OT...you just gotta smile!

Pulling a single axle trailer to go pick up some canning supplies for my daughter. Flat tire on pickup on five lane freeway. Manage to get off the road onto the emergency lane. Should be able to pop on a spare quickly, right?

Starts raining...fun! Jack in the mud, but is working. Go to loosen the lug nuts before raising tire off the roadway. Some monkey put them on with a souped up impact wrench. Takes acrobatics to balance on the lug wrench and break them. Two won't break free and actually round off. Improvising, took the trucks single handle lug wrench and hammered it on the rounded lugs...it worked enough to get them to break free. All the while trucks and cars ZOOMING by at 60+ MPH. Recalling how many years I responded as a paramedic to accident scenes where someone changing a tire was mowed down.

Couldn't get the "fancy" spare tire holder to lower the spare. Ripped all that crap out from behind the bumper so I could get a paw up in there to feel what I needed to do. Good ole instruction sheet that was in the jack's box was wrong. Finally figured it out. Spare DID have air (yay!). Got it on and everything loaded up. Managed to get back on the road without getting rear-ended.

Was actually pulling a trailer with an 861 onboard yesterday. Lucky it didn't happen then. Didn't get run over. Spare had air. Bandaids and Ibuprofen should take care of the damage. (It's tough getting old). Drying out now.

Overall... I gotta smile! Sure could have been worse!

PS: Future plans include cheater pipe for the lug wrench; Talk with the tire dude about his impact wrench; Better (easier) jack; 2 x 8 chunk to put jack on while lifting; motorized (old drill?) means to lower spare; Spare clothes and cheap rain jacket in a tote bag that lives on the truck; flares; more Ibuprofen

new lugnuts too!

BTDT!!!
I now have a cheater bar, 4x4 hunk of wood and a piece of 2x10, over sized lug wrench, 6 ton hyd bottle jack and I keep the spare in the bed of the truck with a length of rope attached to easier pull it out when needed.

I had a flat on my trailer on Friday of Columbus weekend, Which here in NH is the busiest tourist weekend of the year due to foliage. The flat was on the left and both lanes were full of cars. There was a very long guardrail there so I couldn't get off very far. I placed the jack while lying under the trailer. Just then a state trooper came along and parked so as to give me some room. He stayed with me until I finished. I was very grateful.

Had to have the same talk with my tire guy, went to put brakes on the back of my Focus, took a 4ft piece of pipe over my lug wrench to get them off.

I'd have been fussing if iI would have had to change a tire on the road.

Weird thing, the fronts (yes I checked) were fine.

Fred

Local Ford dealer was responsive. Repaired tire, rotated all, new lug nuts and torque to specs BY HAND. An apology and no charge. That's how you keep customers.

Then I went straight away and picked up an aluminum floor jack, impact socket (dang 21mm), breaker bar and cheater pipe. Still need clothing bag and compressor.

Maybe I will be ready next time!