Changing Tire on C Class

[moose85003]

Hello everyone,

I had a flat on the inside dually on my 30' class C. Motor home.  Called AAA roadside assistance to put on my spare (I have the RV Coverage).  To my dismay I found out their technicians will not touch the inside dually, only the outside tires (???).  I am healthy and  a confident I can change my own tire.  I am thinking about getting a 20ton bottle jack, they are compact and light enough to easily store in my RV and seem beefy enough to do the job.  Does anyone else carry this jack? Do you find it a safe way to change your tire on the side of the road?

Thank you,

Nate

 

[Rene T]

How did you get it changed out? 
It is never safe to change a flat on the side of the road but you do what you have to do.
I would call AAA and question what you were told. It doesn't make sense to me.

 

[moose85003]

Eventually I limped it to the nearest tire store.  The AAA fiasco took 4 hours with two different AAA contractors.  Both times they told me they could not change out the inside tire only the outside ones. 

 

[HappyWanderer1]

Time to ditch AAA and get Coach-Net.

 

[LarsMac]

That is pretty bizarre. I hope you kept the contact info for the contractors, and the drivers who came out. And I hope you reported it to AAA.
What City and state did that happen in?
That is part of the problem with AAA. There are regions where they may have contractor who are unprepared for RV assistance.
But, If they have the technology to get the tires off the ground and are able get the Lugs off, they should be able to manage either tire without issue.
Maybe the driver(s) were trying to pump you for some extra cash.
CoachNet is looking better all the time.

 

[moose85003]

Arizona.  I was on the line with AAA when the second guy told me they don't change the inside dually.  The lady just said "shoot".  The whole process was 4 hours and they kept putting me on hold so they could contact their "RV" division.  It's a joke,  I would rather carry the proper equipment myself and not waste the time, that's why I was wondering if anyone changes their own tires and use a bottle jack.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

I have changed 22.5s on class "A"s Evan inside tires,,,but I wasn't 77 years old then either.>>>Dan

 

[LarsMac]

Arizona.  I was on the line with AAA when the second guy told me they don't change the inside dually.  The lady just said "shoot".  The whole process was 4 hours and they kept putting me on hold so they could contact their "RV" division.  It's a joke,  I would rather carry the proper equipment myself and not waste the time, that's why I was wondering if anyone changes their own tires and use a bottle jack.

I have a 10 T bottle (a 20 T seems to be a bit overkill) , and a Spare. Haven't had to use either, yet.
You'll need a 4-point Lug wrench and a nice pipe for a breaker Bar to break the Lugs loose, unless you have a heavy duty Air wrench.

Though, were I in your situation, I would have probably told the guy to just break the lugs and get out of the way. I'll swap the wheel myself. 

 

[Lou Schneider]

Check the height from the ground to the underside of your spring bracket - that's where you will be putting the bottle jack.  If you have 16" wheels some of the taller bottle jacks may not fit.

You can always put blocks under a short jack to make it higher, but not the other way around.

 

[DearMissMermaid]

AAA is out of their mind!

I had an inside tire rip its tread off and jam it between the tires so I was dead in the road.

A tire guy showed up and managed to change it all out and I felt so sorry for him.

It was a nasty piece of work and I was on the shoulder next to some aggressive brambles.

RV would not budge, no way I could have limped to the next exit which was my first choice and I only made it a few feet.

 

[moose85003]

Thanks everyone for their comments and tips! ;D

 

[AStravelers]

Arizona.  I was on the line with AAA when the second guy told me they don't change the inside dually.  The lady just said "shoot".  The whole process was 4 hours and they kept putting me on hold so they could contact their "RV" division.  It's a joke,  I would rather carry the proper equipment myself and not waste the time, that's why I was wondering if anyone changes their own tires and use a bottle jack.

The max GVWR for a Class C is 14,500 pounds so a 6 ton jack will work just fine.

A Class C MH has relatively light 16" wheels (compared to 19.5" and 22.5" wheels) and are not that hard to change for a reasonably strong person.

You should carry a torque wrench to torque the lug nuts to the proper number.  Also be sure to alternate, opposite side lug nuts as you tighten them.

I have changed the mounted tires on both my Class C and more recently Class A with 19.5" wheels.  The 19.5" wheel & tire weighs about 125 pounds.  I now have a Class A with 22.5" wheels and they weigh around 175 pounds.  Moving 125 pounds from the storage and getting it back in storage was difficult.  I am not planning on trying to tackle 175 pounds of tire & wheel.

 

[JKromberg]

  I have roadside with my Progressive insurance. I carry a bottle jack (12ton I think), a cross lug wrench, torque wrench, 2x12 boards, penetrating oil, and some other stuff along with a full-size spare/rim that came with the RV.
  This summer I had a flat (inside rear of course). As I was 15 miles off of the highway on a gravel road in the middle of Wyoming, had very marginal cell service, am too impatient to wait and too independent to call, I changed it myself. One thing that really saved me was that I happened to do a trial run about a month earlier as I was working on replacing a mud flap. Traffic was not a problem. I think one pickup went by in the hour+ I was working on it.
  The biggest problem was getting the inside tire off the hub. It is a tight fit. I had to keep wiggling back and forth to finally get it off. Side note: At home, pulling the spare off to put the repaired tire back on was even worse. I think there was a fine layer of rust on inside of the rim that made it even tighter. Since then, I have run a wire drill brush around the inside of the spare rim to clean it. I also lifted the spare off the bed of RV basement to keep it out of standing moisture. 
  Would I do the same in the future? By all means. Out on a busy interstate, I might be more inclined to call if nothing else to have a truck with lots of flashy lights to warn traffic.
  Another side note: My EEZ RV TPMS system saved my B***. I had early warning when it was low, not flat. Added air and 2 miles later, the TPMS said I still had a problem. Time to change the tire. Without the TPMS, I?m sure I would have ended up totaling the tire before I realized I had a problem.
  I have a Thor Chateau 23U class C which is about 25 feet bumper to bumper.

 

[Bobtop46]

I had a similar problem when I had my class C.  Had a Flat on the inside passenger side duel.  I had a spare that was a little low on air.  First guy "we don't work on 16".  Second guy had no air compressor, I told him to not bother coming at all, and reported both to roadside assistance.  I changed it myself on the side of the road.  I carried a 6 ton bottle jack, and plenty of wood to put under it as needed, plus a breaker bar.