Escaping from the hurly-burly of city life and spending some quality time with your family by going on a trip can be very self-satisfying. The experience can be even more fun and exciting when you bring a travel trailer with you.
However, if our trailer tire goes flat, you need to have some ideas on changing it. Otherwise, it will ruin the adventure, fun, and excitement. You must develop some skills to replace a tire as a driver and car owner.
Stick around and be informed. Let’s ensure that you are 100% ready to replace the tire on a single axle trailer so that your family escapade will be pleasant and memorable.
How to Change a Tire on a Single Axle Travel Trailer
Tools Needed
You must ensure that you have the essential repair tools in your trunk when you travel. Otherwise, it can be a scary journey. Imagine yourself getting a flat tire in the middle of somewhere, and the place appears to be dangerous. You don’t want to get stuck in that place, so you must be ready all the time.
Below are the tools and materials you need to replace a tire on a single axle travel trailer:
Spare Tire: Never travel without a spare tire, especially if you are going on a long ride. Going on a trip to the country is very unpredictable. You can potentially get a flat tire anytime, anywhere. It is unsure if you will find some repair shops to get your tire repaired when this happens.
If you are going on a long trip, bring a couple of spare tires with you when possible. Remember the saying, “When it rains, it pours”? You need to be ready when this strikes.
Jack: You must have this in your trunk all the time. This equipment is a necessity for all vehicle owners. It doesn’t matter what type of jack you bring with you. A scissor or a bottle jack should get the job done. However, experts highly recommend the latter.
When jacking up the trailer, ensure that you position the equipment on the correct jack area. Jacking up the trailer on the jack point ensures that it will not slip off the jack and cause accidents.
Lug Wrench: Your spare tire and your jack are useless when you cannot unmount the flat tire because you do not have the wrench to do it. A regular lug wrench will do the job. However, please secure a trailer lug wrench as it can be challenging to loosen the nuts on a trailer.
Hub Cup Remover: This tool will be helpful if your tires have hub cups. Keeping this tool with you ensures that you will not accidentally cause unwanted scratches. It has been proven effective in removing hub cups.
Wheel Chocks: Wheel chocks are another necessity for car owners. This tool ensures that your vehicle will not roll off the slope while you are doing the job of changing your tire.
I know some people say that it is not necessary as you can use rocks on the road, but not all the time this option is available. So, better be ready than sorry.
What if you don’t have the wheel chocks that you can purchase in the market? Are there other alternatives? Well, you can bring scrap woods with you to do the function of avoiding your trailer from rolling while you are doing the process of replacing the tire.
Wood Scraps: If you have pieces of wood scraps at home, load some on your vehicle before going on a trip. Trust me – it will help you jack up your car or trailer on soft ground.
As mentioned above, you can use the woods in your trunk as a wheel chock if it is thick enough to block the tire. Therefore, you can stock a variety of woods in your compartment. You can use something that you can use as a wheel chock and a jack base.
Changing the Tire
Step 1: Secure your trailer
Park your vehicle and your trailer on flat and solid ground. Avoid replacing your tire on grass or slope; it can be perilous. Instead, install the wheel chocks as an added safety when you are sure that the trailer is in a safe spot.
Step 2: Jack up the trailer
Roll up your sleeves and prepare to jack up the trailer. Before starting the process of jacking up, loosen the nuts of the tire first. After loosening the nuts, position the jack on the jack and raise the trailer.
Ensure that you are not lifting the trailer so high. Just get enough space for your to move the tire.
Check out this article if you got caught in a problematic situation (slope or grass) when jacking up the trailer.
Step 3: Remove the nuts and the tire
Establishing the correct height to remove the flat tire, totally unscrew the tire nuts. When the lug nuts are entirely out, remove the tire.
Removing the tire can be challenging if the fit is quite tight. Give it a light kick if necessary, and you should be able to do it.
Step 4: Install the spare tire
Now that you’ve removed the damaged tire, it is time to mount the replacement. Put the lug nuts back using your hands when you see that the tire is on a good balance with the wheel. Do not tighten them up yet.
Step 5: Lower down the trailer and remove the jack
Lower down the trailer and remove the jack entirely when the lug nuts and back into place. The goal is to let the spare tire settle down on the ground. It will be challenging to tighten up the nuts when the tire moves.
Step 6: Tighten up the nuts
After removing the jack, get your lug nut wrench and tighten up the wheel nuts. Make sure that you do not miss a single nut when doing this. Do not rush the process.
Step 7: Clean up
The final step is to clean up the area. If you left any mess in the area, make sure to clean those up. You need to do this as a courtesy for other travelers who might be inconvenienced by the debris you left.
More importantly, keep your tools and the damaged tire. Do a quick area check before starting rolling again. Ask yourself: Have I put all our tools back in your trunk?
You won’t know when you will need your tools again, so you cannot afford to lose one.
Additional Safety Tips When Changing Trainer Tire
Tip 1: Do the job in a safe place when possible.
I already mentioned this above. Park the trailer in a secure area for you to do the job. As much as possible, do not replace tires on a slope because it is dangerous. You must also avoid grass or soft grounds as you will have some issues jacking up the trainer.
Tip 2: Install warning signs.
Aside from the tools mentioned above, it is essential that you also bring some early warning devices or warning signs to avoid accidents. This warning sign could even get you some help from good samaritans on the road.
You know what an early warning device is for sure. This device is the orange triangular shape you commonly see on the road if someone’s car breaks down. You can buy this device at any automotive shop or online.
Alternatively, you can make your early warning sign and paint it orange. That might save you some bucks.
Tip 3: Be ready with emergency lights.
It will also help you arm yourself with emergency lights like flashlights. You will not know precisely when you need to replace your tire. Imagine the worst situation. If you need to do it in the dark, you will need these emergency lights.
Tip 4: Tire repair kits can help.
If you run out of options and the only thing you can do is repair your tire, these repair kits will be helpful. Put some fix-a-flat tubes or plug or patch kit in our trunk. These may not fix the flat tire permanently, but they should allow you to drive a few more miles to get some help.
Conclusion
As a driver, you will experience replacing your tires whether you like it or not. If you are in such a situation, you should be ready to challenge.
You have just learned how to change a tire on a single axle travel trailer. You have also known a few tips on safely performing the process. Keep this knowledge applicable when you need to replace your car tire.
The most important things to consider when doing a tire replacement are the spare tire, the tools you need, and the area’s safety.