wheel simulators / hub caps keep breaking

[BigChick]

2015 RAM 3500 with DRW.

every time i take the truck to a tire shop for tires, rotation, alignment, flat repair or anything that causes them to take the hub caps and wheel simulators off i end up with these parts getting broken tabs. both the wheel simulators and hub caps are made of plastic and it is very easy to break the tabs. the tire guys (or kids) seem to simply use the brute force method to take them off or put them on. i'm thinking of taking them off myself before i take the truck to them. is there any preferred tool or method that will allows these pars to be removed / installed with breaking the tabs. thanks for your advice!

 

[2003F350]

There IS a special tool meant for removing hubcaps and wheel simulators, and every manufacturer has one. I don't know what Ram's part number is but they're all basically the same tool.

Tire shops prefer to use a crowbar because it's cheap and easy to get ahold of. It also tends to damage things.

Personally I have always used one of these bad boys:



I got them YEARS ago in a screwdriver set from Craftsman, and the flathead one has been GREAT to use for removing hubcaps/wheel simulators, as well as acting as a tiny prybar down in a hole.

 

[mikeru]

This is what we used in the shops I used to work in...

https://www.amazon.com/Steelman-75031-Hub-Cap-Remover/dp/B00GWFOSBY