If you are unfortunate enough to suffer a puncture and need to change a tyre, here is how to do it safely!

Make sure the caravan is on level ground and clear of danger, e.g. traffic, people, etc.

Leave your caravan hitched up to your car and apply the handbrake on your caravan.

Put your hazard lights on and use a warning triangle if you have one. Both the hazard lights and triangle will warn any approaching traffic.

After you have chocked the opposite wheel, position your jack under the caravan at the relevant jacking point (this can be found in your caravan handbook). Raise your jack to touching point on the chassis, making sure both the jack and the chassis are correctly lined up and that the jack and chassis are flat to the ground.

After this, operate your jack slowly, raising the wheel until it is off the ground.

Lower the caravan corner steadies for extra stability.

Undo the bolts on your wheel and remove the wheel.

Put the new wheel in place and replace the wheel bolts in a diagonal order but don't over-tighten at this point.

Now raise your corner steadies then slowly lower your jack.

When fully lowered you can then tighten the bolts on your wheel (this is best done with a torque wrench). Your caravan handbook will tell you the correct torque setting.

Please note that you should now check the tyre pressure of the new caravan tyre and adjust it if need be.

Don't forget to release your caravan handbrake before setting off!

You should also re-check the caravan wheel bolts on the new wheel after 20 - 30 miles to make sure they haven't become loose. We always check them before every trip as well just to be on the safe side.

Have you suffered the misfortune of having to change a tyre on a busy road? Let us know if you have any tips to help other caravanners.

PLEASE NOTE: Changing a tyre can be dangerous, especially if you are on a motorway or busy road, so if you have roadside assistance membership or breakdown insurance, use them and let them do the job for you - it is far safer and after all, they are the professionals!

We have done our best to ensure the correctness of this information about when you have to change a tyre - please always refer to your caravan handbook for instructions regarding your specific caravan. We cannot be held responsible for any problems or accidents which arise from the use of our information.