Best Way to Change a Tire Offroad?

[SurfnBike]

So I am getting ready for my first big offroad trip and want to be prepared to easily change out a flat on my R1T. I have the full size spare with the scissor jack and plastic puck. I've look around and options and on one hand you've got the nicely machined pucks with $600 offroad floor jacks, bottle jacks, and stock or aftermarket scissor jack.

For those who have experience fixing tires offroad, including on an uneven surface, or a slightly sandy or imperfect dirt surface, what is your setup? I'd like to keep things simple. I really appreciate your feedback because I'd like to skip having to try every option out for myself!

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[Grabs10]

I’ve done this procedure many times and as recently as last week on my work pickup (ram 3500) on some logging roads…. Nosed off the logging road at an angle and floated the rear tire iHaven’t done it on a Rivian yet but I never use a jack offroad…. I find an off camber style spot that when driving through lifts tires off the ground. Drive into it and get the tire that needs changing floating freely in the air and then change the tire. Milwaukee battery impact speeds up the process

pull your Rivian into something like this…. Much easier than messing with a jack. But if you are in relatively flat terrain with not much of any off camber you may need to jack It up.

these pics, not mine but you can easily see how easy it is to lift a wheel and would be easy to change.

 

[COdogman]

For me, a good bottle jack, a couple jack pads, and a good plug kit are always with me. If I can easily see the puncture the plug kit is usually the faster fix. Obviously with the Rivians you also need at least 1 good puck as well.

 

[jplblue]

So I am getting ready for my first big offroad trip and want to be prepared to easily change out a flat on my R1T. I have the full size spare with the scissor jack and plastic puck. I've look around and options and on one hand you've got the nicely machined pucks with $600 offroad floor jacks, bottle jacks, and stock or aftermarket scissor jack.

For those who have experience fixing tires offroad, including on an uneven surface, or a slightly sandy or imperfect dirt surface, what is your setup? I'd like to keep things simple. I really appreciate your feedback because I'd like to skip having to try every option out for myself!

FWIW, Rivian/Motor Trend used an offroad floor jack on the Trans America Trail, which had a number of tire changes in rough terrain. Seems like the safest and easiest option in most scenarios. If I had room, I'd go with the Badlands jack from Harbor Freight.

 

[SurfnBike]

I’ve done this procedure many times and as recently as last week on my work pickup (ram 3500) on some logging roads…. Nosed off the logging road at an angle and floated the rear tire iHaven’t done it on a Rivian yet but I never use a jack offroad…. I find an off camber style spot that when driving through lifts tires off the ground. Drive into it and get the tire that needs changing floating freely in the air and then change the tire. Milwaukee battery impact speeds up the process

pull your Rivian into something like this…. Much easier than messing with a jack. But if you are in relatively flat terrain with not much of any off camber you may need to jack It up.

these pics, not mine but you can easily see how easy it is to lift a wheel and would be easy to change.

I like it! No jack required. I'll definitely keep this technique in mind, and it should be much easier with a full IFS vehicle like the R1T!

 

[SurfnBike]

One other consideration is working under the vehicle when jacked up. I purchased and extra inner/outer tie rod from service just in case, since I will be about 90-100 miles offroad from the nearest town, and was thinking that it might be a bit sketchy changing out the tie rod with nothing but a scissor jack holding the truck up.

 

[SurfnBike]

For me, a good bottle jack, a couple jack pads, and a good plug kit are always with me. If I can easily see the puncture the plug kit is usually the faster fix. Obviously with the Rivians you also need at least 1 good puck as well.

What jack pad do you recommend? I was considering just getting some scrap 2x6 and using that as a jack pad, but I imagine a purpose built one may be better.

By the way thanks for the suggestions so far, all of them have been excellent.

I agree having a full offroad jack is among the safest, nice to know that HF sells one for half the cost. I guess it could go in the gear tunnel, but that does take up valuable secure-storage real estate.

 

[SurfnBike]

For me, a good bottle jack, a couple jack pads, and a good plug kit are always with me. If I can easily see the puncture the plug kit is usually the faster fix. Obviously with the Rivians you also need at least 1 good puck as well.

Do you have a plug kit that you recommend? Not a bad idea to carry one...

 

[NineElectrics]

Personally, I would buy some wheel chocks. Rivians only have a parking brake on the rear wheels; the front wheels spin free. If you're changing a rear tire, that means you have only one wheel to resist rolling. Even in a FWD ICE, the front wheels are at least prevented from rolling by the transmission, making Rivian actually worse in this respect than a normal car. And it's so very, very heavy. Don't take a chance.

 

[COdogman]

Do you have a plug kit that you recommend? Not a bad idea to carry one...

I have this Smittybilt kit. I’ve actually never used it, but it looks to be well built and I trust their stuff. The RhinoUSA kit also gets good reviews.

2 x 6s will also work fine for a jack pad. I’m sure there are supposedly high end ones out there but anything that serves the purpose is fine. I just have a couple cheap ones from Amazon.

 

[dgennetten]

(...)a couple jack pads(...)

Any recommendations?

 

[COdogman]

Any recommendations?

Others might disagree, but I don’t think it makes a huge difference on these as long as they are strong enough and the surface of the top will work for whatever jack one uses. I just have a cheap set of 4 lower profile RV style pads that can be stacked. With the Rivian it might be worth getting a single, taller pad because it sounds like most bottle jacks just barely get high enough to lift it in tire change mode. That‘s why some folks are buying the OEM jack for a Sprinter van, which is rated for the weight and lifts a little higher.

Something like this would work fine, although I’m sure you could find a cheaper version of the same thing.

https://www.amazon.com/DEDC-Trailer-Stabilizer-Blocks-Accessories/dp/B0BWH53QJQ/ref=sxin_18_sbv_search_btf?content-id=amzn1.sym.5795aee5-71f0-4369-b632-e8c78407f2cf:amzn1.sym.5795aee5-71f0-4369-b632-e8c78407f2cf&crid=33DUZJTD44EYI&cv_ct_cx=bottle+jack+pad&keywords=bottle+jack+pad&pd_rd_i=B0BWH53QJQ&pd_rd_r=74751a25-8c4f-4c18-9b0d-4a53efa4cbd4&pd_rd_w=3X4fx&pd_rd_wg=uhGxu&pf_rd_p=5795aee5-71f0-4369-b632-e8c78407f2cf&pf_rd_r=51HN9979AGVVZ9SH9X4H&qid=1697123992&s=automotive&sbo=RZvfv//HxDF+O5021pAnSA==&sprefix=Bottle+jack+,automotive,131&sr=1-1-5190daf0-67e3-427c-bea6-c72c1df98776&th=1

 

[Dark-Fx]

Probably easiest to just find a field somewhere.

 

[k3g]

I carry the harbor freight badlands jack. It's a good bit of space in the bed, but on a trip far away having good tools makes a difference. I haven't used it on my truck, but we did use it to reattach a buddy's driveshaft back where it's supposed to be. We carried good tools: The jack, breaker bars, full range of sockets, and so on.

Having the right tools and knowing how to use them has kept a lot of my trips on-track.

 

[Si.LE.R1S]

I guess I have the same question as OP. I was assuming my recovery boards with a built in Jack pad would be sufficient with the Rivian scissor Jack and puck. Anyone feel this is inadequate for R1S?

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