 

[Theadyn]

This is a concern for me, as well. I admit, I've never had to change a tire before. I doubt my upper body strength would be enough to get the lug nuts off and me trust getting them tight enough back on.

I know it's probably gonna bite me in the butt, but here is my plan: I had all tires inspected, and replaced the bad ones. So all tires ore good or new. Will keep some Slime or Fixaflat type stuff with me. My battery pack has an air compressor. If I can't seal it enough and go slow enough to get to somewhere to repair/replace (not sure they will even repair with stuff in the tire), I have both AAA and road side assistance on my insurance. Or call a place that can bring a tire and change it for me, that's what my emergency funds are for. Other than that, hope for the best.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Yeah, legs are out of the question for me anymore. Broke my ankle too many times so either would be standing on the bad ankle or using the foot attached to it to apply pressure. Maybe a mallet on the breaker bar. I miss my breaker bar. It was so useful around the homestead. *Adds hand tighten lug nuts to the list of things for the shop.*

 

[Almost There]

This is a concern for me, as well.  I admit, I've never had to change a tire before.  I doubt my upper body strength would be enough to get the lug nuts off and me trust getting them tight enough back on.  

I know it's probably gonna bite me in the butt, but here is my plan:  I had all tires inspected, and replaced the bad ones.  So all tires ore good or new.  Will keep some Slime or Fixaflat type stuff with me.  My battery pack has an air compressor.  If I can't seal it enough and go slow enough to get to somewhere to repair/replace (not sure they will even repair with stuff in the tire), I have both AAA and road side assistance on my insurance.  Or call a place that can bring a tire and change it for me, that's what my emergency funds are for.   Other than that, hope for the best.

Unless you're out of range for a cell phone call and it's midnight in the middle of nowhere, don't use that fix a flat stuff. Tire guys hate it with a passion and depending on what's wrong with the tire, it might not fix it anyways.

The thing about AAA or any other towing company is that the local guys also know where to take you if you need more than just a tire changed.  I've used them for recommendations on several occasions when I was on the road and they've never steered me wrong fortunately.

My insurance comes with road side assistance too but it's a case of 'pay the bill and submit it to them' rather than signing on the bottom of the tow bill. The insurance coverage is also no help in finding you some place to take a breakdown to for repairs.

I consider the annual cost of my roadside assistance plan to be just another form of insurance for me. One that I pay much more gladly than the high cost of vehicle insurance...

 

[Almost There]

Yeah, legs are out of the question for me anymore.  Broke my ankle too many times so either would be standing on the bad ankle or using the foot attached to it to apply pressure. Maybe a mallet on the breaker bar. I miss my breaker bar.  It was so useful around the homestead. *Adds hand tighten lug nuts to the list of things for the shop.*

Noooooo, It's important that the lug nuts be tighten to specifications. A bad experience with the local garage has also taught me the importance of having the lug nuts checked within 60 to 100 miles after having the tires off for any reason.

The garage failed to properly tighten the lug nuts, they worked loose and I narrowly missed having a serious accident that would surely have resulted much pain to my body. As it was it required 5 new studs and a new rim as well as a tow to put it right. I was [   ] this close to losing the wheel altogether.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Apparently I keep posting about the same time as somebody else so I miss a post. I probably should have said van or car, since I don't have experience with MHs I didn't think about how heavy they are.

Theadyn, I agree with Almost There that it would be better for you to rely on some kind of assistance if you wonder if you have the strength. I've only had a couple I couldn't bust off without employing more than brute strength and they were on the tractor---the one the sheriff busted off I hadn't even tried since it was pitch black outside and I wasn't off the road enough to risk it without a better light source, especially in a dress in the middle of the night on gravel. After that I carried coveralls with me in the car.

Yeah, shops hate that fix a flat stuff---I used to work at a tire shop and heard the expletives. If one were in a position to put in a temporary plug (if they could find and extract the offending item) and then pump the tire up to get to the shop, then that would work better, but plugging a tire is a pain so having a good service to call is a better choice. I've always got a temporary plug set around here, but on the road is different.

