Changing Tires

valhalla360 wrote:

GrandpaKip wrote:
The tires on our camper are 3.5” apart and the Trailer-Aid works great. I don’t really understand the frame twisting comment. The trailer is sitting just a few inches higher on one side, same as it would on a sloped road.
A simple solution to the changing of tires is to have a spare set of rims.

I was referring to the Harbor Freight ramps. I believe those are around 8" high if they are similar to the ones I'm familiar with from work on cars.

If it's a well built trailer, the frame will likely take the twisting but still not good for it...of course not all trailers have the strongest frame design. More likely the issue is if your overhang clearance is marginal, it could hit the truck bed.

Ah. I wouldn’t want to raise it that much.

Having busted a internal belt while ramping that tire while changing a flat tire on a loaded GN trailer (even after my trailer dealer/mfg and truck tire dealer said not to) I'm not a fan of those type of products. The tire popped like it was hit with my tire thumper.


As someone suggested make a tire changing dry run at home with your lift device whatever you decide to use.
I live about 4 miles off the mother road (US66) and am on it maybe several times a day. In the summer months lots on trekkers on the old road with some type of trailer. RV folks without a doubt are the worse bunch at not having the right equipment to change their flat tires.

GrandpaKip wrote:
The tires on our camper are 3.5” apart and the Trailer-Aid works great. I don’t really understand the frame twisting comment. The trailer is sitting just a few inches higher on one side, same as it would on a sloped road.
A simple solution to the changing of tires is to have a spare set of rims.

I was referring to the Harbor Freight ramps. I believe those are around 8" high if they are similar to the ones I'm familiar with from work on cars.

If it's a well built trailer, the frame will likely take the twisting but still not good for it...of course not all trailers have the strongest frame design. More likely the issue is if your overhang clearance is marginal, it could hit the truck bed.

Gdetrailer wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:


I wouldn't worry about overloading the tires as someone mentioned. This is all going to be low speed. The tire load ratings assume dynamic loading. This is much closer to static loading.

This comment kind of grates on me.

#1 gripe around this forum is how BAD the tires are and how bad this and that manufacturer of tires is and what is the best tires to buy..

Folks totally obsess over the subject of tires and then I see a post that states it is FINE to OVERLOAD provided it is "static" or not moving..

WRONG.

Yes, you may not have as much overload as say dynamically or moving, but it IS overloading none the less.

ANYTHING you can do to PREVENT overloading is a GOOD THING.

In this case it IS TOTALLY PREVENTABLE by PROPERLY JACKING THE TRAILER UP.

A 5"-6" ramp lift is not proper to say the least.

Consider a moment that your tire IS the same as a rubber balloon.

You can blow it up to a certain point before it fails and has just a little bit of give.

Now, start blowing that balloon up until it no longer has give but does not blow.

Repeat that several times and you will notice the rubber has STRETCHED in places and it will eventually fail FASTER..

Tires do the same thing, just you do not notice it because they are much thicker and have reinforcement belts..

Treat the tires correctly by not overloading will go a long way to getting as much usage out of them.

I suggest taking a course in statics and dynamics.

Slowly loading a tire to twice it's full rating puts drastically less stress on the tire compared to the tire at 75% of full rating hitting a pothole at 60mph.

You balloon example doesn't work very well as an analogy as it has several flaws in looking at the physics.

Try this instead. You stand straight legged with arms in front of you:
- We gently set a 200lb bag of sand onto your arms (or whatever the maximum you think you can hold reliably).
- We drop a 100lb bag of sand onto your arm (or 50% of the maximum you gave us).

I'll give you 100-1 odds you find catching the dynamic 100lb bag drastically harder than supporting the static 200lb bag. The faster the bag hits your arms the harder it is to catch...at 60mph you will be lucky not to break bones.

Has anyone used something like this?



https://www.ebay.com/i/173276116681?chn=ps

I do use a bottle jack rated 2 ton that is awkward to difficult at times. Probably HF quality but for emergency only it would seem to be OK. Any thoughts?

From my experience a Trailer-Aid beats a bottle jack by far, provided your axel to axel spacing is close enough to work and the ground is solid enough to hold the weight.

