We were fortunate. That's all I can say. We had a tire shred. Yes, shred, losing over half the tread.
We made it to our intended destination before I even knew there was a problem. I always check tires and hubs at all fuel stops/potty breaks.
When I went to change the tire with our four-way lug wrench I could not. They had been put on with an impact gun and were too tight.
I'm telling you this to avert a serious problem. A spare is useless if you can't use it! If you cannot remove the problem wheel that shiny clean spare is little more than a paperweight.
Make sure you can loosen - AND PROPERLY TIGHTEN - the lugs on your trailer. It's far safer to do this in the safety of your driveway than the side of the freeway.
I'll be getting myself a better wrench/breaker bar.
Helpful hint: If your rims are painted remove the paint from the area around the hole. This will allow the bolt to better seat and stop some potential for loosening while driving.
Biggest thing to make sure of is that you have a jack that fits your pup and can safely lift it and also a properly sized lug wrench of some sort... The jack I have for the pup is a duplicate of the TV jack.. and the lug wrench is a socket on a breaker bar (with a ratchet attachment head) ...
Next thing is to practice jacking the pup and changing tires ... using the jack and lug wrench your going to be carrying on a trip... I do the same with our cars... that way you know where to place the jack, how the jack works and you know you can get the lugs loosened by hand... No good using a big 3 ton floor jack and impact gun at home unless you've got them with you...
In 20 minutes I can have all three of the tires rotated on the pup using my hand jack and tire iron.. In ten minutes I can have one wheel changed out on the vehicles using their jacks and wrenches....
Couple things to remember when your changing tires on the side of the road...
1) get as far off the road as possible, this is most true on highways.
2) If need be call for a local/state/hiway cop ... they really don't mind coming out and parking behind you with their lights on while you change your tire.. it's better for them to do this then have to write up an accident scene..
3) Tighten up the lugs as best you can .. get them tight, but don't worry if you have the torqued 100 % properly .. most people don't carry a torque wrench with them.. for this stop in at a walmart auto center/ pepboys, autozone store or even a car/lehigh-valley-rv-show dealer and ask them if they can check the torque...
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