Hello all, if changing a wheel at Roadside do I need to unhitch from Car or will there be enough movement if left attached, thanks Kim.
Changing a Wheel at roadside
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Never try to jack up a caravan by the roadside if it is detached from the tow vehicle, the bow wave from passing vehicles could cause the caravan to rock excessively and possibly collapse the jack. Better still join one of the motoring organisations and let them do it.
Steve W
Steve W
Steve is absolutely right. NEVER try to jack up a caravan by the roadside if it is detached from the tow vehicle.
However, regarding calling out a motoring organisation, very few would attend to change a wheel on a caravan. The caravan cover included in most policies is only for towing the van if the CAR breaks down! There are a few exceptions, such as Mayday, - its worth checking.
Keith
However, regarding calling out a motoring organisation, very few would attend to change a wheel on a caravan. The caravan cover included in most policies is only for towing the van if the CAR breaks down! There are a few exceptions, such as Mayday, - its worth checking.
Keith
Greenflag change wheels at the roadsideSteve is absolutely right. NEVER try to jack up a caravan by the roadside if it is detached from the tow vehicle.
However, regarding calling out a motoring organisation, very few would attend to change a wheel on a caravan. The caravan cover included in most policies is only for towing the van if the CAR breaks down! There are a few exceptions, such as Mayday, - its worth checking.
Keith
YES , Always remain hitched up. I think the advive is to lower the corner stedies on the oposite side, anyone heard this?
If its on the off-side on the motorway get as far over to the near-side as you can, if its not safe DON'T, the police will close lane 1 for you or your contractor to work safely.
I'd recon that by the time you'd heard / felt it & stopped the tyre would be beond hope so there's an argument for trundling along the hard shoulder to a safer place before changing the wheel.
Remember , you'll reduce your chances of ever changing a wheel by changing tyres at 5 years old & checking pressures regularly.
Cheers Gareth
If its on the off-side on the motorway get as far over to the near-side as you can, if its not safe DON'T, the police will close lane 1 for you or your contractor to work safely.
I'd recon that by the time you'd heard / felt it & stopped the tyre would be beond hope so there's an argument for trundling along the hard shoulder to a safer place before changing the wheel.
Remember , you'll reduce your chances of ever changing a wheel by changing tyres at 5 years old & checking pressures regularly.
Cheers Gareth
J-Lo
Green Flag change caravan wheels under their Mayday policy (because it is negotiated by the Caravan Club), but are you sure they would come out purely for a caravan under their normal policies? Not many do.
Keith
Green Flag change caravan wheels under their Mayday policy (because it is negotiated by the Caravan Club), but are you sure they would come out purely for a caravan under their normal policies? Not many do.
Keith
Geenflag have change tyres for me on two occasions in the last five years, the last time in May this year. Again in Sandwich this year they change a wheel on a caravan on site that the owner noticed a bubble on.They took the wheel away after giving the owner a price and returned two days later with a new tyre fitted.
I've had cause to change wheels on my caravan on a couple of occassions and this is the method and tools I used very successfully.
1/ Find the safest place you can to change the wheel. The tyre will undoubtedly be beyond re-use so if you have to trunddle up the road/hard shoulder to find a wide spot to stop then so be it. But drive at walking pace to make the tyre last and to avoid any further damage to the van. Put your hazard flashers on and turn off all other lights to ensure they stand out and are noticed more.
2/ Put on a hi visability vest/jacket before starting working and stay calm. Also put on a pair of work gloves. Do not try to do a formula one pit stop job as you will end up having an accident yourself.
3/ On a motorway, make sure all the occupants not involved in the wheel change are away from the vehicle and sat up the embankment out of harms way. Also make sure a respossible person is put in charge of the party.
4/ Have a fire extinguisher at hand just incase the tyre has caught fire. Beware it will be hot and could be smouldering.
5/ Place your hazard triangle atleast 100 metres behind your caravan and ensure it can clearly be seen.
6/ Make sure the parking brakes are firmly on on both car and caravan.
7/ Lower the jockey wheel to contact the ground and lower all corner steadies in the same way, to stabilise the van as much as possible and provide support should your jack slip.
8/ Have a 20mm piece of ply 150mm bigger all round compared to the wheel base of the jack you are using and use this even on tarmac and stone to provide a gripper mat for the jack to avoid slippage.
9/ Slack off the wheel nuts but do not undo more than two full turns.
10/ Jack the van up enough to fit the new spare wheel. Remember your current tyre will be flat and so the van could be 100mm lower than if it has an inflated tyre fitted. Use the spare wheel to guage the height before taking off the punctured wheel.
