# Comes With Spare But Where Is The Lug Wrench??



## elbmas (May 20, 2007)

Hi fellow RV'rs.
I am writing this while hubby is outside getting stuff ready to change tire. So forgive me if my RV lingo isn't up to standard. We recently discovered a flat on our Outback the front left tire. Upon looking for a wrench we discovered 2 spare tires ( which is a good thing) but no other tire devices. Upon reading our manual no help there with the exception of torque and the importance of that, we could not find any place where they would have hidden or tucked away a wrench. We are glad we were at home because the 101 tools we have packed didn't have a torque wrench. We never even thought of it. Ok. Thanks for any help.
Sincerely,
Kane's


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## roo camper (Sep 17, 2008)

elbmas said:


> Hi fellow RV'rs.
> I am writing this while hubby is outside getting stuff ready to change tire. So forgive me if my RV lingo isn't up to standard. We recently discovered a flat on our Outback the front left tire. Upon looking for a wrench we discovered 2 spare tires ( which is a good thing) but no other tire devices. Upon reading our manual no help there with the exception of torque and the importance of that, we could not find any place where they would have hidden or tucked away a wrench. We are glad we were at home because the 101 tools we have packed didn't have a torque wrench. We never even thought of it. Ok. Thanks for any help.
> Sincerely,
> Kane's


I know I don't have one, went and bought one of the combi wrenches that collapse for easy storage, no jack either.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

roo camper said:


> Hi fellow RV'rs.
> I am writing this while hubby is outside getting stuff ready to change tire. So forgive me if my RV lingo isn't up to standard. We recently discovered a flat on our Outback the front left tire. Upon looking for a wrench we discovered 2 spare tires ( which is a good thing) but no other tire devices. Upon reading our manual no help there with the exception of torque and the importance of that, we could not find any place where they would have hidden or tucked away a wrench. We are glad we were at home because the 101 tools we have packed didn't have a torque wrench. We never even thought of it. Ok. Thanks for any help.
> Sincerely,
> Kane's


I know I don't have one, went and bought one of the combi wrenches that collapse for easy storage, no jack either.
[/quote]

X2. I bought a 5-ton bottle jack from Harbor Frieght. That, in combination with the boards I carry for leveling/stab-jacks can be used to lift the Outback off the ground. (Did this in the campsite at Disney World.) As for the lug wrench, I always carry a combination (4-way) lug wrench in the back of the truck, plus I carry a torque wrench, socket, and extension to fit the lug nuts.

And the spare spare thing is good. I, too, carry an extra spare, 'cause if you use the spare tire that came attached to the rear bumper, you then have no spare tire, if needed down the road. It's not like you can wander into just any tire store and get a spare that works. (And when I changed the tire at Disney World, I returned home the 1000+ miles with the peace of mind that I had another spare, should I need it.)

Mike


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Outbacks come with a speare tire but not a jack or lug wrench.

Also you want to make sure that the lugs on the spare are the same size as the lugs on the wheels... i had to purchase a 4-n-1 lug wrench since my lug nuts didn't match...

I also got a good 2 1/2 ton bottle jack for the trailer from Harbor Frieght...


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## elbmas (May 20, 2007)

Thanks for all of the quick replys.. you all are great! We resolved the problem with replacing the flat with a pressure checked spare and then found the nail in the flat. So off to take care of that thank goodness it happened at home. Somethings you really don't want to have happen on the road, since we are newbie Rv'rs. We did find the torque info in the manual and will invest in a bottle jack asap.
again Thanks








Kanes from S NJ


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## K. Smith (May 25, 2009)

elbmas said:


> Hi fellow RV'rs.
> I am writing this while hubby is outside getting stuff ready to change tire. So forgive me if my RV lingo isn't up to standard. We recently discovered a flat on our Outback the front left tire. Upon looking for a wrench we discovered 2 spare tires ( which is a good thing) but no other tire devices. Upon reading our manual no help there with the exception of torque and the importance of that, we could not find any place where they would have hidden or tucked away a wrench. We are glad we were at home because the 101 tools we have packed didn't have a torque wrench. We never even thought of it. Ok. Thanks for any help.
> Sincerely,
> Kane's


I can't find a picture, but we have a thing that looks like a large curved wheel chock. In case of a flat, you put it in front (or behind) the good tire and then pull forward (or back up) and it lifts the flat tire off the ground. For a tire tool, we have a cheap fold up 4-way that I got at Wally World.

