Removing Wheels

[J Stemler]

I know it's not recommended, but has anyone used the jacks to raise the vehicle high enough to remove a wheel. I need to replace valve extenders and need to remove outside wheel to get to the inside wheel. I was going to place blocks under the jack to raise the vehicle one side at a time, of course I will chock the wheels to keep vehicle from rolling.

[J Stemler]

I know it's not recommended, but has anyone used the jacks to raise the vehicle high enough to remove a wheel. I need to replace valve extenders and need to remove outside wheel to get to the inside wheel. I was going to place blocks under the jack to raise the vehicle one side at a time, of course I will chock the wheels to keep vehicle from rolling.

[omnc954]

what if you just drive up on a block of wood under the inside duel so the outside one is off the ground to remove it? just a thought

[J Stemler]

Never removed wheels before..are the inner wheels secured with seperate lug nuts ?

[JanBCarter]

Yep, OMNC954 is right on the money. Any tire dealer will just pull the inner dual up on a block to remove the outer dual....'tis much simplier than messing with a jack. Good travels

[bflem]

No inner nuts, wheel will be resting on the stud bolts. I wpuld use the jacks.

[Jim]

last year i had a flat outer dual wheel..the guy that replaced it was familiar with rvs and had me lower the left side jacks till the wheels were off the ground..right side was chocked to prevent movement..the jacks lift front and back evenly to eliminate frame stress..the lug nuts hold both wheels so the inner wheel was loose on the studs when the outer was off..seemed to work fine..jim

[doc]

Hmmmm. Wonder what would happen if the coach got a push to the side while the inner dual was sitting on the block of wood and the outer dual was sitting off someplace else? No lug nuts to keep the tire/wheel from flopping either in or out and the coach crashing to the ground. Believe Jim has the best plan.

If tire dealers are doing this, I'll bet OSHA and their insurance companies don't know about it. If I were to try this I would at least extend the levelers as far as I could in order to keep from warping the frame when the crash occurs.

[MrTransistor]

Hi All,
You might want to up your life insurance before you try that. Both rims are held on the axle with one set of lug nuts. Supporting the weight on the inner wheel with nothing holding it to the axle could be life threatening. On the other hand, the jacks are designed to carry the weight of the coach on a full time basis, and I have never heard of a jack failing in this way other than very slow leak down. We routinely camp in a remote area and use 6"� and 8"� blocks under the front jacks to get anywhere close to level. At that point, the front tires are around 4"� off the ground. I have also used the jacks during tire rotation at Commercial Tire, it's quick, it's easy, and there is no chance of suspension damage from jacking in the wrong place. If in doubt, after jacking the coach up you could place safety blocks under the axle.

[JanBCarter]

Mea Cupla, mea culpa... Tire dealers usually change truck tire duals (both wheels held in place by a set of nuts) by a block under the inner. I was not thinking and am glad others took that wrong advise to task. If both duals are indeed held by a single set of nuts, then obviously a block on the inner would not be the right thing to do, nor safe. I apologize for my "old-timers" ommision and will be sure brain is in gear before mouth is in motion next time. Thanks to all of you who pointed out the error of my ways.

[JD Allen]

I was at a Goodyear truck tire dealer day before yesterday and they had a motor home up on the jacks and the front tires removed. It stayed that way over night. Not sure if it's a good idea but a tire dealer was doing it.

[J Stemler]

Thanks for all the good answers...decided to drive the hour to Camping World and let them do the install....Better safe than sorry

[JnGOnTheGo]

I thought the rear rim's access holes were large enough to change out the valve extenders once you removed the wheel simulator. Has anyone removed their rear whell simulators to replace valve extenders?