Thread: beyond capability......grey nomads

Its certainly a concern for my parents. Dad can barely lift his 200 series spare. Heck it's heavy for me.
We've talked about all sorts of lifting assistance devices to get tyres on and off the car, and the RWC on the back of the van.

It's not an uncommon problem.

Originally Posted by ramblingboy42

Whilst on my recent desert trip.....which was a rippa.....on the way to Woomera I came upon a couple of nomads with a blowout on their flash camper.

They were able to get the shredded tyre off the hub , cause only the rim was left.

When it came to putting the spare back on the hub they could not do it.

Reasons.....

it was just too heavy for both of them to lift it......why because it was a superfat large gnarly treaded wheel/tyre combo which they had throughout their cruiser/camper set up.

to be honest it was too heavy for me so I showed them how to lower the jack until the studs met the holes and push it on with your feet. I think most on the forum would know to do this. they had been sitting there for an hour not knowing how they were going to finish the job.

I wonder how many have had the same experience and found changing a big fat tyre out bush is beyond their capabilities.

The wheels on my OKA are beyond me at my age.... so, I use a shovel to act as a "jack" for the wheel, which lifts it easily and also lets you wiggle the wheel to align the holes with the studs.

Hi,
It's a growing problem, stuff getting heavier with time.
Landscape rocks of course, just soak up water over the years, even in full summer sun.
Cheers

Years ago I stopped for a very old couple, with a Patrol and ORC, similarly equipped, with the spare so big it had to be carried on the roofrack.
Hubby was sat in the passenger seat and wheelchair bound. The lady was at his window, when I alighted from my truck to see if they needed help. She said she had a flat tyre. I quickly scanned the car and trailer, in preparation for changing the offending wheel for her. I couldn't see a flat tyre and said to her, that they all looked okay to me.
"Of course, " she replied "I've just changed it!"
The old dear was well into her seventies, but had removed and replaced a large wheel from the roofrack of the lifted Patrol.
I'm glad she completed the chore before I stopped, I reckon I'd have struggled with the task.

I've used the jack handle as a lever, including when making fine height or rotational adjustments fitting the duals to my tractor.

The front wheels on my tractor, 7.50 x 18 with heavy cast steel wheels, presented a serious problem for my when I got a flat front tyre a few years ago.

The solution? I made a tripod out of the supports of some swings the grandkids had grown out of, and a hoist then enabled me to lift it clear of the tractor. Then just had to move the tripod a little to get the wheel into the back of the 2a. When I got it into town, the tyre people had a couple of weight lifter types who could get it out (and back in after repair) for me.

I did not even consider trying to put it into County - the swing door made it too hard.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The front wheels on my tractor, 7.50 x 18 with heavy cast steel wheels, presented a serious problem for my when I got a flat front tyre a few years ago.

The solution? I made a tripod out of the supports of some swings the grandkids had grown out of, and a hoist then enabled me to lift it clear of the tractor. Then just had to move the tripod a little to get the wheel into the back of the 2a. When I got it into town, the tyre people had a couple of weight lifter types who could get it out (and back in after repair) for me.

I did not even consider trying to put it into County - the swing door made it too hard.

I removed the wheels from my little tractor here (an old international 40hp 434). I thought I'd emptied it of water.... after remove the nuts I couldn't budge it.... I figured the damn thing might over balance and squish me, so I pried it off from behind and let it topple over........ At this point I could try to safely move it if was within my capacity (it was still quite heavy).

They did think about this stuff in the past. With my old Citroen DS... the wheels are very heavy for a small wheel (you can imagine the abuse they get under a hydraulic Citroen )

eg:

Citroen #suspension in action. old recordings from the 70`s and 80`s testtrack. 2cv, cx, ds, sm, gs - YouTube

the way you can absolutely hammer the suspension and wheels to death on poor roads is remarkable.

anyway, changing the heavy wheels.

1) loosen wheel
2) remove the spare wheel, crank handle, wheel brace and jacking prop
3) put the car on high suspension height.
4) put the jacking prop under the side of the car
5) put the suspension on low ride height. both wheels on the side of the car with the jacking prop will lift clear of the ground
6) remove wheel ... let it fall if too heavy
7) roll spare into position, insert the crank handle through the center of the wheel and into the cars hub. using the leverage acquired from the length of the crank handle, lift wheel and slide down the crank handle and onto the hub.
8) tighten nuts, put suspension on high and remove jackstand
9) roll flat tyre to front of car, roll the tyre up over the bumper and into the nose of the car where it lives.

I found the modern alloy wheels can be very heavy too. I thought the idea of alloy wheels was alloy is supposed to be lighter ?

seeya
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

I found the modern alloy wheels can be very heavy too. I thought the idea of alloy wheels was alloy is supposed to be lighter ?

seeya
Shane L.

I thought that too. The original wheels on the OKA are steel 19.5 x err, 8 I think. The Alloys it has on it atm are 16x8. Buggered if I know the difference, the best way to get the spare out or back from under it is to lie it flat and drive away/over. Needs a crane to lift it onto the second position on the bumper.