Changing A Wheel (1 Viewer)

[Kingham]

Well that's me a fully paid up member of the 'changing a wheel' club and I'm pleased I did, as the spare is retained by an entirely different method to my last two vans.

The previous two were held in a cage, which had toggle releases, this one has a winching mechanism and once the spare was lowered to the floor, it took me a while to suss out how to remove the retaining plate in order to get the wheel out from under the van.

I'm pleased I've had a practice run, it will make the real thing much easier, if I ever have to and it's also reassuring to know the scissor jack easily copes with the task.

 

[Two on Tour]

I lowered down the spare to check the wheel and tyre and that the mechanism worked and was not seized but that's as far as I went when we bought our new to us PVC.
I would imagine that most of us live in hope that we never have to change a wheel as it's bound to be on a wet and windy night on an unlit single carriageway road with a muddy verge.
I'm sure some will not even know where the spare is located.

 

[andy63]

this one has a winching mechanism

Hi ken... it might pay to have a little extra security on the spare... they are easily removed using just boltcroppers and it a frequent occurrence. A good chain and padlock might help.. at least they would need more than croppers. .
The winding mechanism isn't cheap to replace either..
Andy..

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[Kingham]

Hi ken... it might pay to have a little extra security on the spare... they are easily removed using just boltcroppers and it a frequent occurrence. A good chain and padlock might help.. at least they would need more than croppers. .
The winding mechanism isn't cheap to replace either..
Andy..

Cheers Andy, I must be slipping, I can't believe I hadn't thought of that already

 

[pappajohn]

I certainly wouldn't trust the provided scissor jack.
A 4 ton bottle jack isn't much heavier and far safer......along with an axle stand even with a hydraulic jack.
Like the interlocking teeth on a scissor jack, hydraulic seals can fail at any time.

 

[andy63]

I certainly wouldn't trust the provided scissor jack

John...we are talking changing wheels here not routine maintenance. ..
All the vans I've had up to 3.5 tonne that have been equipped with a spare have been provided with sissor jacks that have been up to the job of lifting the vehicle for wheel changing..
But I wouldn't use it for maintenance work..
Andy

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[Kingham]

Hi ken... it might pay to have a little extra security on the spare...
Andy..

Giving that a bit more thought Andy.

When I put the spare back under the van, I'll have a look and see if one of the Submariners fits, with one of my motorbike chains. If it does, I'll order another 'keyed alike'

 

[Spanner]

Very soon after getting our van I removed the spare wheel to make sure everything worked as it should and I'm glad I did as the bracket that supports the centre of the spare wheel to the cable was unmovable due to the wing type retaining nut being seized solid.

Unlike a car where following a wheel change you would normally pop the punctured tyre in the boot I wouldn't waste time refitting the punctured wheel back in the cradle at the roadside, instead I've purchased a round BBQ cover to carry the dirty wheel inside the motorhome while looking for a tyre shop.

The least time spent changing a wheel at the roadside the safer it is for both you or the breakdown service !

 

[Two on Tour]

I covered the spare under my 4x4 in polythene to keep road muck off it so I did not get covered in dirt if I had to do a wheel change, and now I'm thinking why the hell did I not do that to the camper spare. Looks like a job for this weekend then.

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[joka250]

Most of my working life in the motor trade including working for 2 tyre manufacturers and in no circumstances would I rely on a scissor jack.
Add to that 67 years and a less than perfect heart and I can barely lift the rear mounted spare to the floor. My solution is to talk to the breakdown service and a few national and international tyre dealerships and now I rely on the fully equipped experts just as the operator of a commercial truck might do. I no longer carry a spare just a suitable compressor for slow punctures so a big weight saving, more beer payload. I also found that the o/e alloys would not fit in the spare wheel carrier and would need to be carried inside if punctured.
Not everybodies solution but it works for me.

 

[Two on Tour]

I note that some motorhomer's do not even carry a spare wheel and tyre just a spare tyre of the correct size and let the roadside tyre fitter do the rest.

 

[pappajohn]

John...we are talking changing wheels here not routine maintenance. ..
All the vans I've had up to 3.5 tonne that have been equipped with a spare have been provided with sissor jacks that have been up to the job of lifting the vehicle for wheel changing..
But I wouldn't use it for maintenance work..
Andy

Personal choice, I wouldn't use it for lifting my spirits never mind something weighing 3500kg and upwards.

