Tire changing on the road

[bigbluejmc]

This summer I had to change 3 tires in a week (Chinese Power King) Tow Max, stay away from them. Each time it would have taken a long time to get a road service crew out, so I did it myself. I know the owners manual say to lift the frame and not the axel, but my jack would not reach the frame. I lifted the tire at the axel as close to the suspension hanger as possible, two questions - 1) did I damage the axel 2) is there a jack that will reach the frame that is not just to big to carry?

[2011 keystone]

I always lift mine on the axel just under the spring mount. No issues yet


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[cabinfever]

I have a low profile bottle jack and if the need arises I will block it up with the leveling blocks. I also have a light duty chain with a hook on each end that I can chain the axles up so I don't need to lift too far.

[MarkS]

I have never heard of using a chain. Neat idea. Any pictures?


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[cabinfever]

Originally Posted by MarkS

I have never heard of using a chain. Neat idea. Any pictures?


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No pics and the TT is at the dealer for a toilet change (porcelain was deeply scratched on delivery). I just use to two chain quick repair links on a light duty chain. They slide on the bottom of the I beam. Chaining the axle for quick lift is a racing trick.

[MarkS]

I have not found a jacking method that I really like.

The simplest is the bottle jack under the axel. As long as you stay close to the axel hanger, I doubt you would damage the axel. www.safejacks.com has some devices to spread the load on the axel. Have not tried them yet.
But, the manual says no.

I have a TrailerAid. I have to add a block of wood under it to get the wheel off the ground. I also need a spotter to help me stop the trailer in the right spot. When it is done, the trailer seems really high off the ground. But it does work.

I tried the bottle jack under the frame once. I ended up with such a tower of wood blocks, I was afraid to jack the trailer up.

[Mike L123]

Originally Posted by cabinfever

I have a low profile bottle jack and if the need arises I will block it up with the leveling blocks. I also have a light duty chain with a hook on each end that I can chain the axles up so I don't need to lift too far.

Hi There! Could you please illuminate and educated the uninformed? Namely me, on exactly what this means? I can't even get a picture of this in my head. However, if it helps to get the wheels off the ground I am definitely interested.

Cheers and thanks!

Mike

[cabinfever]

Originally Posted by Mike L123

Hi There! Could you please illuminate and educated the uninformed? Namely me, on exactly what this means? I can't even get a picture of this in my head. However, if it helps to get the wheels off the ground I am definitely interested.

Cheers and thanks!

Mike

Loop a chain under the axle you are lifting and secure the ends on the frame. As soon as the frame goes up, the axle goes up getting the tire off the ground sooner. Without the chain you need to jack to the end of the suspension travel before the tire comes off the ground. Just a way to reduce the height needed to change a tire.

[bigbluejmc]

Thanks for the chain idea. I also ended up with two 4''/4'' pieces of wood under my jack and that was not stable. The jack lifted the trailer off the front supports and that gave me a really bad feeling. I changed the tire and got it down as quickly as possible.

The chain idea sounds good, as I would not have to lift the trailer so far to overcome the leaf spring sag. I believe I ended up at about 27 inches by the time the tire came up off the ground.

[jsmith948]

Originally Posted by bigbluejmc

Thanks for the chain idea. I also ended up with two 4''/4'' pieces of wood under my jack and that was not stable. The jack lifted the trailer off the front supports and that gave me a really bad feeling. I changed the tire and got it down as quickly as possible.

The chain idea sounds good, as I would not have to lift the trailer so far to overcome the leaf spring sag. I believe I ended up at about 27 inches by the time the tire came up off the ground.

Contrary to Dexter's position, I jack our trailer wheels by placing a bottle jack directly under the axle. I locate the jack between the u-bolts (our trailer springs are mounted above the axle). I also place a 2x4 block between the jack and the axle so that it spans the distance between the u-bolts. I feel this is safer than trying to raise a wheel off the ground by lifting the frame the full height of the suspension travel. Did this with fully loaded 48' semi- trailers with no ill affect. The axle of your trailer is capable of supporting the weight of your trailer. I understand the fear of bending the axle. IMHO, you would have to place the jack somewhere inboard of the u-bolts to damage/bend the axle. Dexter has probably made this a policy statement because someone at a tire shop placed a floor jack under the center of the axle to raise both wheels at once - THAT would not be good.

[Pook-60]

If your unit is dual axle...Trailer Aid is helpful not only for tire change, but also helpful for greasing my bearings (UltraLube brand...best if you rotate the wheels 90 degrees after a few pumps of grease).

I don't know how well Trailer Aid works on triple axle units.

Dane

[BlindGuyNAR]

Originally Posted by cabinfever

Loop a chain under the axle you are lifting and secure the ends on the frame. As soon as the frame goes up, the axle goes up getting the tire off the ground sooner. Without the chain you need to jack to the end of the suspension travel before the tire comes off the ground. Just a way to reduce the height needed to change a tire.

I have done this in the past, but have since stopped. I had the chain hook come off the I-beam and drop the axle. Quite a bit of "pucker" factor when it happened.

Not saying don't do it, but be careful.

[cabinfever]

Originally Posted by BlindGuyNAR

I have done this in the past, but have since stopped. I had the chain hook come off the I-beam and drop the axle. Quite a bit of "pucker" factor when it happened.

Not saying don't do it, but be careful.

If you put the chain near the outside of the axle and hook to the inside of the I beam, less chance of slippage. That would definitely scare the out of ya!

[gearhead]

Is this trailer aid y'all are talking about the plastic ramp you drive the good tire up on? I've been meaning to order one for months.

[Western Traveler]

I saw the trailer aid at our local WallyWorld but didn't know what it was, duh. Forty something bucks. A ton of reviews on amazon about them 4+stars. Just bought the Trailer Aid Plus and it will arrive in time for our next trip. Of course will always have the bottle jack with me just in case.

[Cherokee]

I carry an EZ-Jack. Have used it several times and works like a charm. No need to worry about axel damage or soft ground. simply place it under the good tire and ease up on it.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/EZ-Ja...ack/738035.uts

[bobbecky]

I had to hunt down my link to this site, but this company makes some awesome bottle jack accessories that would make jacking a trailer much safer. http://bmihydraulics.com/index.php?o...d=15&Itemid=23

The prices are not bad considering the peace of mind being able to lift a trailer without worrying about dropping it and the possibility of damage or injury. They have an attachment that would probably eliminate the damage to an axle lifting directly on the axle.

[Courtland]

I have used the TrailerAid a couple times now, works great for Dual axle trailers and it will work on triple axles as well, just use blocks to get the other good tire in the air. Where this gets tricky for triple axle trailers is when the middle tire is the one you have to change out. Its still possible, but you have to be careful. I highly recommend it and don't travel without mine now.

[denverpilot]

Anyone with comments on whether most 5ers would work ok with the standard trailer aid vs the trailer aid "plus"?