How to safely change a wheel on a slope

Changing a wheel safely on an incline requires a little more attention than changing it on a straight road. There are more chances of the car slipping or even skidding without a wheel. Someone could get hurt in the process. On a slope certain precautions must be taken to avoid accidents.

First you have to see which tire you have to change, if it is the front or the rear. The rear ones are easier than the front ones. When you’re at the curb and you have to change a rear tire, then you steer the car to the curb, so it locks in place and can’t roll. That would be the front of the tire if it’s going down, or the rear of the front tire if it’s going up.

Take the jack and its handle, the wooden blocks, the warning sign, the stepney and the wheel wrench out of the trunk. Place the warning sign so that other motorists can see it and the wooden blocks on the opposite side of the floor. This precaution further reinforces that your car will not move while you are changing the tire.

Open the wheel cover of the tire in question and loosen the nuts that hold it. Then take the jack and plug it in where the manufacturer says in the book. If you don’t have the book, find a strong place so the jack won’t go into the car body, like an axle. Raise the cart as far as you can get the stepney in without a problem.

Open the lug nuts all the way and switch the wheel to Stepney and hand tighten the lug nuts into place, crisscross when doing so to ensure the wheel is straight. Then lower the jack and tighten the wheel with a cross wrench again. Remove the jack and put everything back on the dickey.

If a front tire needs to be changed, you obviously can’t turn it to the curb, in which case you have to find some big rocks to put behind the wheels on the other side. The wooden blocks may not support the weight of your car and you don’t want it rolling at a vulnerable moment. Accidents happen when people are in a hurry and don’t use common sense at the time.

If you have a flat tire and need to change your tire, always do things methodically and never rush. Think about the time you would lose if there is a mishap. Bad things happen and you have to deal with them. Always use the warning sign to let others know something is up and to stay away from your car.

Except for the basics, a lot of common sense should be used throughout the entire process of changing a tire, using blocks of wood as an example. See where the weight of your car will go and counterbalance accordingly with the blocks.