Need a wrench for the wife

[PaleFlyer]

Wife curbed her RAV Friday hard enough to RIP a hole in the sidewall. She wants me to give her a refresher on changing a tire, but I know she won't be able to do the wrench (her back is ****.) I want to look into some sort of impact or something I can leave in her car, but I don't want it to be a battery, as then the damn thing will be dead when she needs it. But I also don't love the idea of one of those cheap ***** ones on amazon where it's probably a "use once" kind of thing.

Okay, I was thinking of the one that comes with this kit:https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Electric-Jack-12V-Replacement/dp/B0BV9Z8DGQ
But then I saw "normal" looking impacts that use a lighter socket... (Like this: https://www.amazon.com/GETUHAND-Electric-300ft-lbs-Portable-Sockets/dp/B07PGDNP9J) This is more what I was hoping for.

 

[Dean2]

If her back is really that bad, get her an AAA membership and let them change the tires.

A set of curb feelers might not hurt too.

 

[PaleFlyer]

If her back is really that bad, get her an AAA membership and let them change the tires.

A set of curb feelers might not hurt too.

We both have AAA memberships, but it took them 90 minutes to get out to her Friday.

Curb feelers probably would be, but... I don't like sleeping on the couch...

 

[bm02tj]

A folding star wrench would be better than the factory lug wrench

 

[Pastor Bob]

I don't know how different a Prado is from a RAV, but here is an install video for a compressor tank. That way she could use pneumatic tools. Having a compressor on board was always handy when we were doing the JEEP thing.

Under Bonnet Dual ARB Air Compressor Mount To Suit Prado 150 & 200 2013 - 2023 Install Video

We've done it this week legends, We’ve developed a tidy little bracket to tuck away your dual arb air compressor in the engine bay of your prado 150, this br...

youtu.be

 

[chri5k]

A set of 4 run-flat tires. Then she can get it home and deal with the flat from home.

 

[KansasArt]

Instead of worrying about the wrench I would be more concerned of her jacking the vehicle up in the air. Never occurs on a flat concrete surface. Then extracting the spare tire from its storage area. And then mounting the spare & putting the flat tire back inside the vehicle. Doing all this lifting with a bad back??

 

[mikeru]

Instead of worrying about the wrench I would be more concerned of her jacking the vehicle up in the air. Never occurs on a flat concrete surface. Then extracting the spare tire from its storage area. And then mounting the spare & putting the flat tire back inside the vehicle. Doing all this lifting with a bad back??

These are what came to mind when I read the first post. Loosening the lug nuts would be the least of my concern for anyone changing a tire with a bad back.

 

[RamDiver]

Wife curbed her RAV Friday hard enough to RIP a hole in the sidewall. She wants me to give her a refresher on changing a tire, but I know she won't be able to do the wrench (her back is ****.) I want to look into some sort of impact or something I can leave in her car, but I don't want it to be a battery, as then the damn thing will be dead when she needs it. But I also don't love the idea of one of those cheap ***** ones on amazon where it's probably a "use once" kind of thing.

Okay, I was thinking of the one that comes with this kit:https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Electric-Jack-12V-Replacement/dp/B0BV9Z8DGQ
But then I saw "normal" looking impacts that use a lighter socket... (Like this: https://www.amazon.com/GETUHAND-Electric-300ft-lbs-Portable-Sockets/dp/B07PGDNP9J) This is more what I was hoping for.

Maybe, you just have to step up your standby services.

There was no way my former GF would even attempt a tire change. She was tiny with back issues. And living in a rural area always translates to a multi-hour wait for any help.

I was her AAA service guy more than a couple of times. I'd toss a trolley jack, tools, and a piece of MDF board in the truck and go. MDF board was for trolley jack on gravel or soft shoulders.

BTW, the truck is great for roadside repairs when you're being buzzed by F'n idiots. More often than not, flats seem to be on the roadside. This one time, I parked behind her car on a rural highway with the 4-ways on.

