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Replacing the center wheel caps on Roadtrek Sprinter RV

| Updated Jul 23, 2014
pull straight back (1 of 1)
Pull it straight off to remove

Sometimes, RV troubles can come from those we entrust our vehicles to for repairs.

Such was my experience a couple of weeks ago when I took my Roadtrek Etrek in for new tires.
I went to a large tire retailer and service center near by home, where six Michelin LTX M/S2 tires were installed, replacing the originals which, after 51,000 miles had done a great job.

We had lots of travel on schedule and lots of time away so, while I probably could have gotten a few thousand more miles on the originals, I opted to go new so it was one less thing to think about during the rest of our summer travels.

The problem was when I returned to pick the vehicle up.

The mechanic had ruined the rear center caps that went over the lug nuts.

The service manager said they couldn't figure out how to get them off so they called a Mercedes dealer for advice.

“They told us they had seized on and they we had to pry them off,” the service manager said. He offered to reimburse me for the cost of the covers, which are supplied by Roadtrek.

Pry them off they did! They ripped them off. Fortunately, just the covers themselves were damaged.

How that happened I don't know. I think they must have tried squeezing or twisting or hammering to get them off when all they really should have done is simply pull… straight back.

Fortunately, it happened to be that I was headed to the Roadtrek factory in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada a couple of days later.

So while there, I hooked up with my buddy RT Campskunk and he demonstrated the proper way to attach and remove the center caps.

Why my tire dealer had such an issue is beyond me.

But in the interest of preventing that form happening to you, here's Campskunk showing us the proper technique.

You may have different covers and caps for your wheels, depending on the model. But it might be a good idea to make sure you know how to get yours off so you can avoid the issues I had. This is how the caps work on Roadtreks with the Sprinter chassis.

I plan to show the video below  to my tire dealer.

Mike Wendland

Published on 2014-07-23

Mike Wendland is a multiple Emmy-award-winning Journalist, Podcaster, YouTuber, and Blogger, who has traveled with his wife, Jennifer, all over North America in an RV, sharing adventures and reviewing RV, Camping, Outdoor, Travel and Tech Gear for the past 12 years. They are leading industry experts in RV living and have written 18 travel books.

One Response to “Replacing the center wheel caps on Roadtrek Sprinter RV”

October 07, 2014at6:26 pm, Jane & Pat Dunphy said:

Mike:

Already subscribed to your mailing list! I’m looking for advice on replacement tires for our 2003 200 Popular. We note in the story above that you replaced with Michelin LTX M/S 2. Those are actually the ones we have been favouring. Were they a good choice for you? We intend to cross Canada (PEI to Port Moody, BC) in November / December, so we do need something reasonable good. How did those ones handle the trip you did last winter to Northern Michigan?
Thanks, Jane

PS: would appreciate any advice from any other readers as well! Thanks!

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