Getting a flat tire is rarely a fun experience, and sometimes it can be quite dangerous. While there are concerning issues of changing a flat tire along a busy roadway, sometimes the dangerous situations people find themselves in have more to do with the vehicle moving after it has been jacked up. Here are four things to make sure you do before you jack a car up to change a flat tire. 

Make sure the spare tire fits the vehicle 

It's important to make sure the spare tire actually fits the vehicle and is properly inflated and in good condition before you jack up the vehicle. This is particularly important if you are not the first owner of the vehicle and, perhaps, the spare in the vehicle does not actually fit the vehicle. Of course, the spare tire itself may be smaller than the normal tires, but the lug nuts must fit. 

Take the spare tire out of the vehicle before jacking it up

One thing that you don't want to inadvertently do is to jack up the vehicle and then try to get the flat tire out of it while it is in the air. You must remove the spare tire from the vehicle first before you jack the vehicle up. Reaching into the vehicle and removing the weight of the spare tire could cause the vehicle to move off of the jack. 

Prepare the vehicle to be lifted on a jack 

Before jacking the car up, you'll need to prepare the vehicle first. To do this, set the emergency brake and chock the tire that is opposite of the flat tire. This will prevent the vehicle from rolling while you are lifting it on the jack. To chock the opposite tire, use large rocks that you can, hopefully, find in the area. If you are unable to chock the tire, call a roadside assistance service for help instead of attempting to change the flat tire by yourself. 

Loosen the lug nuts on the flat tire before using the jack

You won't be able to safely loosen the lug nuts while the vehicle is in the air. You need to loosen the lug nuts while the weight of the vehicle is on the tire. This gives you the ability to apply torque to the lug nuts while there is some resistance. Otherwise, the tire will just spin in the air if the vehicle is already lifted up. 

For more information about spare tires or changing your tires in general, visit a tire shop in your area, or get into contact with professionals by visiting websites like http://evanstire.com.

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