hello i have a question i hope someone can help me with.. i have a 05 dodge 3500 and pull and norstar 10' living quarters 3 horse trailer... i know on the road if the one of the trailer tires goes out i have a block so you can either put in front or rear to change tires without unloading horses,but what do you do if the rear tire of the truck goes or front for that matter with the trailer hooked up.. as far as jacking up the truck wont the weight be on the jack from the trailer because its hooked up to the truck. please shed some light on this for me i always have been told dont unload the horses unless absolutely you have to... is there a special heavy duty jack that will take care of this without weighing 150lbs?? thanks for any replys...
Posted 2006-06-22 9:42 PM (#43486 - in reply to #43483) Subject: RE: changing tire
Expert
Posts: 2689
Hi and Welcome to the Forum.
YES, it IS a HUGE extra load if you need to change a rear tire and the skinny little thing that comes with the truck is woefully inadequate - unstable too.
Most floor jacks that can lift a loaded truck's rear end are too heavy to be practical on the road, bottle jacks are about the only solution I know of, but you need to be SURE that you have it in stable and reasonably level ground. You can use a short length of 2 x 12 for this, I use the same board that I build the horse trailer wheel changing ramp with.
BTW, if you drive slowly enough most duallies can make it a fair distance on 1 tire one side. Roadside assistance is another solution, USRider is well thought of in this forum.
Posted 2006-06-22 11:28 PM (#43487 - in reply to #43483) Subject: RE: changing tire
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
I had that happen once, I jacked up the truck as high as the jack would go and then used the trailer jack to lift the trailer and get the weight off the truck so I could get the truck high enough to change the tire. It was a 2 horse GN so it wasn't a really heavy trailer.
Posted 2006-06-23 6:34 AM (#43497 - in reply to #43483) Subject: RE: changing tire
Elite Veteran
Posts: 954 Location: Hagerstown, MD
Hi kershawsowner and welcome to the forum and website. Glad to have you aboard. Now, on to your question. You do have a big truck and a pretty nice trailer as well. I disagree with the opinion that Reg offered since I change flats at least 2 or 3 times a year on my trucks. By example, I had my F350 hooked to the GN flatbed trailer with a heavy load of lumber on it and the right rear tire on the truck went flat due to a puncture on the jobsite. The truck by itself is no lightweight and the GVW on the trailer was well over 14k! I got all the factory stuff out of the truck to change the tire and did just fine. Look at it this way, you are sharing the gross weight of your load (truck and trailer) with 8 contact points on the ground. Yes, you are supporting a little more weight and have to be more cautious than changing a tire on a car, but the factory stuff will work. The little "screw jack" that is supplied with most trucks is amazingly capable for it's size. Here's why I say that, I've used the same little "screw jack" to change the tire on my loaded GN flatbed trailer. If it can handle a loaded GN flatbed, it can handle your truck. The manufacturer has a battalion of engineers and lawyers that are all concerned with product liability. Most of the little "screw jacks" in our trucks are made by an independent contractor and the rating on those little units is probably double what you are going to be asking it to lift to change a tire. I do agree with Reg on having some extra blocking/boards in the rig with me. I've see those little "screw jacks" push right into the asphalt on a hot day without a board under them to offer a larger "footprint" to support the weight. Happy trails.
Posted 2006-06-23 8:15 AM (#43505 - in reply to #43487) Subject: RE: changing tire
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
Originally written by Terri on 2006-06-22 10:28 PM
I had that happen once, I jacked up the truck as high as the jack would go and then used the trailer jack to lift the trailer and get the weight off the truck so I could get the truck high enough to change the tire. It was a 2 horse GN so it wasn't a really heavy trailer.
I think this is a good idea. Use the trailer jack to take some of the weight off the truck. Leave the trailer hitched. The trailer jack will also block some of the horse's movement.
Posted 2006-06-23 1:21 PM (#43520 - in reply to #43515) Subject: RE: changing tire
Veteran
Posts: 225 Location: Kansas City
Originally written by clow on 2006-06-23 10:35 AM
Okay, so I have to ask, why should you never unload the horses?Colleen
Same reason that you don't want your kids standing on the shoulder next to busy highway. Just never know when they might decide to bolt. Backing horses out of a trailer onto a shoulder with cars zooming up on them from behind does not create warm fuzzy feelings.
Posted 2006-06-23 10:33 PM (#43534 - in reply to #43483) Subject: RE: changing tire
Veteran
Posts: 201 Location: Lincoln, NE
I usually leave my GN trailer hooked to my trailer. I've a car for everyday stuff. I drop the trailer jack and crank it up enough to take the weight off of the truck bed when not in use. I think I'd chock the trailer wheels as well as the necessary truck wheels before trying to change the tire.
Posted 2006-06-23 10:33 PM (#43535 - in reply to #43483) Subject: RE: changing tire
Veteran
Posts: 171 Location: Liberty Hill Texas
If changeing a truck tire becomes nessasary always use the trailer jack to stablize the lod so the truck isnt bumped off the jack also set the break useing the trailer jack wont hurt as log as you dont try to lift the truck with it.
Posted 2006-06-24 6:34 PM (#43561 - in reply to #43483) Subject: RE: changing tire
Expert
Posts: 2689
I agree that using the trailer's landing gear (or tongue jack) will stabilize things while you change a wheel. Part of me says that an adequate jack properly used shouldn't pose the risk of the truck getting rocked off it due to horse movement. So I'm back at the skinny little oem wheel changing jack issue. Just get an adequate bottle jack and use it on a good solid base.
The number of forward leaning tongue jacks that I see leads me to believe that MANY, perhaps MOST, people wouldn't retract the jack before trying to drive off after a tire change (-:
Posted 2006-06-25 6:55 AM (#43571 - in reply to #43561) Subject: RE: changing tire
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
The number of forward leaning tongue jacks that I see leads me to believe that MANY, perhaps MOST, people wouldn't retract the jack before trying to drive off after a tire change
I actually just bent my jack. My husband hooked up for me but didn't lift the foot. I looked in the bed of the truck to make sure my brake/chains were hooked up and the coupler was locked and hopped in and tried to go. That foot makes a pretty good brake, the trailer wasn't moving.
Posted 2006-06-25 9:29 AM (#43579 - in reply to #43571) Subject: RE: changing tire
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by Terri on 2006-06-25 6:55 AM
The number of forward leaning tongue jacks that I see leads me to believe that MANY, perhaps MOST, people wouldn't retract the jack before trying to drive off after a tire change
I actually just bent my jack. My husband hooked up for me but didn't lift the foot. I looked in the bed of the truck to make sure my brake/chains were hooked up and the coupler was locked and hopped in and tried to go. That foot makes a pretty good brake, the trailer wasn't moving.
Ain't that the trouble with "Team work" ?
(-:
The driver, ONLY the DRIVER is responsible for the circle checks - and just about everything else. "Helpers" tend to lead to errors by encouraging the assumption that someone else has done/checked/taken_care_of whatever.
Getting caught checking on the tasks of a spouse is VERY likely to cause domestic strife. Having said spouse know that you always check their work anyway... can lead to other problems,
changing tire
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