Changing a single axle tire

According to my manual TT tires are to be torqued to 90 ft.- lbs. which to you and me means they are pretty tight.

Therefore, I like to break the lugs loose while the tire is still on the ground, so if needed I can use an extension pipe on the lug wrench.

Then I jack it up by the frame not the axel. As suggested a bottle jack is good is a good choice.

You are supposed to re-torque the lug nuts to 90 ft.-lbs. which usually requires a torque wrench but as tight as you can without the pipe extension will get you going.

I found a great tool for changing tires on a trailer. It is called "GSERS". Works well while I chill out.

The wheels don't know, or care, if it's a man or woman changing it. The ways posted above will work for both ;)

almost every tire store uses a air gun to tighten the lugs I,m 235#and today I had to use a 6ft piece of pipe and a breaker bar to get mine loose. get the right socket and a breaker bar a bottle jack couple blocks of wood and practice in a parking lot. and join coach net. a short piece of one inch I/d pipe comes in handy.

Bottle jack is my vote too. This is not a single axle, but a #5000 TT so just imagine that the front axle is your single axle and place the jack just behind your single axle tire on the center of the frame. (it's actually a "6 ton" jack!)



Only jack it enough to take a little weight off the tire and then break loose the wheels lug nuts. Now jack it so the tire comes off the ground and remove the lugs and change out the tire. Spin the lugs back on enough to seat them all and then lower the jack enough so when you tighten up the lugs, the wheel won't spin on you..

I have one of those "X" type of lug wrenches that have 4 different size sockets on each end, but the best thing about those is you can get a lot of leverage on them because you can grab 2 of the bars to twist the lugs off and that's a big advantage!

But, you know, in over 12 years of towing my dual axle trailer, I've only had to change a tire one time on the side of the road... And that was 11 years ago!! :)

Good luck and if all else fails, go with 352's suggestion... ;)

Mitch

The easiest for you would be a bottle jack. It takes up very little room but I'd also carry a chunk of 2x8 to set it on so it doesn't sink into the ground. A chunk of 4x4 might also be necessary depending on how high your trailer sits. For myself, though, I carry a 1-1/2 ton aluminum floor jack from Harbor Freight so I don't have to kneel on the ground. I need a little chunk of 2x4 because my siding is right up against my frame and is a little lower so I need to space down from the frame. A fairly large cross wrench is nice for dealing with the lug nuts (be sure they have been torqued properly or they can be a bear to get off). Have the tire store balance and install the tires on the axle and watch for the torque wrench to be used. The torque wrench should be used for the final tightening - if it just clicks off without having turned the lug nut any, they have already over-tightened the lug nuts.

Smile real pretty and you won't have to get your hands dirty.