Changing a Wheel on a Motorhome?

Most motorhomes and many campervans aren’t just big vans; they’re coachbuilt bodies (often fibreglass/GRP) mounted to a chassis. That construction is brilliant for space and weight, but it also means the body flexes far more than a typical car. When you jack the vehicle on one corner or one side only, you introduce torsional shear through the body shell, windscreen aperture, cabinetry, and seals.

At Motorhome Heroes, we see the after-effects of this every season: windscreen “shear” cracks, popped trims, leaks, and stressed bond lines that should have lasted years.

Lifting a motorhome on one corner creates torsional twist through the chassis and GRP coachbuilt body, which aren’t designed for asymmetric loads. That twist turns the rigidly bonded windscreen into a stress path: an uneven lift can pull the glass off its correct bond-line height, causing micro-movement, creaks, and eventually edge-start stress fractures. The damage isn’t always immediate, weeks later it can show up as wind noise, creeping leaks, or an S-shaped crack from a screen corner.

Whenever possible, raise the vehicle evenly on all four points, for example with a four-post/platform lift, paired axle stands, or a proper motorhome levelling system used strictly as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Even, four-point support keeps the body square and the windscreen stress-free. Real-world scenarios we see:

Best practice: changing a wheel without stressing the body

Change a motorhome wheel only on firm, flat, level ground, chock the opposite wheels, apply the handbrake, and keep the steering straight.

Lift only at manufacturer-approved jacking points on the axle or chassis, never under bodywork or the floor and minimise twist by sharing support evenly (use the levelling system lightly across other corners or support the other wheel on the same axle).

Fit the spare, torque wheel nuts to the handbook spec, recheck after 50–100 miles, and watch afterward for new wind noise, lifted trims, or a fine crack at the windscreen edge.

The windscreen is part of the structure. Get the lift wrong and the glass takes the hit. We see the outcomes: stress fractures, leaks, and misaligned trims that could have been avoided with even support.

For wheel changes and workshop lifts, even, four-point support is the safest option for your body shell and your windscreen. One-corner jacks might be fine for a small car—but on a motorhome they can sow the seeds of bigger (and pricier) problems.

If you’ve noticed new noises, leaks, or a suspicious line in the glass after a lift, book an assessment with Motorhome Heroes. We’ll keep your view clear—and your motorhome’s structure stress-free.