Changing tires

[austinp]

We live a urban area and it is inconvenient to say the least to tow our TT to a tire store to have new tires mounted. What do others do who have this issue? Do you leave the TT on jacks and take the wheels by themselves? Or tow the entire rig?

[Bob Landry]

Inconvenience is subjective. To me it's far easier to tow the trailer to the tire store. They have me pull up in front of the bays, the guy comes out with a jack and impact wrench and goes to work.

You are going to have to drive to the tire store anyway.

[Ken / Claudia]

Do what ever you feel is the best regarding your time and work. For me taking a wheel off is no big deal, some folks won't even change a flat. What ever you do spend 6 bucks a wheel on replaceing the rubber valve stems with real metal ones. I found out the hard way. Rubber valves will/can rip apart. Due to age, weight, heat, bounceing. Metal will not.

[davidjsimons]

Do what ever you feel is the best regarding your time and work. For me taking a wheel off is no big deal, some folks won't even change a flat. What ever you do spend 6 bucks a wheel on replaceing the rubber valve stems with real metal ones. I found out the hard way. Rubber valves will/can rip apart. Due to age, weight, heat, bounceing. Metal will not.


That is very good advice. I put the sensors on the stems for my TPS and you could see where centrifugal force had pulled them far enough to rub the wheels. As mentioned, I replaced the rubber stems with metal ones.

[austinp]

Thanks for all the great advice. I'll probably just drive it over and make an appointment before I do to give them a heads up.

[jsmith948]

Bought our Maxxis at Discount Tire. I removed the wheels and took them to the store. I didn't want someone else jacking up the trailer and possibly damaging the axles. Just me. I'd rather do it myself so it's done right.

[howard]

I've done it both ways. Take one wheel at time to the tire store to have the new tire mounted while the trailer was on a jack. Simple, took a while but no charge for mounting. Last time I ordered the Maxxis tires from Discount Tire and called the RV dealer where I was going anyway and they said they would be glad to mount the tire at $10 each. Maybe more expensive, but certainly easier. BTW I was very pleasantly surprised how quick the tires came from Discount Tire. I will certainly use them again.

[TomHaycraft]

Bought our Maxxis at Discount Tire. I removed the wheels and took them to the store. I didn't want someone else jacking up the trailer and possibly damaging the axles. Just me. I'd rather do it myself so it's done right.

That is why I "supervise" the work and educate the kids on how wheels are aligned (or mis-aligned) by bending the axles. The DTC near me has been real receptive ... which has assured them I'll be a repeat customer.

[CWtheMan]

If you carry them in don't forget to get the registration forms.

http://cimstireregistration.com/public/pdf/574.8_Regulation.pdf

CW

[TDF5G]

You could put the spare on, and take 2 wheels at a time, leaving only one axle jacked/blocked at a time.

[fla-gypsy]

I can tow my TT to the tire store and be back in less time than I could pull them off, have them mounted and put them back on. Convenience is a subjective term.

[C130]

I couldn't get in the Discount Tire parking lot I took mine to and parked out in the street in a fairly busy area. Guys came out with jacks, lifted up both sides and had all four removed in just a few minutes. It went really smooth, they did a great job.

[SAD]

When I had a china-bomb blowout, I took the RV to the local Ford dealer in the morning on my way to work.. Picked it up on my way home after work with 4 new tires on it.

Parked it "out back" right next to a box truck and an ambulance they were doing service on.

RV tires and RV trailers are nothing special... They're just tires and axles just like on every other flatbed, horse trailer, goose, etc....

Although no one suggested a return to the RV dealer in this thread... Many times I read about people taking them back to the RV dealer to do brake/bearing service... And I'm sure they get totally ripped off by their extremely high prices. And they do this in an effort to ensure "it's done right".

[bobbecky]

If you do take the trailer in for tire replacement, be real sure to check that they don't torque the lug nuts with the impact wrench. OK to run the nuts up with one, but much better to hand tighten with a torque wrench, regardless of having steel or aluminum wheels. It's too easy to over-tighten the nuts and weaken the studs.

[TDF5G]

Torque sticks work very well on impact wrench. This is a set from Harbor Freight.

[Desert185]

If the tire guys use torque sticks instead of a torque wrench I go somewhere else.

[Hercules1978]

My understanding of torque sticks is that they ate to be used by hand, not twin hammer impact wrenches.

I had 2 studs break off from a "licensed tech" using these. Funny how after they replaced the broken studs and torqued by hand I never had another problem.

[JRTJH]

We finally gave up on buying tires at Sam's Club because they always use impact wrenches to tighten the lug nuts. After breaking several studs and not being able to rotate my tires at home because I couldn't get the lugs loosened, I decided I'd just avoid their TBA centers. Since then, I've not had any issues with broken studs or problems with stuck lug nuts. They never hesitated to replace the broken studs, but I just got tired of the hassle.

[TDF5G]

Like anything else, impact wrenches and torque sticks should be used properly.

[chuckster57]

Like anything else, impact wrenches and torque sticks should be used properly.


Yup!! When we do axle services, we do use an impact to get the lugs "snug" and then use a torque wrench to tighten. FWIW, we also pull the break-a-way pin while torquing the lugs, verifying that the brakes do indeed work and can lock up the wheel.