| Author | Message | ||
| Kevin Wood
Rating: N/A |
What is the recommendation from the board for changing flat tires in remote areas? What equipment should be carried. The small lugstyle wrench that came with my MC9 is not going to cut it. The bus dealer I bought it from said to plan on calling a tire service in case of a flat. Is this true? Thanks | ||
| DonGeneda
Rating: N/A |
I carried an air jack, 1 inch impact wrench, and a spare tire for several years, finally got wise and pitched it all out and decided to just call some tire service if I ever had a flat. Giving up on being self sufficient comes slowly to some. | ||
| Sammy (Sammy)
Rating: N/A |
Call Truck Tire Service 1-800-342-5887, 24/7 - anywhere in the country. | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
Thanks Sammy! | ||
| Bill 4104 Rating: N/A |
Last year It cost me 568.00 to get a tire replaced and changed about 40 miles south of Nashville. My road service didn't have anybody near by so I had to call T/A truck stop.They had me and they knew it. One good thing it wasn't about 40 more miles going up the big hill.---Bill 4104-4032 | ||
| Chuck Lott (Chuckmc8)
Rating: N/A |
Although I have a subscription for road service thru FMCA, I also carry what I need to change a tire. I will not drive the coach out of my driveway without a spare tire. Stays in my coach- mounted spare tire that will work in any position, a bottle jack and Torque Wrench. Torque wrench goes to 600 ft lbs. It's 3/4" drive with a 4' handle. Breaks them loose, then I use a 3/4" ratchet to finish. After mounting the spare (or if tire service does it) I re-torque lugs to specs. I have been really pleased at how much the big torque wrench had been used for other bus projects as well. Just my way- | ||
| R.C. Bishop
Rating: N/A |
Join Roadcare...formerly RVIAA, Affinity Road Club, et al, who now owns Camping World. $89 per year covers your RV and your autos...I have used them since 2001...very reliable, very efficient and Quick!!...Few questions, if any. Wife used them just this week in LA. I have no connection with them other than a customer. FWIW...  RCB '64 Crown (HWC) | ||
| Kevin Wood Rating: N/A |
Thanks for the info, guys. Chuck, Where did you get that torque wrench and how much does something like that cost? I saw it in your pictures but I did not know it was a torque wrench. Regards, Kevin | ||
| Sojourner (Jjimage)
Rating: N/A |
Me too never on road without road service. Your spare tire is your tag wheel. Jack up enough to hook link (or 3/8 chain) to hold up. It in your manual under "Wheel-trailing wheel". Jump start twice from R/S using their 12v to boost. They will call HD wrecker tow if needed. All for $100 + or - per year. Cheap for emergency & not to hurt your self. Suggest purchasing a 1” torque bar @ 475 foot pound so never have to worry over tighten or break off later. Available at HD tool place such as NAPA http://www.napaautocare.com/Locator/StoreLocator.aspx?st=3 Or http://www.torquestick.com/cart/customer/product.php?productid=137&cat=1&page=2 Whenever tire man tightens your lug nut, let them use your new torque bar if they don’t have the right one. You be glad to have both Road Service & Torque Bar for your peace of mind. FWIW Sojourn for Christ, Jerry | ||
| Bill 4104 Rating: N/A |
RCB----- Roadcare is who I had when I couldn't get anybody out there to fix my flat. It must be better in certain parts of the country-----Bill 4104-4032 | ||
| R.C.Bishop
Rating: N/A |
Bill....how long ago was that and did you follow it up with a call later?....I know we have used them several times on different vehicles, including the coach, and have never had a problem. That might be something to look into even now with them, if you have the details and dates available. Wishing you the best. RCB | ||
| JR
Rating: N/A |
I got both. Spare tire, capacity to change it, and Good Sams Road Service. Never used either. However, I have removed the wheels manually several times. Bought a nice spare from Luke. Be sure that whatever spare you buy (if you carry a spare) will work with your stud/hub design. There are hub piloted and stud piloted wheels used on buses. They don't interchange. An aluminum wheel, while much lighter, will not work with steel wheel studs. Steel wheels with the correct stud design will interchange with aluminum wheels. I use a 1" torque multiplier and a 4' piece of pipe to remove and reinstall wheels. Also carry a foot by a foot square 1/2" steel plate to set the bottle jack on. I don't carry them yet, but a runup block will work for outside rear drive axle flats. It doesn't take much to get a wheel off the ground when the coach is aired up. I use the same pipe on the bottle jack handle and it will readily jack my MC9...any wheel. Be advised that the front axle is low to the ground, as this dimension doesn't change regardless of the air suspension. Aired up suspension gives room to work. Depending on the type tires you use, it may very difficult and expensive to find them in boonie places. This is definitely a problem with ex transits...such as NJTs. Got big old odd sized tires. If you decide to do your own tire changes, be sure that your choice of jacks will go under whatever component you want to get under. I carry two different types of jacks..one for the front and one for the rear. Once the jack point is secured, I release the air on that bag and jack the axle. And never get any body parts under a jacked up bus. Block the coach to prevent rolling. And don't jack the coach beyond the point necessary to remove the wheel. A good flat iron will make reinstalling a wheel and tire much easier...just lever it back into place. Being able to control the air suspension makes jacking a coach much easier. The most difficult aspect of changing a tire is removing and returning a wheel assembly to the spare tire compartment. I'm thinking of attaching a strap to the wheel so I can pull it out with the toad. May not be a good idea, but it's an idea. JR | ||
| Wayne Newland
Rating: N/A |
Soon after buying my '45 Flex in 1966, I had a flat on the outside rear. The old tire man had me drive up on a board (2x6?) under the inside tire. It lifted the outside tire up enough that he could work on it without jacking. It's called experience (or being lazy). No, Mary, it doesn't work on a flat inside tire. Wayne Newland | ||