11/ Now working swiftly but still without panic, remove the old wheel and replace the new wheel. Then fit the wheel bolts/nuts and do up to hand tight. Doing this switly but still without dashing reduces the time that there is no wheel fitted to a minimum.
12/ Tighten the wheel bolts to sequence and as tight as you can with the wheel spanner. Don't mess about torquing the nuts at this stage, just make sure the bolts are tight.
13/ Lower the jack and raise the steadies and jockey wheel.
14/ Put the punctured wheel away safely. Be carefull as it may still be hot enough to burn bare hands, so still use gloves.
15/ Release the caravan parking brake.
16/ Retrieve your hazard triangle.
17/ Now instruct your passengers to return to the vehicle and leave the area in a safe manner. If you have stopped on the hard shoulder build up speed on the hard shoulder to 50 Mph before joining the carriageway.
18/ Now proceed cautiously to the next available layby/service area where you acn at your leisure, ensure the wheel bolts are still tight and torque them up if you have your wrench with you.
You can change a wheel your self. But as with any emergencey proceedure, I strongly recommend that you test this out before an incident occurs, so that you know what to do before you have to do it for real in a lashing downpour on a busy motorway. Believe me, when things go wrong they always seem to pick the most awkward time and place to do so.
But having practiced on your driveway or an empty car park, you will have some idea what you are in for.
There is no shame in calling for help if you don't feel safe doing a wheel change, but do be aware that the majority of breakdown covers, do not cover caravans or trailers unless the tow vehicle has broken down. All they might do is call out a mobile tyre service which will cost a packet.
There is a significant proportion of vehicle drivers from all types of vehicles, who don't have a clue about their vehicles. After all the world would be very boring if we all were tyre fitters or mechanics. But that doesn't mean you are not able to diversify. Most colleges offer coarses in basic vehicle mainatainence which will give anyone an insight.
Regards.
Steve L.
1/ Find the safest place you can to change the wheel. The tyre will undoubtedly be beyond re-use so if you have to trunddle up the road/hard shoulder to find a wide spot to stop then so be it. But drive at walking pace to make the tyre last and to avoid any further damage to the van. Put your hazard flashers on and turn off all other lights to ensure they stand out and are noticed more.
2/ Put on a hi visability vest/jacket before starting working and stay calm. Also put on a pair of work gloves. Do not try to do a formula one pit stop job as you will end up having an accident yourself.
3/ On a motorway, make sure all the occupants not involved in the wheel change are away from the vehicle and sat up the embankment out of harms way. Also make sure a respossible person is put in charge of the party.
4/ Have a fire extinguisher at hand just incase the tyre has caught fire. Beware it will be hot and could be smouldering.
5/ Place your hazard triangle atleast 100 metres behind your caravan and ensure it can clearly be seen.
6/ Make sure the parking brakes are firmly on on both car and caravan.
7/ Lower the jockey wheel to contact the ground and lower all corner steadies in the same way, to stabilise the van as much as possible and provide support should your jack slip.
8/ Have a 20mm piece of ply 150mm bigger all round compared to the wheel base of the jack you are using and use this even on tarmac and stone to provide a gripper mat for the jack to avoid slippage.
9/ Slack off the wheel nuts but do not undo more than two full turns.
10/ Jack the van up enough to fit the new spare wheel. Remember your current tyre will be flat and so the van could be 100mm lower than if it has an inflated tyre fitted. Use the spare wheel to guage the height before taking off the punctured wheel.
11/ Now working swiftly but still without panic, remove the old wheel and replace the new wheel. Then fit the wheel bolts/nuts and do up to hand tight. Doing this switly but still without dashing reduces the time that there is no wheel fitted to a minimum.
12/ Tighten the wheel bolts to sequence and as tight as you can with the wheel spanner. Don't mess about torquing the nuts at this stage, just make sure the bolts are tight.
13/ Lower the jack and raise the steadies and jockey wheel.
14/ Put the punctured wheel away safely. Be carefull as it may still be hot enough to burn bare hands, so still use gloves.
15/ Release the caravan parking brake.
16/ Retrieve your hazard triangle.
17/ Now instruct your passengers to return to the vehicle and leave the area in a safe manner. If you have stopped on the hard shoulder build up speed on the hard shoulder to 50 Mph before joining the carriageway.
18/ Now proceed cautiously to the next available layby/service area where you acn at your leisure, ensure the wheel bolts are still tight and torque them up if you have your wrench with you.
You can change a wheel your self. But as with any emergencey proceedure, I strongly recommend that you test this out before an incident occurs, so that you know what to do before you have to do it for real in a lashing downpour on a busy motorway. Believe me, when things go wrong they always seem to pick the most awkward time and place to do so.
