How to change a tire on a single axle travel trailer

How To Change A Tire On A Single Axle Travel Trailer

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How to change a tire on a single axle travel trailer? As adults, certain unexpected events scare us, especially when you consider the circumstance in which they occur, and if you ask anyone who owns a car, one of the first things that come to mind is having a flat tire.

It doesn’t matter if you are an expert in fixing tires or not, having a flat tire in the middle of nowhere will always feel disheartening, to say the least.

First of all, you are likely to worry about the time it will take to get your automobile up and running, and if you are going for an important function, you are likely to consider how changing your tire will affect your appearance.

Anyways, the needful must be done regardless of the situation, except you wish to seek the service of a tow truck and if you own a trailer, the situation can be a lot worse if you don’t know how to go about it.

It is for this reason I have taken time to let you in on how to change the tire of your single axle travel trailer without much stress, but before we go any further, here are some of the materials you will need.

Expert ways To Changing A Tire On A Single Axle Travel Trailer – Materials Needed

A jack

The first piece of equipment you should have in your toolkit is a jack, especially if you are going camping with your truck in the woods, where these things are bound to happen during your journey. A jack is very efficient in lifting heavy weights, and your travel trailer is not exempted.

A scissors jack or a bottle jack will get the job done, but if by chance you can lay your hand on this electric scissors jack, it would be a huge plus to your collection; but if you are traveling, I suggest you go for this bottle jack that comes highly recommended. It is very efficient for heavy-duty cars, and it’s also very potable to move around with.

A Lug Wrench

The next must-have tool on your list is the lug wrench which you must have to remove the tire. You could choose to use a regular lug wrench, but it would be in your best interest to have a lung wrench meant for a trailer. It saves you lots of energy.

Using a regular lug wrench apart from the one meant for trailers can also wear out the nuts which can become problematic to take off – so ensure that you use a trailer lug wrench to get the job done properly and adequately.

A Hub Cap Remover

This tool is necessary if you have tires that have hub caps. A hub cap remover is designed to remove the hub cap from your trailer without leaving as little as a scratch. You should however note that while a hub cap remover is very effective in the removal process, you are advised to use your hand when screwing it back into place.

A Spare Tire

Of course, you will need a spare tire to change a spare tire, but that’s not the point here always make it a point of call to check the status of your spear tire as often as you can. Don’t wait until you have a punctured tire before hoping your spare tire will be in a good shape to replace it.

Wood Scraps

Having pieces of wood scraps in your car would also be essential, especially in cases when your car jack cannot reach the base of your car, or in cases when the ground is wet or soggy.

Some might say such woods can be found around, but you never can tell where your car would breakdown, and besides, having wood scraps in your car will save time used in looking for wood scraps where you didn’t keep any.

(Read Also: Best Floor Jack For Jeep Grand Cherokee)

Wheel Chocks

If you are a camper, then wheel chocks are a necessity – not only for campers though, wheel chocks also help a trailer or vehicle from rolling off a slope. Before making any attempt to remove your tires, ensure that your trailer is properly choked all round, to avoid any form of casualty.

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How To Change A Tire On A Single Axle Travel Trailer – Changing The Tire properly

 

Step 1: The Trailer Should Be Stable

This is the first thing you should ensure before attempting to change your tire, and this is where your wheel chocks come in handy.

Regardless of where your tire gives way, be it in the woods or on the highway, your trailer must be very balanced on the ground before you have a go at the car jack.

Put your wheel chock on all the sides of your trailer apart from the tire that needs to be fixed, and you can even have a little push at the car to ensure that it doesn’t roll over. Remember, I said a little push.

Step 2: Lose The Lug Nuts

Using your lug wrench, lose up your lug nuts before jacking up your trailer. This is necessary because applying the kind of force you might require to lose a lug nut, when the car is jacked up, will cause the car jack to lose its grip on your trailer thereby sending it crashing to the ground.

After losing the lug nut, don’t take off the tire from the wheel – simply lose the nut, and drop them where you can easily find them. (Read Also: Can You Reuse Bike Tires?Find Out Now)

I should also add that you should only lose the tire that needs to be fixed, and not the entire tire of your trailer – and if all are bad, which is highly unlikely, attend to one tire at a time.

Step 3: Attach Your Jack To The Right Spot

This has nothing to do with either using a scissors jack or a bottle jack your jack has to be placed in the right spot before you embark on jacking it up, and by the right spot I mean taking it to the side of the trailer that needs repairs, a bit close to the tire, and most importantly, it should be placed on the frame of your trailer, and not any form of suspension as this could damage the suspension due to the weight of the trailer.