Trying not to jinx myself, but I've done most of my vehicle, lawn tractor, and tractor maintenance most of the time for many years, including brakes/rotors so dealing with the lug nuts is something I'm comfortable and familiar with---we didn't have anything but hand tools for doing work on cars when I was growing up. Might have specified better "wrench tighten" since some things on other stuff are just "hand" tightened, like when putting the toilet tank on the back of the toilet (too much and you crack the ceramic)---not important car stuff. Only had my air compressor for a few years til somebody borrowed it and it never came back so... Shops can get them on too loose or too tight too---when only one on a rim requires brute force to loosen I'd say somebody wasn't paying attention. For someone who doesn't have experience then the best bet is to find a pro. If I ever questioned whether I could/did get the lug nuts tightened properly I'd just get my butt to the nearest shop to have them double-check.

My dad had a wheel fly off at 65mph on the leg home of a 600 mile journey---shop work. They were very lucky and nobody was hurt, also. Don't know what all needed replaced as I didn't find out about the whole episode until weeks later.

Stuff happens. It's good to know things so you can do basic inspections yourself and so you can tell whether the shop dude is telling you you need stuff just because you're not a dude.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

I've carried roadside assistance since I learned to drive---was useful a couple times when I locked my keys in the car, then I had to learn how to get in myself since they would start charging. LOL I'll upgrade my membership when I get on the road more.

 

[Almost There]

Stuff happens.  It's good to know things so you can do basic inspections yourself and so you can tell whether the shop dude is telling you you need stuff just because you're not a dude.  

Absolutely - the best tool in the toolbox is knowledge - enough to know when it's safe to keep going to get to a mechanic, pamper it to get to the next exit or get it off the road NOW!

And we could probably fill a book with the tales of mechanics and auto parts guys that have tried to tell me whoppers cause I am blonde and female.    

I never got to work in an actual tire shop but I can still tell you that brake fluid is a good substitute for nail polish remover... :angel:

My earliest memories are about getting hell from my mother for getting dirty in the garage with my dad. It provided me with so much good mechanical background!

 

[anewbiewannabe]

I never got to work in an actual tire shop but I can still tell you that brake fluid is a good substitute for nail polish remover... :angel:

My earliest memories are about getting hell from my mother for getting dirty in the garage with my dad. It provided me with so much good mechanical background!

LMBO@ brake fluid polish remover!

My present for my 18th birthday was my own toolbox and tools. Guess my parents figured I'd need them. LOL I still have all but the ones that someone else either left out somewhere or walked off with --which is still most of them, but I had to replace a couple open end wrenches.

I really got into car type stuff because the "best mechanics in town" that everyone referred me to told me I needed my engine rebuilt on my old charger when I was a young woman. That rebuild cost me more than the car and the problem was still there---they offered to rebuild my carburetor for about $400. I did it myself for about $75. They only got to fool me once---I made a ruckus but should have made more of one.

After that, I figured that most things I could fix myself, sometimes with a spare pair of hands.

 

[Almost There]

As posted elsewhere. First thing I do after having tires mounted is to loosen the lugs and re-tighten them to correct torque specifications. there are few tire shops that use a torque wrench.

I found that too!

Now I use a shop that does and if I have to have tire work done elsewhere I stop in and they check it out for free.

 

[mockturtle]

My tires are huge--I doubt if I could even lift one and I wouldn't even attempt to change a tire on a MH. But that's what I have emergency road service for.

 

[sisterearth]

I have AAA and a cell phone, but I have always wished I knew how to change a tire and change my own oil. I am sure if somebody had enough patience to show me I could learn. It is just very basic knowledge that I do not have and that could keep me from having to rely on anyone in a weird emergency type situation. I should make it a mini goal to learn. I know my dad would teach me if I asked. Good topic! Peace!

 

[Theadyn]

Maybe that would be a great seminar at the next RTR? I know I would be interested!

 

[cyndi]

Maybe that would be a great seminar at the next RTR?     I know I would be interested!

Great idea, Theadyn. Hopefully someone will bring it up when the RTR gets closer.

 

[sisterearth]

Yes, it sure would be cool to learn, especially with others who want to know how too!

 

[Wander Woman]

Two comments on this great thread. I added to my auto insurance (State Farm), roadside assistance for $8 per year. They have a toll free number and will send someone out, so no paying up front anymore. I've used it a couple of times to get my van jump started in winter.

I once broke down in Needles, CA and worried about getting taken by an unscrupulous auto shop, so stopped in a Denny's and asked the waitresses where I should go. Those gals were great and so was the shop they recommended. (obviously this only works if your vehicle is still mobile).