After I pop out the axle, and get the rim off the hub, I remove the pumpkin (rear hub assembly) then kinda scoot the tire out sideways, because I have a hitch installed, that's pretty much the only way for me. Plus I like to inspect the hub, splines into the drive shaft, ect. anyways. Just be careful of the o-ring on the hub side splines that go into the drive-shaft.