Also, ensure the wood scraps are stable since they are to serve as the base of your jack one slight shake and you will have to repeat the entire process over again, so you should get it once and for all for what it’s worth.

(Read Also:Can You Jack Up A Car By The Transmission?)

Step 4: Jack Up The Trailer

As soon as you get your jack in a stable position, jack up your trailer using the technique your car jack requires. Remember, it might be a slow process, but it doesn’t take long.

You can proceed to remove the affected tire after the tire is at least 4-inches from the ground another way to know when to pull out the tire is when the tire can be removed from the wheel comfortably without scraping the bare floor underneath.

(Read Also: How To Remove Tire Sealant From The Rims?)

Step 5: Install The Spare Tire

As soon as you have acknowledged that the damaged tire isn’t something you can fix on your own, insert the spare tire on the wheel from the point you removed the bad tire.

Once you are certain the tire is balanced on the wheel, use your hands to tighten the lug nut, then lower the jack, thereby bringing the car back to the ground.

Once the car hits the ground, proceed to tighten the nut with your lug wrench, and ensure they are as tight as possible.

Safety Tips To Follow When Changing A Tire

Here are some safety tips to follow while changing your tire;

  • If you happen to have a flat that needs a change on the road to ensure you put warning signs a little farther from the trailer so that incoming vehicles can be aware of your vehicle before they approach. This is important especially when your vehicle breaks down in the middle of the road. This way, cars would be aware of the block caused by your trailer.
  • Don’t inappropriately stack wood scraps – by inappropriate I mean, not minding the sizes of the wood before placing them as a foundation for your jack to sit on. Ignoring this fact can cause an imbalance which can cause your car to slip before you know it. Better still, if your trailer frame is quite a distance from the ground, you can also use a block to make up for the height.

How Often Should You Replace Tires On A Travel Trailer?

Replacing Tires On A Travel Trailer
Replacing Tires On A Travel Trailer

Camp or travel trailers should have their tires changed at least every three to four years. However, you should look out for the deteriorating signs that are not likely to be visible easily.

These signs can appear as cracks inside your tire, and if you choose to ignore their existence, it might lead to the separation of steel belts that can prove fatal on the road.

The funny thing about travel trailer tires is that it doesn’t matter the mileage they take in – simply parking them in your garage for too long can cause them to deteriorate.

How Can I Know How Old My Tires Are?

It’s a known fact that tires need replacing from time to time, but knowing the exact age of your tire can help you know when to head to the tire shop without any form of hesitation.

The information I’m about sharing with you is something you should take seriously; tire manufacturers put the manufacturing date of all the tires they manufacture – all you need to do is to find out how old your tires are by looking for the DOT letters on the tire, which are usually located on the sidewall – skip the next four-letter code, and the next code after that will give you your dater code – write down the code.

Enter the written code on this tire checker platform by clicking here, and it will tell you the date your tire was manufactured, which can now help you in deciding if it’s due for a change or not, depending on how long you have used it.

Here are some FAQs with regards to tires that you might have on your mind. Kindly let me know if you have any further questions in the comment section.

How Do You Change A Tire On A Dual Axle Trailer?

The first step you need to take to change a dual axle trailer tire is to try as much as you can to avoid having to change it in the first place. ensure that your tires are inflated to the standard PSI. note that a dual axle trailer can handle 100% of its load, but a dual axle trailer should have its load reduced by about 11%

The information I will be outlining shortly just applies to replacing a punctured tire on a trailer. If you experience a punctured tire on your dual axle trailer, I suggest you call an expert or emergency aid. Dual axle trailers and their tires are both very hefty and frequently require specific tools for their tires to be successfully changed.

Before you set out travelling with your trailer, pack up the following tools to be set up in case you encounter a flat

  • Trailer changing jack: Jacks are utilized for replacing tires on single axle trailers. To utilize, join the jack to the point the axle connects to the trailer.
  • Trailer chock: This is utilized for double axle trailers. Most chocks hold up to 15,000 lbs., permitting you to keep your freight in the trailer in case of requiring a change.
  • Tire wrench: This is used to loosen up the nut that holds the tire in place on the wheel.
  • Air pump: It is used to pump in the air if it’s a case that requires you to plug a leak.
  • Extra/spare tire: You should always have this with you at all times.
  • Work gloves: You wouldn’t want to get your hand dirty, and as such, having a work glove will always be a plus.

