Changing an RV Tire: A Step-by-Step Guide
Raise your hand if you’ve been there — riding down the road at the start of a planned vacation, hopes high and a big smile on your face. And then, pop. Or thump. Or whatever awful sound your tire decides to make. Your rig starts to pull hard to one side, and your vacation just took an expensive and unplanned detour. Changing an RV tire is one of those jobs you hope you never have to do.
At home, it’s inconvenient. On the side of the road, with traffic flying by and your trip suddenly interrupted, changing an RV tire becomes a whole different situation.
After enough time RVing, though, tires become part of the lifestyle. I’ve had to change tires on both a Class B and a fifth wheel, and the experience is definitely not the same from rig to rig. A Class B feels a lot like changing a heavy van tire. A fifth wheel feels bigger, heavier, and a little less forgiving.
Even so, the process of changing an RV tire is fairly straightforward. The important part is knowing how to do it safely — and knowing when not to do it yourself at all.
When to Call for Help Instead
Before grabbing a jack, take a moment to look at the situation. If you’re on a narrow shoulder, soft ground, a steep incline, or anywhere traffic feels too close, calling roadside assistance is usually the better choice. The same goes for many Class A motorhomes, where the tires are large, heavy, and often require equipment most RV owners don’t carry.
Listen: There’s no shame in calling for help, especially if safety is an issue. Changing an RV tire isn’t worth a crushed foot, or worse.
But if you’re in a safe location, have the right tools, and are dealing with an RV you feel comfortable working on, it may be something you can handle yourself.
Tools You Should Have
Changing a tire only works if you have what you need to do it. At minimum, it’s smart to carry:
- A properly inflated spare tire
- A jack rated for your RV or trailer weight
- A lug wrench or breaker bar
- Wheel chocks
- A torque wrench
- Gloves
- Reflective triangles or road flares
- A tire pressure gauge and compressor that can fill to the required PSI levels
- Wood blocks or jack pads for stability
Always verify your rig’s GVWR and use a jack rated appropriately for the weight you may need to lift. Please note: A regular car jack is not designed for most RVs or trailers.
An impact wrench can be helpful, but it should not replace a torque wrench. Lug nuts need to be tightened to the manufacturer’s recommended torque specification, not just tightened until they feel good or “look about right.” (That matters more on an RV than many owners realize.)
7 Steps to Change Your RV Tire
Step 1: Get somewhere safe.
The first step is not removing the tire. The first step is getting the RV somewhere safe.
If you feel a tire failing, slow down gradually and avoid sudden braking or sharp steering. Pull as far away from traffic as possible. A wide shoulder, parking lot, rest area, campground road, or level gravel area is much better than trying to work inches from passing vehicles.
Once stopped, turn on your hazard lights. If you’re near traffic, place reflective triangles behind the RV so other drivers have more warning. A few extra minutes of setup here can change the entire dynamic of the situation. Don’t skip it.
Step 2: Secure the RV.
Before lifting anything, make sure the RV won’t move when lifted. For a motorhome, place it in park, set the parking brake, and chock the wheels that will remain on the ground.
For a travel trailer or fifth wheel, keep the tow vehicle connected if possible. Put the tow vehicle in park, set the parking brake, and chock the trailer wheels on the opposite side.
Do not use stabilizer jacks to lift or support the RV during a tire change. You might get the urge to outsmart yourself and put those bad boys down, but stabilizers are designed to reduce movement when parked, not to carry the weight of the RV while a wheel is removed. That’s an important distinction — and one that can turn a manageable situation into a dangerous one quickly.
Step 3: Loosen the lug nuts first.
Before raising the RV, loosen the lug nuts while the tire is still touching the ground. Don’t remove them yet. Just break them loose enough that you’ll be able to finish removing them once the tire is lifted. This prevents the wheel from spinning like a top while you’re trying to loosen tight lug nuts in the air.
If they’re extremely tight or rusted, avoid forcing them in a way that throws you off balance or damages the hardware. Penetrating oil can help, but if you’re not confident that you can loosen them safely, that could be your sign to stop and make the call for help.
Step 4: Place the jack correctly.
Jack placement is one of the most important parts of the entire process — and one of the easiest places to make a mistake if you’re in a hurry.
Always use the recommended jacking points from your RV, trailer, or chassis manual. On trailers, that often means using the frame near the axle area. On motorhomes, it usually means using the chassis manufacturer’s designated lift point.