Drive up the good tire and the flat tire is off the ground.

That said for any other carriage work a bottle jack and stand jacks are the cat's meow.

Good Luck

Gdetrailer wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:


I wouldn't worry about overloading the tires as someone mentioned. This is all going to be low speed. The tire load ratings assume dynamic loading. This is much closer to static loading.

This comment kind of grates on me.

#1 gripe around this forum is how BAD the tires are and how bad this and that manufacturer of tires is and what is the best tires to buy..

Folks totally obsess over the subject of tires and then I see a post that states it is FINE to OVERLOAD provided it is "static" or not moving..

WRONG.

Yes, you may not have as much overload as say dynamically or moving, but it IS overloading none the less.

ANYTHING you can do to PREVENT overloading is a GOOD THING.

In this case it IS TOTALLY PREVENTABLE by PROPERLY JACKING THE TRAILER UP.

A 5"-6" ramp lift is not proper to say the least.

Consider a moment that your tire IS the same as a rubber balloon.

You can blow it up to a certain point before it fails and has just a little bit of give.

Now, start blowing that balloon up until it no longer has give but does not blow.

Repeat that several times and you will notice the rubber has STRETCHED in places and it will eventually fail FASTER..

Tires do the same thing, just you do not notice it because they are much thicker and have reinforcement belts..

Treat the tires correctly by not overloading will go a long way to getting as much usage out of them.

^^^^Agreed^^^^
In a perfect world, the tires are meant to take one 4th of the trailer load minus the tongue. Most are rated very close to the axle ratings to do that job. And now you are going to bottom out the suspension link and virtually double the rated load? Yes, I'm sure many do it and see no negative effects. But why would you when it makes more sense to jack it up and be safe? I have a two ton mechanical bottle jack and a fixture I welded up which sits in the groove between the u-bolts and distributes the load across the axle tube nicely. Works very nicely and paid 10 bucks for the jack.

valhalla360 wrote:


I wouldn't worry about overloading the tires as someone mentioned. This is all going to be low speed. The tire load ratings assume dynamic loading. This is much closer to static loading.

This comment kind of grates on me.

#1 gripe around this forum is how BAD the tires are and how bad this and that manufacturer of tires is and what is the best tires to buy..

Folks totally obsess over the subject of tires and then I see a post that states it is FINE to OVERLOAD provided it is "static" or not moving..

WRONG.

Yes, you may not have as much overload as say dynamically or moving, but it IS overloading none the less.

ANYTHING you can do to PREVENT overloading is a GOOD THING.

In this case it IS TOTALLY PREVENTABLE by PROPERLY JACKING THE TRAILER UP.

A 5"-6" ramp lift is not proper to say the least.

Consider a moment that your tire IS the same as a rubber balloon.

You can blow it up to a certain point before it fails and has just a little bit of give.

Now, start blowing that balloon up until it no longer has give but does not blow.

Repeat that several times and you will notice the rubber has STRETCHED in places and it will eventually fail FASTER..

Tires do the same thing, just you do not notice it because they are much thicker and have reinforcement belts..

Treat the tires correctly by not overloading will go a long way to getting as much usage out of them.

cliffy49 wrote:
Well, I think I have solved my problem. Found a Tire Discounters about 4 or 5 miles from where I have the trailer stored. Easy in and out with a drive that goes all the way around.

Went over there earlier and got a quote for 4 Goodyear Endurance tires, 205/75 R15 load range D, for $125 apiece including mount and balance. They matched the price that Goodyear On-Line is offering. I will also have steel valve stems installed while I am at it.

Still may look into the Harbor Freight ramp for changing tires while on the road. May have to check and see if a friend has them and try before I buy.

Thanks everyone for all of the help. Really appreciate it.

I have a set if HF ramps and need to adjust the breaks so I may try them at home soon. I sat the ramps next to the tires today and they may be to long for my TT.

Forgot to mention, won't have to go through town to get there. Much easier this way.



cliffy49
2016 F150 Ecoboost & max tow
2018 Catalina TH26 Toy hauler