After being buzzed by the 2nd or 3rd ta rd, I moved my truck into the lane behind/beside her vehicle and finished the wheel change.

.

 

[mikeru]

Maybe, you just have to step up your standby services.

There was no way my former GF would even attempt a tire change. She was tiny with back issues. And living in a rural area always translates to a multi-hour wait for any help.

I was her AAA service guy more than a couple of times. I'd toss a trolley jack, tools, and a piece of MDF board in the truck and go. MDF board was for trolley jack on gravel or soft shoulders.

BTW, the truck is great for roadside repairs when you're being buzzed by F'n idiots. More often than not, flats seem to be on the roadside. This one time, I parked behind her car on a rural highway with the 4-ways on.

After being buzzed by the 2nd or 3rd ta rd, I moved my truck into the lane behind/beside her vehicle and finished the wheel change.

.

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do

 

[RamDiver]

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do

Plus, it saves me from checking for any sub-standard work completed by road service monkeys.

Changing a wheel is pretty easy other than the time I forgot to pack the MDF board and watched my trolley jack disappear into the soft shoulder.

Good thing it was a high-lift jack.

.

 

[JW2 Innovations]

My daughter had difficulty getting the lug nuts off of her Jeep Wrangler which are tightened to spec. So got her this: LINK

Not electric, but you can extend the cross handle to get some leverage and she's able to stand on it if necessary (I have spare lug nuts just in case). Is similar to old lug nut wrench that takes up a lot of room from back in the day.

 

[PaleFlyer]

I ended up ordering this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNH6VST2?psc=1
As I did think about her trying to jack the car up with that ****** scissor jack. I don't want her to do the work if she doesn't have to, and normally either I am close enough I can beat AAA by a lot, or I'm IN the car with her, so it's not a problem, but last week when she blew the tire, I was an hour north of the house, and she was an hour south, so AAA won the race. And she was all impressed by the impact, which I know the moron didn't have set right, so overtorqued, just like I figure most tire shops do, so I wanted to get her something that would help, and I have seen some reviews of this style of lug wrench as "it's slow, but it works!"

I do still plan to get her a proper lug wrench, just so she has the right stuff, and isn't stuck for hours waiting on AAA if I'm out of town, or her cell is useless. Which is the same reason I want her to know how. I don't want her to do the work with her back, but... If it's either do it herself, or be stranded for HOURS, especially with the boys... I'm pretty good at massaging her back at this point...

EDIT: Forgot, I also got this kit as it adds an air compressor, so if the tire is just low, she can fix it. Her mom passed 16 years ago due to a tire issue (manufacturing defect), but since then she is hyper sensitive about tire issues, so again, she can check her tires, and fill them "enough" to get home/to a tire shop.

 

[JW2 Innovations]

I ended up ordering this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNH6VST2?psc=1
As I did think about her trying to jack the car up with that ****** scissor jack. I don't want her to do the work if she doesn't have to, and normally either I am close enough I can beat AAA by a lot, or I'm IN the car with her, so it's not a problem, but last week when she blew the tire, I was an hour north of the house, and she was an hour south, so AAA won the race. And she was all impressed by the impact, which I know the moron didn't have set right, so overtorqued, just like I figure most tire shops do, so I wanted to get her something that would help, and I have seen some reviews of this style of lug wrench as "it's slow, but it works!"

I do still plan to get her a proper lug wrench, just so she has the right stuff, and isn't stuck for hours waiting on AAA if I'm out of town, or her cell is useless. Which is the same reason I want her to know how. I don't want her to do the work with her back, but... If it's either do it herself, or be stranded for HOURS, especially with the boys... I'm pretty good at massaging her back at this point...

EDIT: Forgot, I also got this kit as it adds an air compressor, so if the tire is just low, she can fix it. Her mom passed 16 years ago due to a tire issue (manufacturing defect), but since then she is hyper sensitive about tire issues, so again, she can check her tires, and fill them "enough" to get home/to a tire shop.