Places Not to Place the Jack Under
- Holding tanks
- Steps
- Thin underbelly panels
- Stabilizer jacks
- Random suspension parts
- The RV body itself
If the ground is soft or uneven, use a jack pad or wood block to create a more stable base. The goal is to lift only what needs to be lifted and keep the RV as stable as possible throughout.
Put the jack in the wrong spot, and suddenly the flat tire is no longer your only problem.
Step 5: Raise the RV and remove the tire.
Raise the RV slowly. You only need enough clearance to remove the flat and install the spare. Don’t lift any higher than necessary.
Once the tire is off the ground, remove the lug nuts the rest of the way and put them somewhere they won’t roll away. (Trust me, not fun if they do.)
Pull the flat tire straight off the hub. RV tires are heavier than regular car tires, so take your time. Keep your balance. And don’t put yourself in a position where you’re under the RV. If someone nearby can give you a hand, take them up on it.
Step 6: Install the spare.
Line up the spare with the wheel studs and slide it into place. Reinstall the lug nuts by hand first, then snug them in a star pattern, so the wheel seats evenly. Lower the RV until the tire touches the ground and can no longer spin freely.
Then use your torque wrench to tighten to the manufacturer’s recommended specification — again in a star pattern. It’s not just a cool pattern; it’s the correct and safest way to seat the wheel evenly.
Once everything is properly tightened, lower the RV completely and remove the jack.
Step 7: Check the spare and recheck soon.
Before driving away, check the spare tire pressure and add air if needed. A spare can look perfectly fine and still be low, especially if it’s been sitting for a while.
After driving a short distance, stop somewhere safe and recheck the tire, lug nuts, and pressure. Many RV owners recheck torque after 25 to 50 miles, particularly after installing a spare. (It’s a good habit worth building.)
The tire change gets you moving, but the damaged tire still needs to be repaired or replaced. Restore your spare setup as soon as you can. Traveling without a backup is not where you want to be.
How It Changes by RV Type
The basic process is similar across RVs, but each style has its own challenges.
Travel trailers. Often the most manageable, especially smaller dual-axle trailers. Keeping the tow vehicle connected helps with stability, but proper chocking and jack placement are still critical.
Fifth wheels. Similar but heavier. From experience, changing a fifth wheel tire feels more involved than a Class B because the size and weight make everything less forgiving.
Class B motorhomes. Feel the closest to changing a heavy van tire. Follow the chassis manufacturer’s jack points, but remember that a fully built Class B is significantly heavier than a standard van.
Class C motorhomes. These can vary. A smaller Class C may be manageable, but rear dual wheels complicate the job, especially if the flat is on an inner tire.
Class A motorhomes. These are usually the least DIY-friendly. The basic process is the same, but size, weight, lug nut torque, and jacking requirements make the job much more serious. For many Class A owners, roadside assistance or a mobile tire service is simply the smarter call.
Truck campers. Follow the truck’s tire-changing process, but remember that the added camper weight matters. Make sure the jack is rated for the loaded truck, use the correct factory jack points, and remember that your truck’s stock jack is rated for the truck alone — not the truck and a loaded camper on top of it.
Prevention Still Matters Most
The best tire change is the one you never have to do. (Right?)
Before each trip, check pressure when the tires are cold and fill them to the proper PSI if needed. Look for cracks, bulges, nails, uneven wear, and sidewall damage. Don’t forget the spare — it doesn’t do you much good if it’s also flat or dry-rotted when you need it.
Pay attention to tire age too. RV tires can age out before they wear out, especially on rigs that sit for long stretches between trips.
A tire pressure monitoring system is worth having as well. It won’t prevent every problem, but it can alert you to pressure loss or rising temperatures before things get worse — which is exactly the kind of early warning that keeps a bad situation from becoming a much worse one.
Changing Your RV Tire: A Job You Hope to Avoid
Changing an RV tire is dirty, physically awkward, and has a way of happening at the least convenient moment possible. But knowing how to do it — and knowing when to call for help instead — makes you a more prepared and confident traveler.
The steps aren’t complicated. The safety details are what matter. And the RVers who take those details seriously are the ones who handle roadside situations calmly and get back on the road without making things worse.
Nobody books a trip hoping to change a tire. But being ready for it means it stays a minor interruption instead of the story you’re still telling ten years later.
Gabriel Rivero
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