Changing the tire on my 3071

[motodude79]

Has anyone done this? Anything different about changing a dually tire? Does a standard lug wrench work on those tires? Brand new forester 3071 but it looks like it was patched at some point and the rear tire has a slow leak. Now it is flat and I need to change it. Thanks!

[grumpy0374]

Yes, it's changable, IF your physically able, AND you have/use the right tools. I'm 65 years young, and still am able to do my own tire changes. I have roadside assistance but do not want to wait hours for someone to show up, and many services will not change an inner flat on a dually.
That being said, you will need an oversize 4-way truck lug wrench, at least a 12 ton bottle jack (my own opinion), piece of 12" x 12" x 2" board to place under the jack, and a set of wheel chocks. Remember, your dealing with 6-7 tons of motor home, not your little Honda.
Your gonna bust your back using a lug wrench, but it's dooable. Personally, I carry a Lowe's electric 1/2 inch drive impact wrench, about 150.00 at Lowe's and it will pull off the tightest lug nut. If i'm on the side of the road, I'll kick on my generator and I'm set to go. Havent had to use it on my rig yet, except to try it out, but have used it several times to help other rv'ers.
Just be careful and think ahead of what your going to do.
grumpy

[motodude79]

Thanks, I will give it a shot.

[jrwalkerpa1]

Originally Posted by motodude79

Has anyone done this? Anything different about changing a dually tire? Does a standard lug wrench work on those tires? Brand new forester 3071 but it looks like it was patched at some point and the rear tire has a slow leak. Now it is flat and I need to change it. Thanks!

Yes, I've done it and its not that hard with the 16" tires. In reality, its no different that changing tires on a one-ton pickup, other than you need more jack. A little more of a pain on the inner duals but not hard unless you have them rusted together....just be sure to use enough jack and be careful when you are under it.

I have leveling jacks on mine....I don't use them to jack it up but I do put them down until they are touching the ground, then use my bottle jack to lift....The leveling jacks are just a little extra precaution in case the bottle jack would slip or fail. If you don't have leveling jacks then a jack stand can offer that "just in case" protection.

[ATVer]

Not too hard to do if you have the right equipment. I purchased a new takeout jack & handle, lug wrench, and instructions for the E450 on line, about $65. The jack stuff comes with the cutaway chassis used on box trucks and some conversion companies remove the jack stuff and surplus it on line. I found the harder thing is to unbolt the spare and get it out from under the unit. I also purchased an Econoline spare tire winch so the spare can be cranked up or down just like most pickup trucks.

If you have stabilizer jacks it is the easiest way to jack it up to change the tires. Thats what the shop did when I had the tire recall done. Just make sure you bleed off the air bags anytime you lift the rear wheels off the ground or damage to the air bags can occur. You can read about this caution in your air bag manual.

[motodude79]

Today I jacked it up on the stabilizers and got the tire off. I just used a lug wrench. Turns out that it was the tire valve cap that was pushing on the valve in the stem. If the cap was off the tire would hold air. If it put the cap on it slowly let the air out. There was a little pin in the cap that had come loose and was pushing on the valve. Strangest cause for a leaking tire I have seen. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by motodude79

Today I jacked it up on the stabilizers and got the tire off. I just used a lug wrench. Turns out that it was the tire valve cap that was pushing on the valve in the stem. If the cap was off the tire would hold air. If it put the cap on it slowly let the air out. There was a little pin in the cap that had come loose and was pushing on the valve. Strangest cause for a leaking tire I have seen. Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

There is a tool to screw the inner core in farther. The pin you are referring to should not touch the cap. Any parts store sells them and they are cheap.

Slime/4 way tire valve tool (2044-A) | Tire Valve Stem Core Remover Tool | AutoZone.com

[motodude79]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

There is a tool to screw the inner core in farther. The pin you are referring to should not touch the cap. Any parts store sells them and they are cheap.

Slime/4 way tire valve tool (2044-A) | Tire Valve Stem Core Remover Tool | AutoZone.com

Thanks, I have seen that before but never had one. Really good suggestion though. I probably just need to screw in the valve stem air valve.

[MikeRP]

Getting the spare down, downright scares me. Where do I get the crank down system?

I have a 20 ton bottle jack, 1/2 extensions, 1/2 drive sears electric impact, proper sockets etc.

A floor jack would be better! haha

But right now I'd probably still wait on AAA.

[ATVer]

Originally Posted by MikeRP

Getting the spare down, downright scares me. Where do I get the crank down system?

I have a 20 ton bottle jack, 1/2 extensions, 1/2 drive sears electric impact, proper sockets etc.

A floor jack would be better! haha

But right now I'd probably still wait on AAA.

Using a floor jack to lower the spare is probably the best way. I just muscled it down on my chest and slid it out from under when I put the winch in. I definitely recommend the floor jack method.

You can get spare tire winches from Econolines at most salvage yards. If you search on Ebay under "econoline spare tire winch" you will find a lot for sale. They are not a direct bolt in and I needed to drill a hole in the cross member for one of the bolt connections. You will also need the jack handle or make something up to crank the winch mechanism.

[Appleguy1991]

Go info guys, thanks for sharing.


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