Changing a tire on the road

ditto on the breaker bar and a piece of pipe. I keep an impact socket in my tool box and a 1/2 drive breaker bar along with a two foot piece of pipe. Will loosen the tightest nut with minimal exertion. No need to use your foot. Saves your back too as you can stand up straight using this method.

81fxeithink wrote:
Food for thought...thanks for the replies everyone. I think I will indeed practice in the driveway. Just had the tires put on and I am sure they zipped them on with an impact gun. Think I might also loosen all the lug nuts and pull them down with a wrench I know will turn them off. Thanks again
Jaime

Be sure to use a torque wrench and torque them per mfr's spec. You can get one for not too much money.

In our mini MH, every inch of cargo space is premium. If I carry a jack and big wrenches for tires, something else probably will no longer fit. Seriously, it's like a



So, road service.

As I said before I carry a 1/2 inch breaker bar and a piece of pipe to make it longer so taking off the lug nuts is minor work even for a 75 year old like me. I also carry a torque wrench that goes above 140lbs. I used some exhaust pipe cut pieces then wrapped tape on the handle so it fits inside the pipe so I use the piece of pipe to make it longer. My torque wrench has a handle that I can use a big socket or wrench to adjust it so do not use the handle because of the things I used to built it up. It does work fine. Often use it to check after a hundred or so miles of working on or new tires. Not always easy to get back to a shop. And after a hundred miles or so even if installed at a tire shop or by me I do find they need to be tightened. Things with big long handles are nice but no place to store them in my little rig. But I will still only change a tire if I can find no other way..

I carry a bottle jack and an electric impact wrench ($50 from harber freight). My 750w power inverter puts out just e nought to run it.

My E450 class C lug nut torque is 140 ft lb,
ford says to drive 100 mi and check torque.

Food for thought...thanks for the replies everyone. I think I will indeed practice in the driveway. Just had the tires put on and I am sure they zipped them on with an impact gun. Think I might also loosen all the lug nuts and pull them down with a wrench I know will turn them off. Thanks again
Jaime

I carry a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar that is 36 inches long in my Class A gasser. I have removed and replaced tires in the driveway with no issues. I also carry a spare rim with tire (19.5 size) and a 20 ton bottle jack.

If I can find a safe place I can do it. If not would use my insurance ERS.

Gene, I have an HF electric impact too. Only used it a few times, and never on RV wheels, but it's been OK. I'm also sure the much more expensive deWalt is much better. It'll spin a CV axle nut right off.

But I carry a NAPA Four-Way meant for trucks and verified I can work all our lug nuts with it.

Several TRAILER owners have weighed in here (and Welcome!) so I want to add that Trailers, ESPECIALLY TANDEMS, now have Right-Hand-Threaded lug nuts on both sides. Normal operation tends to Tighten the Right and LOOSEN THE LEFT.

The warnings to Check Lug Nut Torque periodically are valid. Be sure to pay special attention to the LEFT.

I would have some one change it but being in the west and we love to travel the back country we often have no phone service can not raise any one on the CB. Nearest house or town may be 30-50 miles. And another car going by may not happen for a day or two. So I do carry the needed tools and have changed tires on my truck, TT's and cars over the years but only when it was the only way to move on. So I do carry the tools needed in my MH but really hope I never need them..