Understood. Sorry for her loss and definitely understand this focus issue for you/her overall. Price for link you share looks to me to be a no brainer for your use case and hopefully she won't need it too much. My wife had been going through a nail/bolt yard with construction all around her work space some time back and can't tell you how many times I had her vehicle at the tire shop getting repairs/replacements. I've been lucky where the small air compressor we added for her vehicle to carry has gotten us through each event in her getting home. I myself in the beginning I wasn't a big TPMS sensor lover as my early cars only signaled that there was at least one tire too low vs which one and just another thing to break and cost more to fix, but with events like what my wife went through for many months it has been very helpful and her current vehicle does tell her which tire to focus on. Funny/not funny, but I still have a extra tire in the garage from the last event for her vehicle for when I was thinking the last bolt she came home with wasn't going to be repairable.

Thanks for sharing which direction you went. Great site and community to help with things like this!

 

[Green_Manalishi]

In lieu of waiting 1.5 hrs for AAA, does your insurance offer roadside service? Texas Farm Bureau does.

 

[PaleFlyer]

Understood. Sorry for her loss and definitely understand this focus issue for you/her overall. Price for link you share looks to me to be a no brainer for your use case and hopefully she won't need it too much. My wife had been going through a nail/bolt yard with construction all around her work space some time back and can't tell you how many times I had her vehicle at the tire shop getting repairs/replacements. I've been lucky where the small air compressor we added for her vehicle to carry has gotten us through each event in her getting home. I myself in the beginning I wasn't a big TPMS sensor lover as my early cars only signaled that there was at least one tire too low vs which one and just another thing to break and cost more to fix, but with events like what my wife went through for many months it has been very helpful and her current vehicle does tell her which tire to focus on. Funny/not funny, but I still have a extra tire in the garage from the last event for her vehicle for when I was thinking the last bolt she came home with wasn't going to be repairable.

Thanks for sharing which direction you went. Great site and community to help with things like this!

She has the "basic" TPMS, so it's basically useless. But yeah, I went for the kit that got her everything she would need "in case", and tossed in a $10 digital pressure gauge too.

 

[PaleFlyer]

In lieu of waiting 1.5 hrs for AAA, does your insurance offer roadside service? Texas Farm Bureau does.

It was rush hour in the middle of Charlotte NC. She was looking at at least an hour from anyone. I should have called my coworker, who could have been there in 20 minutes, and is a car guy, (restoring a first gen Honda CRX) so he def could have done it, and she has met him at a couple of company functions.
Normally I would have just gone, but was 2+ hours away on the way home from a site visit.

 

[1 MEAN66]

A set of 4 run-flat tires. Then she can get it home and deal with the flat from home.

Run flat tires DO NOT mean you can drive on them flat, then fix the leak, and then drive on then again as normal!!!! Each manufacture as different "rules" as far as recommended procedures. Run flats primary design is to get you to a repair shop/tire shop without the "RIM" getting damaged. Driving on a non-run flat will make a tire grind itself into junk then you are driving on the wheel.. Run flat tire may still be "toast" by the time you get there, especially if you do what most people "think" you can do - drive at normal speed to a shop fix it and drive some more.

 

[Marshall]

I have a long ,2 ft breaker bar as my hands are getting poor, and I don't trust the crappy wrench Getting the tire out would be the hard part. I have 2 sets of wheels for the truck, and the winter takes a splined nut. so keep sockets as well in the truck. car uses standard ones.
The jack , impact set looks neat, but I would be trying it out at home.
Good quality battery impact battery's will hold their charge for years.
I have Milwaukee battery's that are about 20 yrs on them and some sit for months and stay at 100% But you are looking at $2-300 min .

Where I lived CAA would be hours away, I use to have it but don't bother anymore.
TPM are a great idea, with a pressure gauge , even the basic ones are great, if you put air in
Wife was good at checking them when we where still out in the country.
Back in the day, no cell phones.

 

[They call me DLD]

The factory lug nut wrench is horrible. I travel with a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar that is 24 inches long and a deep well socket under the rear seat along with a large flat blade screw driver to remove the hubcap.