Lift process for removing all 4 tires

[Boozecamp]

I want to buy 4 new tires for 5er. Want to remove all four tires/wheels, take them and the new tires to a mounting shop. I have hydraulic front landing gear and electric stabilizer jack system in rear. Can I lower front hydraulics to the ground, extend the rear jacks to grade, then raise front high enough to suspend all four tires? If not, can I support frame just behind rear tires and do the same. Ultimately, I need all four wheels removed to get new tires remounted. I want to avoid twisting frame so I think option one is risky, plus, I'll be putting about 12K lbs on the rear jacks. Any better suggestions? I am full timing and don't want to drag it to an RV dealer shop.

[rhagfo]

avvidclif1 wrote:
I used 2 HD ramps. Pulled trailer forward with front tires on the ramps, removed rear tires and went to town. Replaced moved ramps to back tires and repeated. The short amount of time the 2 tires were overloaded didn't hurt them. They are not moving and the truck was supporting a lot of the weight.

If jacking the axles, DO NOT put the jack under the round axle tube, it can crush the tube. If the axle is over the spring no problem.

I don't think any axle tube is that thin!!!
My axle is under the spring, and i lift on the tube directly under the spring!

Myself far easier to haul the 5er to the tire dealer!
If I want to remove all tires at once I would build cribbing out of 4X4's or 2X4's, place under the frame just in front of the spring hangers, and just behind.

[Boozecamp]

dapperdan wrote:
If you can, leave your truck hooked to the trailer. That way your trailer doesn't "shift" on you while you jack it up.
Place your jack directly under axle close to bake hub as you can. lift just enough to be able to remove tire. Place jack stand or wood blocks under axle as close to hub as possible. Do NOT have jack stands or blocks in the middle of the axle as you will bend your axle! Repeat this process on all your wheels and you should be to go.

IMO, I'd do one side at a time, it would be your safest way. Of course it means two trips to the tire store. Hope this helps

Dan

I agree! Thanks

[dapperdan]

If you can, leave your truck hooked to the trailer. That way your trailer doesn't "shift" on you while you jack it up.
Place your jack directly under axle close to bake hub as you can. lift just enough to be able to remove tire. Place jack stand or wood blocks under axle as close to hub as possible. Do NOT have jack stands or blocks in the middle of the axle as you will bend your axle! Repeat this process on all your wheels and you should be to go.

IMO, I'd do one side at a time, it would be your safest way. Of course it means two trips to the tire store. Hope this helps

Dan

[Boozecamp]

avvidclif1 wrote:
I used 2 HD ramps. Pulled trailer forward with front tires on the ramps, removed rear tires and went to town. Replaced moved ramps to back tires and repeated. The short amount of time the 2 tires were overloaded didn't hurt them. They are not moving and the truck was supporting a lot of the weight.

If jacking the axles, DO NOT put the jack under the round axle tube, it can crush the tube. If the axle is over the spring no problem.

Ok, I think I'll remove two tires at time. One side at a time. But I'm confused now about lifting point. My leaf springs are above the axles. Can I put a bottle jack under the round axle directly under the leaf springs to jack one axle at a time? If I cant, then where do I place jack? I've already done just that during a highway flat and seemed to work fine. Seems like if I lift tire of ground by jacking to the frame I-Beam, the travel to get tire off would be greater than the travel to just push the axle up. Plus, I'd be lifting the entire side of the 5er up and both tires would be suspended. That might put a lot of twisting stress of entire frame.

[avvidclif1]

I used 2 HD ramps. Pulled trailer forward with front tires on the ramps, removed rear tires and went to town. Replaced moved ramps to back tires and repeated. The short amount of time the 2 tires were overloaded didn't hurt them. They are not moving and the truck was supporting a lot of the weight.

If jacking the axles, DO NOT put the jack under the round axle tube, it can crush the tube. If the axle is over the spring no problem.

[john_bet]

I take it that taking the whole rig to the tire shop is out of the question. When I needed new tires I took the trailer to the shop and had them put on the new tires, truck and trailer. Yes, 8 tires at once.

[greende]

If you need to take all of them at once, jack up each axle, take the wheel off then let it down on blocks high enough to get a jack back under it to jack it back up when you get the tires remounted.

[BB_TX]

lynndiwagon wrote:
Here's how I did it while parked in S. Texas.

Jack up one tire with a bottle jack. Jack it just enough to take the one tire off. Put the spare on that axle. Let the jack down and jack up the tire next to it. Take that tire off and leave the jack under that axle. Take the two tires to the tire place and have them put the new tires on. This process will keep one tire on the ground and allow little stress to any components. Take the two new tires and reverse the process. Do the other side the same way. It takes a little while but is a safe way to do the process.

By far the safest and most stable way to do it.

[lynndiwagon]

Here's how I did it while parked in S. Texas.

Jack up one tire with a bottle jack. Jack it just enough to take the one tire off. Put the spare on that axle. Let the jack down and jack up the tire next to it. Take that tire off and leave the jack under that axle. Take the two tires to the tire place and have them put the new tires on. This process will keep one tire on the ground and allow little stress to any components. Take the two new tires and reverse the process. Do the other side the same way. It takes a little while but is a safe way to do the process.

[Veebyes]

Takes time & planning but easy to do.

While still on truck jack & block at the frame aft of the rear wheels. Remove the truck or leave it if you don't need it to transport the wheels. The landing leg motors will protest some at the added weight lifting fwd of the blocks so helping with a bottle jack at the fwd frame might be necessary.

Better to transfer trailer weight onto blocks than trust bottle jacks to hold it, especially if the jacks are lifting near their limits.

[Golden_HVAC]

You can not possibly put 12,000 pounds on the rear jacks, unless you somehow managed to find a way to place the rear jacks midway under a 12,000 pound trailer and balanced all the weight on them.

The front jacks have about 5,000 pounds on them (more than the pin weight for sure, and probably about 20 - 25% more than the pin weight of your trailer. By transferring weight to just the rear jacks and front jacks, you will apply more weight to the front jacks, as the tires leave the ground.

You will be much better off by not putting that much weight on the rear jacks. Instead get some scissor jacks (like used in a car or pickup) and jack up each axle end one at a time, support with a jack stand or some 4X6 on their sides.

You can use the rear jacks to 'stabilize' and remove some weight from the trailer axles. Also you will be raising the back of the trailer as you put each axle on a jackstand. Remember to lower the rear stabilizer as you remove the jackstands, or they will end up with to much weight on them.

Some tire shops will charge extra to install tires you did not purchase there, some will not install tires you bring in at all. Some will install just about anything their machine can handle. Used tire shops are more prone to install anything you bring in, and at a lower price.

I would rather go through the effort to drag the trailer down there, and let them remove the rims and install the new tires. If you have one or two bad tires, then I would make the effort to jack up one side of the trailer at a time, and replace only two tires at a time, unless you are exceptionally far from the tire shop (say more than a 20 mile drive each way).

Good luck,

Fred.

[phillyg]

Stabilizers are not jacks. Think you would crush them. It would be better to use two bottle jacks under each spring perch on one side and take off two wheels at a time.