| Chuck Newman (Chuck_newman)
Rating: N/A |
JR, [A good flat iron will make reinstalling a wheel and tire much easier...just lever it back into place.] In an effort to save my back, I was going to invest in a $150. tire cart that rolls under the tire after the lug nuts are removed. I saw a demo of the thing on the web, but can't find the web address now. Anyway, you apply a one handed upward motion and it lifts the tire off the lugs, and you simply roll it back away from the drum. You roll the tire off the cart and roll on the spare, and do it all in reverse. Does the proper flat iron do the same thing for less money? If so, is the flat iron something you have to fabricate or can they be purchased somewhere? I have all the other tools. Thanks, Chuck Newman Oroville, CA | ||
| FAST FRED Rating: N/A |
For the front a 4X10 a foot long tapered so you can pull up on it will raise the front enough to easily get a hyd jack under. A painted white spot where the jack should go helps at 0'Dark 30. An X-10 geared wrench and the bride can loosen/tighten he tire. The heavy work is pulling the spair out from under the coach & standing it up. After that its all EZ. Have done this and the only pain is if we have the 250cc Honda in the front carrier that needs 2 pins pulled to GET to the tire. FAST FRED | ||
| Dan West (Utahclaimjumper)
Rating: N/A |
I carry a three foot alum. ladder to clean the windshields, also works well for levering a tire into place.>>>Dan | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
"I carry a three foot alum. ladder to clean the windshields" You oughta' try Windex and a paper towel, Dan. You're going to scratch that glass using that ladder! | ||
| JR
Rating: N/A |
Chuck, Any truck tire or automotive supply house and construction equipment suppliers offer wide blade irons. Something about 4' long is ideal. They are just bars with flat ends. Roofers use a heavy iron to remove old shingles, that would work well What an iron won't do is remove a tire. Under ideal conditions a rolley cart will work fine...but off camber, gravel or dirt may make a cart impossible to use. On a concrete floor a cart is great. I keep my bays full of crap, partly because one bay is full of music instruments, and don't want any added "equipment" such as a cart. You may have plenty of room in a bay for a tire dolly. Be sure to remove each wheel assembly just to verify it's not rusted in place. If they don't come off easily, you want to fix that. Some are going to disagree on what I do, but I Neverseez my wheels. Have not had any problems keeping them tight. NJT lubed the lugs and I feel I'm continuing with what they did. Be sure your wheels aren't rusted in place. To use a tire iron to install a wheel, just get the wheel lined up with the studs and lever it into place. It'll go right on. I'll add that one should be very careful when rolling and working with bus tires. Especially the steel wheels. They are heavy, and when moving them could fall onto the rollee or damage something. Or a tire could get away and roll into traffic. Bummer! Calling road service is still the best way to change a tire...if you can get someone, and your tire is not damaged, and you are able to find a replacement tire. I carry a spare for that reason. Even if you find a replacement, you could be looking at $500 plus when it's all done. Or more. Practice changing tires before you need it. As someone stated, getting the spare out of the spare compartment and the flat tire back in is the most demanding part of a tire change. I suppose, you could operate without a spare, at reduced speed, by using a tag-axle tire on the steering axle. Chain up the tag axle (MCI with tags for sure, unsure about Eagles and most GMs don't have tags) and run without a tag wheel for a distance. One could also, on a less that maximally loaded coach, run with one wheel on one side of the drive axle...albeit at a considerably lowered speed. The lugs must have enough useable threads to allow this option. Even with this tire-swapping method, you got to buy a tire somewhere...this will get you off of the interstate. JR | ||
| Edward J. Sommers (Sommersed)
Rating: N/A |
One thing that I do that is seldom mentioned is to carry a plug tire repair kit. While this does not help with a full blow out, it does with a nail or such type flat. The thinking here is that if you can find the hole (leak) with the tire still on the rig, you can use the plug kit to eaisly get on the road and to a tire shop in the next day or so to have it patched properly. Ed | ||
| Gus Causbie (Gusc)
Rating: N/A |
I also use Anti-seize between wheels, especially duals. They tend to rust together very badly and I sure got tired of that. I also spray a very light coat of WD 40 on the lug threads and let it dry, otherwise they will rust and then are a real pain. | ||
| Arthur J Griffith
Rating: N/A |
Chuck Newman, I bought one of those wheel lift carts at Northern Tool co for about $40. Same as the ones for $150. Works great. Carry a piece of 3/4 plywood to slip under the wheel on soft ground. ARTHUR | ||
| Johnny Rating: N/A |
DO NOT PLUG A BUS TIRE! Plugs are not a wonderful repair to start with, ESPECIALLY with hot-running tires inflated to 100+psi. If you have a tire repaired, it must be PATCHED from inside. Like Gus, I anti-seize the hubs so I don't need the hammer-loose routine to get the tire off (though I do carry a 3lb dead-blow mallet, just in case). I carry a mounted spare, a 1/2" drive Snap-On impact wrench, a 3' breaker bar, a pipe to use as a cheater if I need it, & a 20-ton jack. By the time road service shows up, I can have a tire changed, the flat tire & my tools put away, myself cleaned up, & be back on the road. One important thing is: If you have Budd wheels, you may need an extention to get the rear lugs off. | ||
| John MC9 Rating: N/A |
Johnny - Ed said: "The thinking here is that if you can find the hole (leak) with the tire still on the rig, you can use the plug kit to eaisly get on the road and to a tire shop in the next day or so to have it patched properly. " It was worth saying again, tho. Plugs don't work well on radials or high pressure truck tires. |