Kevin


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## Just Add Dirt (May 5, 2009)

I had a flat on I-81, and after tearing the OB apart looking for the lug wrench, I determined I was S.O.L. Just for the heck of it I pulled out the Lug Wrench For the 2008 F-250 and it fit! Turns out they're 13/16; on my 2007 28KRS. I had a old Walmart 1 ton jack in the back of the 250 and it did manage to get the trailer off the ground high enough to change out the tire, which <BTW> was a underated 6 bias ply load range "C" on a 7.6K ton trailer. Since then I have 10 plys, a four way lug wrench and a 8 ton bottle jack. And a clicker type torque wrench, on board.
Eric


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

I should add (and sorry if I'm pointing out the obvious) that when you use a jack to raise up the trailer to change a flat or for any other reason, be sure to use a couple of boards between the jack and the frame. I use two 2X6 boards (stacked), about two feet long. This ensures that the frame won't flex and bend with all that weight bearing on a 1" diameter jack surface. And be sure to position the jack centered, side-to-side, on the frame.

I raise the frame up high enough to slide a few boards beneath the good tire so that the flat is off the ground when I release the jack. I haven't had to change a tire on the trailer alongside an Interstate Highway yet, but I've thought it through and have come to the conclusion is to NOT have the trailer perched in a small bottle jack with semi-trailers whizzing by at 75 mph just a few feet away. I know how that push-pull of air pressures can affect a trailer when the truck passes while driving, so they would be at least that disconcerting - or perhaps dangerous - under these conditions.

So while I'm working on changing that flat, the trailer is sitting on the ground/boards. When I get the wheel changed, I can just carefully drive off the boards, then snug the lug nuts and check with a torque wrench.

Better safe than sorry!

Mike


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## Eorb (Nov 5, 2008)

I carry a small bottle jack as well, but no boards. I do however carry the leveling blocks (over sized legos). Lately I have been thinking I wouldn't use the jack if I had a flat, just make a ramp with the blocks and pull the inflated tire up on it. Do you think that would give me enough clearance to change the flat? One of these days when I am not feeling so lazy, I'll give it a try.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I seen a cool floor jack at walmart the other day. It was a normal floor jack, but the handle used for the jack was also a combo lug wrench handle. A couple of sockets were stowed on the side of the jack that went into the jack handle. They were 1/2 inch drive. The sockets were 3/4. 13/16ths and 7/8ths. Those 3 sizes prolly cover just about everything.

Might check one of those out next time you goofing around at walmart. Seems like I remembering it being under 50 bucks.

Carey


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## hyewalt34 (May 9, 2004)

I suggest to practice a tire change at home just to make sure you have everything right!

Walter


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## Bennitt5 (Aug 22, 2008)

One other quick note if you have aluminum wheels they are thicker than the steel ones and with the chrome center piece. you will want to buy a deep socket I couldn't get a standard socket to work with out an extender on my tralier.


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## ELSEWHERE (Sep 16, 2007)

Just Add Dirt said:


> "underated 6 bias ply load range "C" on a 7.6K ton trailer. Since then I have 10 plys, a four way lug wrench and a 8 ton bottle jack." Eric


7.6K ton....that's about 15,200,000 lbs. No wonder the tire blew, and I don't think that 16,000 lb. bottle jack is going to do much good!

I'm sorry, I just couldn't pass it up.


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

I also had a flat after a long trip while backing the trailer up the driveway a couple of years back. It was about 2:00AM, it was dark, and I was tired. I got out my bottle jack and discovered I needed extra boards to raise the trailer high enough to remove the wheel. Our driveway is slightly sloped and it was precarious to say the least. I could not imagine doing this on the side of the highway in the dark on a gravel shoulder with trucks flying by with the trailer perched on the bottle jack.

After this event, I set about to find a better solution and found the following:










This little device is called the Trailer Aid and it is the best $35 you will ever spend as an RVer. I had a blow out on the trailer in Cleveland last year. The shoulder was very narrow with very heavy traffic. I was able to change the flat in less than 5 minutes, easy as pie. No jacking, no laying under the trailer, minimal danger to me and the family.

The device also comes in very handy when you need to remove the wheels to check the bearings and brakes. I highly recommend.

DAN


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## shelty (Jun 26, 2008)

I second the value of the "Trailer Aid." As I was getting our OB ready for storage, I noticed one of the tires was softer. I pulled the trailer onto the "Trailer Aid" and had the tire off, fixed, and back on in no time. I got mine used off of eBay and saved some $$$.


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

Had my first flat about 2 months ago. After learning how to change it here it took me 15 min. I have a 4 way lug wrench, bottle jack, lynx blocks for a ramp, a craftsman 2 ton low profile aluminum jack and a torque wrench. I too carry a spare, spare. Anything the factory would give you would probally be junk anyhow. I also invested in the tire pressure monitor system since I never felt or really heard the tire blow.

The floor jack is for the suburban cause the stupid bottle jack GM gives you is a joke. I had a flat on it in the drive way and had to get my neighbor and 2 floor jacks to get the thing off the ground. The GM 14 bolt rear is HUGE and it sat so low we could not get his jack under it and had to jack up the frame then slip one under the diff to get the tire off. At that point I figured a flat on the road would be doomed. I do everything I can to be prepared, its vacation and I want to do as little work as possible.

As the boy scouts say, Be Prepared.


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