But having practiced on your driveway or an empty car park, you will have some idea what you are in for.
There is no shame in calling for help if you don't feel safe doing a wheel change, but do be aware that the majority of breakdown covers, do not cover caravans or trailers unless the tow vehicle has broken down. All they might do is call out a mobile tyre service which will cost a packet.
There is a significant proportion of vehicle drivers from all types of vehicles, who don't have a clue about their vehicles. After all the world would be very boring if we all were tyre fitters or mechanics. But that doesn't mean you are not able to diversify. Most colleges offer coarses in basic vehicle mainatainence which will give anyone an insight.
Regards.
Steve L.
I should of added that I'm assuming a day light puncture. Night time will require some adaption Ie torches and the use of lights on the car etc. A torch lay on the floor shining at the triangle at night will help.I've had cause to change wheels on my caravan on a couple of occassions and this is the method and tools I used very successfully.
1/ Find the safest place you can to change the wheel. The tyre will undoubtedly be beyond re-use so if you have to trunddle up the road/hard shoulder to find a wide spot to stop then so be it. But drive at walking pace to make the tyre last and to avoid any further damage to the van. Put your hazard flashers on and turn off all other lights to ensure they stand out and are noticed more.
2/ Put on a hi visability vest/jacket before starting working and stay calm. Also put on a pair of work gloves. Do not try to do a formula one pit stop job as you will end up having an accident yourself.
3/ On a motorway, make sure all the occupants not involved in the wheel change are away from the vehicle and sat up the embankment out of harms way. Also make sure a respossible person is put in charge of the party.
4/ Have a fire extinguisher at hand just incase the tyre has caught fire. Beware it will be hot and could be smouldering.
5/ Place your hazard triangle atleast 100 metres behind your caravan and ensure it can clearly be seen.
6/ Make sure the parking brakes are firmly on on both car and caravan.
7/ Lower the jockey wheel to contact the ground and lower all corner steadies in the same way, to stabilise the van as much as possible and provide support should your jack slip.
8/ Have a 20mm piece of ply 150mm bigger all round compared to the wheel base of the jack you are using and use this even on tarmac and stone to provide a gripper mat for the jack to avoid slippage.
9/ Slack off the wheel nuts but do not undo more than two full turns.
10/ Jack the van up enough to fit the new spare wheel. Remember your current tyre will be flat and so the van could be 100mm lower than if it has an inflated tyre fitted. Use the spare wheel to guage the height before taking off the punctured wheel.
11/ Now working swiftly but still without panic, remove the old wheel and replace the new wheel. Then fit the wheel bolts/nuts and do up to hand tight. Doing this switly but still without dashing reduces the time that there is no wheel fitted to a minimum.
12/ Tighten the wheel bolts to sequence and as tight as you can with the wheel spanner. Don't mess about torquing the nuts at this stage, just make sure the bolts are tight.
13/ Lower the jack and raise the steadies and jockey wheel.
14/ Put the punctured wheel away safely. Be carefull as it may still be hot enough to burn bare hands, so still use gloves.
15/ Release the caravan parking brake.
16/ Retrieve your hazard triangle.
17/ Now instruct your passengers to return to the vehicle and leave the area in a safe manner. If you have stopped on the hard shoulder build up speed on the hard shoulder to 50 Mph before joining the carriageway.
18/ Now proceed cautiously to the next available layby/service area where you acn at your leisure, ensure the wheel bolts are still tight and torque them up if you have your wrench with you.
You can change a wheel your self. But as with any emergencey proceedure, I strongly recommend that you test this out before an incident occurs, so that you know what to do before you have to do it for real in a lashing downpour on a busy motorway. Believe me, when things go wrong they always seem to pick the most awkward time and place to do so.
But having practiced on your driveway or an empty car park, you will have some idea what you are in for.
There is no shame in calling for help if you don't feel safe doing a wheel change, but do be aware that the majority of breakdown covers, do not cover caravans or trailers unless the tow vehicle has broken down. All they might do is call out a mobile tyre service which will cost a packet.
There is a significant proportion of vehicle drivers from all types of vehicles, who don't have a clue about their vehicles. After all the world would be very boring if we all were tyre fitters or mechanics. But that doesn't mean you are not able to diversify. Most colleges offer coarses in basic vehicle mainatainence which will give anyone an insight.
Regards.
Steve L.
the RAC came out and changed my caravan wheel on the M4 ,and last year on our way to spain the black plug by the tow hitch was playing up ,and the RAC came out and changed it for us
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