PSA you need extra tools to change your tire

when I purchased my 2016 new in july 2016 .. I did a work on how to drop the spare tire use the jack and see how it was working properly .. well as you stated the Phillips driver was not there so I had the same problem.
then I jacked up the rear tire works but jack is very small base .. could flop over..
then when I jacked up the front tire very dangerous .. jack is poor .. vehicle will flop over..
I purchased a 10ton bottle jack short .. then I placed it under the lower control arm .. I jack up the front end 1 inch .. I rotate the tires every year and the bottle jack works great vehicle is level when I rotate the tires...
I jack up the rear on the diff with a floor jack ..on the tire rotations ... also I check all the brake pads/calipers and pins on the caliper .. they can rust up.. binding the caliper..

 

I have same . A tool bag w/same stuff. Easy to carry, easy to remove, doesn't take up much room, and just looks like a gym bag, so theives most likely wont steal it.

 

Hey, that’s it exactly, mrmike7189. Great minds think alike, eh.

 

ORCISH Off-Road Base Farm Off-Road Lifting Jack Base for Hi Lift Jack

https://www.amazon.com/ORCISH-Off-R...a-812033276589&psc=1&ref=&adgrpid=83058288704


I got one of these and keep it in the 4runner helps the factory jack base and you dont have to run the jack up so high

 

I made mine. Same thing. Great idea.

 

Real guys don't need instructions. Who ever reads the manual? I only crack it when all else fails, all else.

 

I carry a small floor jack, and a 4-way lug wrench for exactly these reasons!

 

I had the end of a wheel lock key break off on me about 20 years ago. I was in town at a discount tire shop, on a Friday afternoon, test fitting a 32 on my Wrangler.
Office tire sales guy thought it would fit with my 1.5" of lift, he had 4 at a great price, why not try it? It rubbed badly.
The shop crew had cranked it on with the big air rattle gun, and when they went to take it off with the big rattle gun, the key broke with the end stuck in the locking tire nut. Then they all left for the weekend, jeep undriveable with a tire I didn't own and couldn't run stuck on the right front. Luckily a friend picked me up and drove me back Monday.
Bad experience, never used tire locks again.

 

I babysitted the key for my Frontier wheel locks for 13 out of the 14 years of owning the pickup. Finally said screw it and got rid of the wheel locks.
Now I have them again on my 4Runner. Probably going to ditch them soon as well.

 

Now adays tire locks are only a deterrent. Any good tire shop or thief for that matter; has a tool to rethread the lug & can take anything.
Note* I am not a theif. I have family in the wheel & tire industry and have seen the for when people misplaced their key or bought a vehicle without one included.
I am sure there are some locking nuts of higher strength but I bet they only come on wheels close to $3k each...

 

Yes, we do.

 

Do people even steal wheels anymore? I can recall taking exactly one "stolen wheels" report when the wheels were stolen from a car in the last decade or so.

And this is in a place where everything gets stolen. Motherfuckers be stabbing each other over bags of recycling...

 

This June we went cross country, while in Cali, we went to a Walmart to stock up. While pulling into the parking lot, I see one person jump off their bicycle and toss it on the ground. It was clear they were going after the other the other person. I quickly found a different direction to park. My son continued to watch the show. All he talked about for days, was how the dude had a stabby thing (some sort of knife attached to a pole.

so, that’s what California is to this Maine family.

 

Yeah, back in the 70s to mid 80s, when your rim choices where either 14” or 15”, alloy wheels were a high value commodity. But these days, almost all vehicles have them, and each set is more or less specific to the vehicle it’s made for. With excellent brand new OR wheels practically being given away on here every day, why would anyone need to steal them?

 

Love Moosehead, we camp up that way every year for a week or so. Some day I’ll own at least a sliver of land on the lake, need enough to park the truck and set up a tent.

 

Sounds more like Walmart behavior to me.

 

Never seen that at a Walmart in this area.


Honestly, the amount of homelessness was eye opening, just don’t see that level here in Maine.