Step 1: Park Safely

As soon as you experience a flat tire, head over to a protected or safe territory to start the work of changing your tire and put on your emergency brakes.

Step 2: Jack Up The Truck

Release the lugs on the wheel a bit, just the same way I explained in the first segment of this article, then raise the trailer. Place a chock under the wheel that you’re not going to change on a similar side as the level.

Step 3: Remove The Affected Tire

As soon as the trailer has been jacked, remove the affected tire, and replace it with the flat tire. Ensure the spare tire is also in good shape so that you don’t repeat the entire process all over again.

Step 4: Tighten The Lug Nuts

Once the spare tire is on the wheel, tighten the lug nut as firmly as you can, then release the jack to have your car on level ground, after which, tighten the lug nut a second time to the best of your ability – but ensure that you don’t wash away the thread of the nut in the process – doing so will only make it difficult to remove again in the event of such eventuality.

Please note that, before you place the jack on the frame of the vehicle, ensure the ground is not soft or soggy just like I mentioned in the case of a single axle truck. If the ground is soft, get strong rocks around, or you could use some very durable wood scrap to improve the strength of the soil. I normally travel with wood scraps in my car to prepare for such eventualities.

How Do You Jack Up A Single Axle On A Travel Trailer?

As earlier stated, the ground on which the jack will sit has to be strong, and if that’s not the case, you can increase the bearing capacity of the ground by using durable rocks and wood.

Once this is achieved, place the jack on the same side as the affected tire, and if the ground is far up from the frame of the trailer, use durable scrap wood to increase the level of your jack from the ground until it is suitable enough to reach a frame of the trailer.

Avoid jacking your trailer on a suspension of the trailer so as not to cause permanent damage to the suspension. Look for a durable frame on the vehicle on which the jack would rest.

What Are Some Of The Best Jack To Change A Tire On A Single Axle Travel Tire?

Basically, we have two major types of jacks which are; scissors jacks and bottle jacks. When it comes to durability, many trailer owners have seemed to prefer the bottle jacks because there are no risks of it giving way under pressure, as is sometimes the case with scissors jacks. Nevertheless, there are very durable scissors jacks out there that come highly recommended, and some of them include the following.

1. Scissors Jacks

  • Weize camper and travel scissors jack. Click here for more information.
  • Open road camper and travel scissors jack. Click here for more information.
  • Eaz-Lift stabilizer camper and travel scissors jack. Click here for more information.

2. Bottle Jacks

These car jacks above come highly recommended from various users around the world and it would do a perfect job for you.

Should Your Travel Trailer Be Level When Towing?

Your travel trailer should be as level as possible when towing to prevent uneven wear and tear in your tire. Bringing it close to level also helps to reduce sway when traveling. Try as much as you can to make your trailer as level as possible.

How Do You Level A Single Axle Trailer?

Well, you will be needing the following items to level properly.

Based on how to level your campground is you may need to pull the trailer up on some Leveling Blocks to get the sides of the trailer level. By adding or eliminating blocks you should have the option to get it Level. If you have any slide-outs in your trailer, try to keep it shut.

Since you have it level as conceivable use, Tire Chocks to chock the trailer wheels.

You can now unfasten your trailer and use the Tongue Jack to level the trailer front, then you can now convey the trailer stabilizers. The scissor stabilizers are simply intended to keep the trailer stable and they ought not to be used to level the trailer as they could harm the stabilizers or your trailer’s frame.

If your Tongue Jack and stabilizer Jacks need to travel far, it can pressure them or harm them. To forestall such damage, you should accumulate some RV Jack Pads orbits of the board to reduce the distance that your jacks need to travel.

It is a decent practice to consistently have at least one jack cushion under each jack, with the goal that the jacks don’t sink into the ground or cause harm to the ground they are perched on.

What are The Best Tires For A Travel Trailer?

There are several good tires out there, but the ones I will recommend anytime, any day are the following;

These tires come highly recommended by several trailer owners around the united states.

How To Change A Tire On A Single Axle Travel Trailer – Conclusion

For some reason or the other, we all love to be on the road camping, travelling, and what have you – however, amid all the merriment, fun, excitement, and jollification, don’t ignore some basic DIY’s you will need to stay happy for the entire camping or travel expedition. Victory loves preparation, and knowing how to change a flat tire is a good place to start from. Have a safe trip. Cheers!!!

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