Thread: Changing a Tire
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Old 03-14-2008, 09:42 PM   #6
Bill
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Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
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I've lost track of the original question here. But to change a tire, what has to happen is that you slide a jack under the frame rail, and jack it up. Problem is that when a tire goes flat, especially on soft ground, the frame rail can be pretty close to the ground, so you need a jack that starts at perhaps 7 inches of collapsed height. Slide the jack under the frame rail, and pump it up to the top of its lift capability. Most likely, the TM is not yet high enough to remove the damaged tire, so you lower the stabilizer jacks to hold the TM at its current height, then drop the jack, put blocks under it, and jack the TM up some more. I've had several flats, and have always needed to jack twice. It isn't hard.

When you start the process, the question is whether the TM frame is far enough off the ground to get a jack under the frame rail at all. If it isn't, but it is close, you can sometimes scoop a depression in the ground so that the jack will fit. Or if the ground is hard, you can use the stabilizers to raise the TM until you can get a jack under there. This is where the lift kit helps. If you have a lift kit, the frame will start out 2 inches higher off the ground than if you don't have the lift kit. And this may eliminate one step in the jacking process. But either way, it is not a big deal.

If you have a lift kit, you may be able to remove the old tire, and install the new one, without releasing the TM shells (you don't have to open it all the way). If you don't have a lift kit, you may have to release the shells. Still not a big deal in the grand scheme of failed-tire repairs. I've done it both ways.

Final note - make sure you put the jack under the frame, never the axle.

Bill
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