I’m an ex-army driver, I was taught how to change wheels. I was also taught how to change tyres. In fact for my first 6 months at my first working unit, changing tyres is all I did. Bedford MK military split rims, a wide variety of trailers towed by these, Landrovers and Sankey trailers, ■■■■■■ estate cars then Vauxhall Chevette estates , Mini vans and cars and Vauxhall staff cars.
Pah, kids nowadays! My 18th birthday was spent in a bloody German services removing, building and replacing 8 punctures on a trailer (when one went it tended to take the whole row with it).
If I’d only waited a few hours I could have got to them more easily.
If you done general haulage in the eighties and early nineties you knew how to sheet a trailer and change a wheel. Driver for a company I worked for was stuck on M25 because he could not crack wheelnuts on blown out trailer tyre. When I rang in after tipping nearby, boss said find a long bar, and go and help. Only thing I could find was a piece of heavy conduit about twenty foot long in factory I was in. Lashed it to trailer and went to help.
What a sight that must of been to passing drivers. Two guys on the hard shoulder swinging like a pair of monkeys on the end of this massive bar undoing those bloody wheelnuts!
Another time, I was so fed up after changing a wheel on the way to Cambridge with a load of bricks, that when I got there, as I was waiting to go in yard to unload, I threw wheel into long grass alongside narrow road, as it was in the way of sheets and rope etc.
Mate told me later that boss of brick company comes tearing down road later on in his brand new merc, overtaking trucks, goes onto grass and hits the wheel, and smashes the front off his car.
When I started driving you never went any where without a spare …if it all went well you could be mobile again in 1/2 hour but with today’s traffic I don’t think I would care to do it on the hard shoulder…
back in 1984 when I started it was just part of the job on tippers spare wheel jack brace
long tube it was common that other drivers would stop and help you .
no going back to the yard and also grease it when you got chance
Then I checked them, just to be on the safe side 