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[andy63]

Giving that a bit more thought Andy.

When I put the spare back under the van, I'll have a look and see if one of the Submariners fits, with one of my motorbike chains. If it does, I'll order another 'keyed alike'

As long as the chain links pass through the rim holes... a lot of the security chains were too big for the holes in my rim but hopefully that sorted now..
It stI'll cost me £90 for a new winding mechanism... which was as cheap as I could source..
Was going to try making up a lockable cradle but it's a tight space and gave up on that idea.. just too much work..
I've still not ordered those locks for the karitek ...must get round to that soon...
Andy.

 

[Kingham]

...... so a big weight saving, more beer payload......

I'm so with you on that one, even with close to a tonne and a half of payload

 

[sylvester1954]

Well that's me a fully paid up member of the 'changing a wheel' club and I'm pleased I did, as the spare is retained by an entirely different method to my last two vans.

The previous two were held in a cage, which had toggle releases, this one has a winching mechanism and once the spare was lowered to the floor, it took me a while to suss out how to remove the retaining plate in order to get the wheel out from under the van.

I'm pleased I've had a practice run, it will make the real thing much easier, if I ever have to and it's also reassuring to know the scissor jack easily copes with the task.

I must confess that l haven't tested the change the wheel procedure yet and l must take a leaf from your book and try a dry run too. What is the retaining plate that you mention?

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[Kingham]

I must confess that l haven't tested the change the wheel procedure yet and l must take a leaf from your book and try a dry run too. What is the retaining plate that you mention?

It's a plate that sits underneath the wheel and is attached by a small chain to the winch, which lifts the wheel and holds it in place under the floor when fully winched up.
It looked to me, to be too big to pass through the centre hole and I was looking for an obvious way of detaching it from the chain ..... but it passes through the hole when positioned correctly.

It's really simple when you know how, so do make time for a dry run

Ps..... Mine wasn't a dry run, it's going in for a new tyre at 1800 miles

 

[Diggerdi]

Our spare wheel is sat on the floor in the centre of the garage. A spare was an option at a cost of £800 , which included the 'cage' fitted underneath. I had already priced up a wheel and camper tyre at £200 and mentioned this to Hayes and asked about having it on the garage floor. They said this would be OK and added it for nothing. I wouldn't like to get it out though, I can't budge it.

 

[namwaldog]

When we had our Lunar Roadstar I went out one morning to a flat tyre. Took the spare wheel from the carrier, got out the supplied Ducato Scissor Jack and my own Axle stand. Jacked up the van so that I could get the Axle stand under at its lowest level, wound up the jack some more and put the axle stand up a peg. Wound up the jack some more.

Should add at this stage that I was working on the downwind side of the vehicle. A gust of wind blew and put that little bit extra load on the jack and it just collapsed slowly like a chocolate teapot. Van dropped slowly half an inch onto axle stand.

Always use suitable hydraulic jack now and only then if road conditions are safe - otherwise call breakdown services

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[Spanner]

sylvester1954 said:
I must confess that l haven't tested the change the wheel procedure yet and l must take a leaf from your book and try a dry run too. What is the retaining plate that you mention?

It's a plate that sits underneath the wheel and is attached by a small chain to the winch, which lifts the wheel and holds it in place under the floor when fully winched up.
It looked to me, to be too big to pass through the centre hole and I was looking for an obvious way of detaching it from the chain ..... but it passes through the hole when positioned correctly.

It's really simple when you know how, so do make time for a dry run

Ps..... Mine wasn't a dry run, it's going in for a new tyre at 1800 miles

If your your van has factory fitted alloy wheels and a steel spare wheel make sure you have the "adapter plate and bolt set " to suit the alloy wheel as the centre hole is much smaller in the allow wheel than the hole in the steel wheel, without the adapter you cannot attach the alloy wheel in place of the steel spare wheel on the carrier.

 

[Kingham]

........

If your your van has factory fitted alloy wheels and a steel spare wheel make sure you have the "adapter plate and bolt set " to suit the alloy wheel as the centre hole is much smaller in the allow wheel than the hole in the steel wheel, without the adapter you cannot attach the alloy wheel in place of the steel spare wheel on the carrier.