 

Watching the media yesterday was angering me. They are like, oh wow look what’s happening, this is so sad. I’m like, you fuckheads instigated this shit, hope you like your ratings now.


I hope the police officers walk off the job, and let folks go all old west on each other. They won’t, because most are good people, who do this job to make a difference in the world.



sorry for the morning rant.

 

I've lived in the Midwest (Ohio), where I was a cop for 19 years; and we've now lived in California for about 5 years and I've been a cop here that entire time.

California and by extension the entire coastal west is a shitshow of homelessness, drug use, and petty property crime. It is exponentially worse here than in other places. You can attribute that to lax laws, a ultra liberal mindset, decent year round weather, access to a plethora of services, and the geographic fact that you can't "drive any further west"... they get here and then just collect.

In our particular region of northern California, the area is super remote. The biggest town within 150 miles any direction is where I work, and because that town has all the social services, welfare, mental health, medical care, and criminal justice / jail... these people trickle in from their reservations or down off the hills to get services or because they got arrested, and then they just never leave. They live on the streets because they can, do drugs, and steal to survive.

It's very frustrating, and made more so by Covid because a lot of the services that normally take the burden off law enforcement are shut down "for safety", so there is no 'plan b'.

Having said that, the areas outside the bigger communities are pretty chill, and coastal rural California is by and large a great place to live and recreate. The standard of living, despite the high cost of living, is good if you have a solid job... it's not the place to try and live on minimum wage. I make about 60% more here than I did in Ohio; my wife makes more than double. We're financially in the best position we've ever been in... and I work 3 days a week, so I've got ample time off to go into the mountains that are 5 miles away and camp and explore endless trails, or go to the ocean that is 1 mile away, or the redwoods... etc etc. We're both more healthy than we've ever been from all the outdoor stuff we do. The city is full of fun stuff to do, culture, art... if you look beyond the surface it's a really cool and eclectic place. We've never been crime victims, and honestly the homelessness is just an eyesore most of the time (for people who aren't cops dealing with them) ... we've never had a bad experience with a homeless dude or a tweaker when we've been out and about on days off. They mostly victimize each other, at most a normal person might get their car window smashed out and their wallet stolen.

I guess I'd summarize my point by saying this: I have a real love / hate relationship with this place. It is simultaneously the worst place I've ever been, and the greatest. Sometimes when I'm working and I'm feeling super pissed or frustrated and I'm dealing with some nasty organism that's barely even recognizable as a human and his trash splayed out all over the sidewalk, I'll look up a little and I'll see the ring of mountains around the city, pure and snow capped and lonely, and I'll re-center myself. Does that make sense? For every reason not to live here there are three to live here.

 

This thread sure took a turn...

 

Well we established you need a tool to use the drop rod and having a jack base is helpful, now the thread is a free for all!!!

 

There is no doubt it has the ability to be an amazing place, I still prefer Maine, got mountains, ocean and lakes all with in a days drive from anywhere in Maine. Oh and it’s cold and that keeps the bugs and rif raf down

 

Yeah but your ocean is a pussy ocean!!!!!!

 

That's reasonable

But to be fair, my post was factual, there was no political overtones to it. The "liberal" reference speaks to a mindset, not a political affiliation...

Granted it was off topic as hell, but somehow the thread migrated to it in a manner that seemed to make sense... #2 JIS screwdriver to aftermarket wheels to the death of western civilization....

 

I did try that, didn't work. The set screw from the handle blocks the other screw from going in enough to get the leverage needed. If you get that first screw off, then yes you can do it like the manual states, but you still have to get that first screw off.

 

Just showing the facts

And I live near the sea of Atlas.

 

I will admit when I first read this thread I thought pfft - who doesn't know that or keep additional tools in the truck. But really it's one of those things you just don't think of until it's too late. Good on the OP for bringing this up.

 

Here’s my little added tool.
For jacking on the round rear axle I got this “jack adapter” from Land Cruiser Products, for a better grip.
Jack Adapters - Land Cruiser Products - LCP
I painted mine white to make it more visible.