Portable Tire Changer...

[blaze_125]

I need your input.
If that thing actually works, it'd get paid for after I used it twice.

I'm looking to mount car tires in the range of 15" and 16". Including tires with stiffer sidewalls.

http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-tire-changer-34542.html

You can remove a tire from its rim, or mount it, without the need for expensive 220V power hookups or pneumatic lines. You’ll change tires at a fraction of the cost!

Handles all tires from 8" to light truck (such as 7-1/2” x 16”), including flotation tires up to size 12.5L16
Includes instructions for bead-breaking, and mounting/demounting tires
All-steel construction

 

[impulse922]

unless you want to do 60-65+ series sidewalls, leave it up to the tire guys, you still have to get it balanced anyways

 

[blaze_125]

unless you want to do 60-65+ series sidewalls, leave it up to the tire guys, you still have to get it balanced anyways

I guess a Falken RT-615 in a 50 serie is not in the range of that thing?

 

[IndyGarage]

You can do them with a $6 set of tire spoons - I have.

I haven't tried a 40 or 45 series tire, but I can't imagine anything tougher than a dirt bike rear, which I have done many times.

It can be a real workout, but it can be done. There are dozens of videos on youtube.
The real challenge with hand tools is not scratching anything up. Leave the tire out in the sun to soften it up first.


I imagine one of those hand mounters makes it easier, because you have the leverage of the center post, however it would need to be very securely mounted somewhere in order to be effective, which means isn't portable.

 

[sgrammel]

I need your input.
If that thing actually works, it'd get paid for after I used it twice.

I'm looking to mount car tires in the range of 15" and 16". Including tires with stiffer sidewalls.

http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-tire-changer-34542.html

If you f up somebody's wheel with that thing you will be out more than you ever get for it

 

[bent valves]

I bought one just like that maybe 10 years ago and have used it dozens of times. There are two problems. First, the base is not broad enough to keep the thing upright. I had to add steel angle iron to extend the "X" another foot. Second, the bead breaker (the two short bars extending down to the base) will easily push the bead down but the small angle iron on the base will scratch up an aluminum rim. I had to put a heavy piece of rubber on it to protect my BMW rims. Third, the long bar used to jack the tire off the rim will also do some serious damage to an aluminum rim. An application of several layers of duct tape will help here, and replace the tape for every rim.

For the price, it is not too bad. I found that this tool and a couple of tire irons will allow me to get the job done on 50 series tires but it is a workout if you are doing 4.

On edit:
Oh, I almost forgot, I bubble balance my wheels to get them close to balanced and then add ceramic balancing beads to dynamically get the wheels balanced. Works well and I can mail order my tires for a good price and not be at the mercy of the tire store junkies.

 

[1969]

A friend of mine has that exact same product, has used it many times and likes it. Probably not the best choice if you have fancy rims though.

 

[lilredex]

On edit:
Oh, I almost forgot, I bubble balance my wheels to get them close to balanced and then add ceramic balancing beads to dynamically get the wheels balanced. Works well and I can mail order my tires for a good price and not be at the mercy of the tire store junkies.

Tell us more please, on both the ceramic beads and the mail order tires. Perhaps start a new thread on that subject.

 

[lilredex]

You can do them with a $6 set of tire spoons - I have.
QUOTE]

Exactly the way I have always done them and, running up on a 2 X 6 will break even the toughest beads.

Removed the LR-60's from my Lil Red this way damage free, tires hadn't been off since new, at least that is the way it seemed.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I bought one to change the defective Chinese valve stems on my wife's car that were recalled last year. Worked great for breaking the beads and changing the stems I also changed a couple trailer tires and it worked well for that as well, once you anchor it to the floor but it did leave red paint all over my steel rims. I would not use it on a good rim without modifying the bar to have teflon tips.
Mojo makes a no scratch motorcycle bar, and someone else like the Stripper makes a no scratch car tire bar.

Chris

 

[plinker]

I have one, same thing except Larin branded. Probably one of my better investments (as far as making life easier is concerned).

I use it mainly to break the bead on ATV & small tires, I have two small tire tire irons I prefer to use to remove the tire.

I also use it to change 15" light truck tires. It works pretty good overall for that. 16" truck tires are just too big to change efficently on it. Better to break the bead and then use tire irons to change those.

ADVICE: Get a piece of 1-1/4 pipe to use as the handle for the bead breaker. I had bent the tire tool it comes with one time (then I flipped it over and bent it back). It's not really heavy duty enough when you have a tire that dosent want to cooperate(hard bead to break).

 

[Griff93]

If you have a bumper style jack, especially a hi lift you can use it to break the bead down on tires. I've done this several times with jeep tires. I don't think I'd try a 50 series though. I don't think the foot would stay on.

 

[Burgerkong]

No-Mar has a kickass one, but alot more than the HF version.

http://www.nomartirechanger.com/

 

[blaze_125]

If you f up somebody's wheel with that thing you will be out more than you ever get for it

I'm not looking to run a business out of it. I just want to do my own tires. As impulse922 noted, I'd still have to get the tires balanced, but around here balancing and mounting are not always sold as one package... It's more like... pay for mounting, then pay for balancing...

I have watched a few videos on youtube and I have mixed feelings about it. For some people it seems really easy to use, for some others it looks like a major pain in the ****. I haven't seen any "performance" tires being mounted with that thing.

 

[toolchaser]

I've got one for farm use. The bead breaker is great for ATV tires. I bolted mine to Redheads in my Lean-to slab for stability

 

[scott37300]

I did a lot of research last year on tire changers. Think I lord at almost every machine from HF to rim clamps.

From the reviews I read and people I talked to all said that the HF works pretty good if it's bolted down good. Some guys bolted them to a pallet. The ones that didn't secure it good were the ones that had problems. And as mentioned it isn't friendly to nice rims.

I decided I was bored last summer and started designing and building a rim clamp. Got pretty far but haven't had much time to work on it over the winter. Hoping to get some tome to work on it this summer.

 

[rodm1]

No-Mar has a kickass one, but alot more than the HF version.

http://www.nomartirechanger.com/

+1

 

[crewchief888]

i picked one up at HF when it was on sale a couple months ago.

if you bolt it to the floor it works,
if not, you'll be inventing new words

the "arms" on the bead breaker part are kinda crappy and wobbly,
i use mine for my off road tires, and spares. i dont worry about scratching a rim, i dont think i'd use it on a nice set of aluminum wheels without taking some precautions..