spare tire

[jjerrydghby]

Just wanted to know the proper way for the spare tire to be mounted underneath my rig. I have a 2013 Bighorn 3670rl and the spare was used and changed by a service guy on the road. Is the spare suppose to be mounted with the inside down or the outside down?

 

[rxbristol]

Ideally, it should be mounted with the inside down to protect the face of the rim from road debris, but several mount it the other way for easy access to the air valve.

 

[mlpeloquin]

My Big Horn has the inside (non valve) side down. I do not know why because I need to lower it once a year and check the air pressure. I make sure the set it at 110 PSI. I don't run them at 110 psi, but it is easier to remove air then add on the side of the road. So far I have not needed the spare. I have Good Sam for that if needed, but I am not always in a cell area. So if needed, I will do it myself.

 

[boatto5er]

Make sure you can get your wheels off by yourself. I was going to change mine by myself when we had our blowout last week, but I couldn't get the lug nuts to loosen. Guess when that wheel was last put on it got REALLY tightened.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[IronJ]

Not just the mounted wheels but the spare itself!!

I had all my tires replaced and they had to cut off the plastic knob/bolt holding the tire in...1yr old and rusted shut!!..we replaced it with a bolt and nyloc nut and then a jam nut for added security...

sent from space via an invisible beam from a flying metal dish

 

[Sarge]

J

Make sure you can get your wheels off by yourself. I was going to change mine by myself when we had our blowout last week, but I couldn't get the lug nuts to loosen. Guess when that wheel was last put on it got REALLY tightened.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I carry a 3 foot length of pipe to slip over the handle of the breaker bar.

Leverage is your friend....

Sarge

 

[mlpeloquin]

Make sure you can get your wheels off by yourself. I was going to change mine by myself when we had our blowout last week, but I couldn't get the lug nuts to loosen. Guess when that wheel was last put on it got REALLY tightened.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had a same problem. Air hammer tools could not budge them. I had to use a three foot pipe and a breaker bar to break them and was very lucky to get one of them off. A lot of metal with all of them pealed off the lugs and lug nut threads. The bearings were checked and greased by my dealer and the lug nuts gunned on by people that didn't know better. Never again. I had to replace all the lugs and lug nuts. Over torquing can cause bolts to vibrate off or to snap off. I was lucky. Found out only after a trip across the county last year. I now check the bearings myself and hand torque the lugs.

 

[Lynn1130]

Back side down. I have an Viair that will bring it up to running pressure if need be. I had a blowout about an hour out of town and the service sent by Good Sam had a H of a time getting the nuts off. I suspect that the RV service center that did the bearing repack put the lugs back on at about 400 lbs.

Just a lesson here. I Have been dealing with Discount Tire for 40 years plus and several times they have reminded me that I should only run RV tires three years. Really, really top grade tires you might get four but in Arizona, even though I store fully inside, 3 years max. I went close to four and with all honestly, about 5 minutes before a tire blew I said to my wife, "this is probably the last trip on these tires since they are approaching four years". Yep it was the last trip on them alright. From the tire change location we went right straight to Flagstaff Discount for five new tires.

 

[JohnD]

Not just the mounted wheels but the spare itself!!

I had all my tires replaced and they had to cut off the plastic knob/bolt holding the tire in...1yr old and rusted shut!!..

This is what the bottom of my 2015 Prowler looked like less than four months from it's date of birth in Elkhart, Indiana:


Click on photos to make them larger

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

I carry my 20V Dewalt 1/2" Impact driver
With the Level-up and the Dewalt I can have the tire off in seconds.

 

[IronJ]

This is what the bottom of my 2015 Prowler looked like less than four months from it's date of birth in Elkhart, Indiana:

View attachment 47468 View attachment 47469
Click on photos to make them larger

Holy donkey nads!!...that's horrible looking??..I thought my lil spare tire nut was bad!! Lol

sent from space via an invisible beam from a flying metal dish

 

[boatto5er]

I carry my 20V Dewalt 1/2" Impact driver
With the Level-up and the Dewalt I can have the tire off in seconds.

My new 18V Ryobi wouldn't budge the lug nuts on mine. I ended up standing on the wrench.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

My new 18V Ryobi wouldn't budge the lug nuts on mine. I ended up standing on the wrench.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I also carry a large T-wrench. They do a great job because you can stand on one side and pull up on the other at the same time and double your force. And if you need to you can put some blocks of wood on the outer end to hold it up for more stability.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[Bohemian]

I once bent a breaker bar into a nice "C" shape using a pipe extension.

Yes, I got the nuts off.

 

[cookie]

Along with my 20 volt impact wrench I carry a real breaker bar. Clicky here.
And I carry a Good Sam Roadside Assist card.

Peace
Dave

 

[GregP]

Part of my twice annual prep is to lower the spare tire and check to make sure things are not rusted up underneath too badly. Past experience with a seized cable mechanism under a previous truck taught me to use it occasionally BEFORE I needed it to make sure I COULD use it. Also, I just replaced all of the factory lug nuts with solid steel nuts as almost half of the OEM nuts had been stripped or split during previous maintenance. This gave the the chance to manually torque all of the nuts to spec. I carry a torque wrench with me and periodically check wheel nuts on longer trips.

 

[mlpeloquin]

I carry my 20V Dewalt 1/2" Impact driver
With the Level-up and the Dewalt I can have the tire off in seconds.

Been there and I guarantee that it would not budge the lugs on my fifth wheel after my dealer got through with it. A heavy duty air impact driver hammer could not budge them. That is after one minute of hammering. Took a 24 inch breaker bar and a three foot pipe to break them loose. After breaking them loose all but one came off with the impact driver. The other one needed to be taken off using the breaker bar and three foot pipe. Lots and lots of metal shavings from all, but the last one had large slivers of thread fall out. Almost completely stripped.

I too carry a torque wrench specifically purchased for the RV where it resides. A must have.

 

[Jesstruckn/Jesstalkn]

I would recommend replacing those studs and lug nuts as soon as possible. If you didn't already.
They will give you a lot more problems the next time.
You may already know this but if you didn't you do now. LOL

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[donr827]

When I was having the wheels taking off for service I always told the guy doing the work to tighten the lug nuts per instructions. Have to keep a eye on them while they are doing it.
Don