Yes, the van came with the adaptor plate and 3 bolts

 

[Masman]

I used the scissor Jack to remove a wheel. Brand new Jack FIAT. Buggered. Bearings fell out.I had to go buy a 4t bottle Jack to lower van.I learnt the hard way.

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[Sandancers]

Currently our Chausson only has an inflator and sealant. Later this year I am going to make up a spare wheel carrier so we can be equipped with a spare at all times.

Not sure what sort of jack to carry tho. But confused about people talking about lifting 3.5 tons on the jack. Assuming one back tyre has gone down, then you'd only need to lift that corner of the van, so surely a 1ton capacity jack would do the job? You'd NEVER be lifting the whole 3.5 ton on any jack.

 

[SpeedyDux]

Currently our Chausson only has an inflator and sealant. Later this year I am going to make up a spare wheel carrier so we can be equipped with a spare at all times.

Not sure what sort of jack to carry tho. But confused about people talking about lifting 3.5 tons on the jack. Assuming one back tyre has gone down, then you'd only need to lift that corner of the van, so surely a 1ton capacity jack would do the job? You'd NEVER be lifting the whole 3.5 ton on any jack.

I think you will find that your "corner" includes a lot more than that. Effectively you need to jack up one side of the van.

 

[Kingham]

....... Not sure what sort of jack to carry tho. But confused about people talking about lifting 3.5 tons on the jack. Assuming one back tyre has gone down, then you'd only need to lift that corner of the van, so surely a 1ton capacity jack would do the job? You'd NEVER be lifting the whole 3.5 ton on any jack.

I agree with your thoughts, you won't be lifting the entire weight, but in reality, you're always going to be lifting more than a quarter of the total weight. As @SpeedyDux says, it's probably going to be closer to one side of the van.

I have a small 2 tonne trolley jack, which I keep at home in the garage and it struggled yesterday, which is why I used the scissor Jack.

Until a few of the earlier replies appeared, I was content with the scissor jack, but now I know better and I'm looking to replace it.

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[Kingham]

Also, the scissor jack has a plate and spigot, which lines up with a hole in the jacking point, making the whole thing less prone to slipping.

I'm struggling to find a bottle jack with a similar top, so will probably end up getting one fabricated.

 

[andy63]

Also, the scissor jack has a plate and spigot, which lines up with a hole in the jacking point, making the whole thing less prone to slipping.

I'm struggling to find a bottle jack with a similar top, so will probably end up getting one fabricated.

Back to what I said earlier ken... every sissor jack I've had supplied by ford has done the job on the few occasions I've had to use it... it's an emergency tool and It does the job...
You have already said the sissor jack managed better than little trolly jack..
On the chausson I carry a little trolley jack and as you said it struggles ,but to date it's the only jack that will fit under the rear axel and give enough lift in one go without using chocks and block's to get there..
I wonder how many people carry any form of chocks to make the lift safer..??
Enough lol.... each to their own..
Andy.

 

[Khizzie]

Green flag. Lol or RAC...

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[Kingham]

No issues with calling out the specialists, but it would depend on where I'm stuck with the flat, whether or not I can change it safely and what my destination is.

I know how long they can sometimes take and if I've got a ferry to catch, my 10 minutes is better than their 2 hours.

 

[busby]

Currently our Chausson only has an inflator and sealant. Later this year I am going to make up a spare wheel carrier so we can be equipped with a spare at all times.

Not sure what sort of jack to carry tho. But confused about people talking about lifting 3.5 tons on the jack. Assuming one back tyre has gone down, then you'd only need to lift that corner of the van, so surely a 1ton capacity jack would do the job? You'd NEVER be lifting the whole 3.5 ton on any jack.

Off course,,,manufacturers would have been sued by now if the jacks were not fit for purpose,,,Easiest method is to run flat tyre up a levelling ramp to save having to jack van to that height,,also only use any jack on a solid surface,,BUSBY..

 

[John.]

Got me thinking.
I already carry the scissor jack + bottle jack but van has alloys fitted as standard but a steel spare perhaps the wheel bolts could be different for the spare?

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