How to lift filled rear tires

[dstig1]

I had to flip around the rear tires last winter for snowplowing as we needed chains on the Ag tires, but they would not clear the fenders in the "normal" position. So a friend and I did it, and it was painful. These tires are close to 1000 lbs each with Rimguard in them, and 2 guys can't do much with that weight, not to mention the safety aspects. So now it is spring and I need to flip them back around so it fits on the trailer. There is no hoist in the garage (yet) but I do have a pair of machinery movers. These are normally used in a pair on either side of a heavy object, and connected to each other with a ratchet strap to keep them in place. I got them real cheap off CL a few years back (seller had no clue what they were worth) and they have been invaluable on several occasions.

Well I thought about it and figured if I could make a frame and essentially some fork extensions, I could probably use one of them as a makeshift tire lift. Tried it today and overall they worked really well.

Here is the before picture. Normally you use these in pairs, but I only need one for this.


Here it is almost finished. I welded up an outrigger with 2 more swivel casters and a pair of fork extensions. I also put a bolt in to secure the extensions to the lifting tabs so they didn't come loose in use (not shown). The extensions are captured above, below and behind the lifting tabs so they stay put.


And here it is in use.






Only thing I would change is to extend the outrigger out farther. This is 36" wide, but another 6" on each side would be very helpful in clearing the edges of the tire. Not sure how soon I will get to that as it is a huge improvement over the manual method as is, and I have too much to do.

 

[mjncad]

Neat, I like it.

 

[BHD]

Why not lower the tractor to the rim height? At least that is what I do if I have to take the rim off a tractor or combine

 

[beeforty]

Looks good, same idea for what we use on big aircraft tires to change them. Main difference is because planes have multi-plated disc brakes to line up, so ours have a roller where you have your angle iron lifts. Being able to rotate your wheels easily would make aligning your bolt holes a lot easier! I keep thinking how nice it would be to have something like that and the older I get the closer I'm getting to build something like yours.

 

[Mac in PA]

Nice job!

When I worked on big forklifts with dual wheels we would use a hydraulic jack to raise the unit just enough to take the weight off the wheels, then we would slide a piece of sheet metal under the wheel with grease on it. Two people could easily slide the wheels off the unit. We did this already to replace the break lining by removing the nut & wheel bearing and sliding the dual wheels and drum off as an assembly.

Not high tech, but it worked without much effort.


Mac

 

[camshawn]

I helped a friend change brake shoes on a tractor trailer. We lifted the weight off with a jack, pulled the axel nut and slid the duel wheels out on 2 greased 2x4 then just rolled them aside. Assembly was reverse, rolled the wheels back onto the 2 x4 and slide home onto the axel.
Cam

 

[Stimw]

I have done hundreds of brake jobs on semi's and semi trailers using a "Grease Board". Actually I used 90W oil on a piece of sheet metal because it was less messy but we always called it G B.
I have worked at shops that had the wheel dolly for removing the wheels but they were more trouble to use than a grease board. Also most of the wheels that I removed weren't on pavement.

 

[RickB]

I must be stupid. I just unbolt them & roll them out of the way. I've handled fully loaded 16.9x30 R-1's alone dozens of times.

 

[brain55]

I must be stupid. I just unbolt them & roll them out of the way. I've handled fully loaded 16.9x30 R-1's alone dozens of times.

I'm with you Rick and I'm just a little guy at 5'-4" 140 lbs. and I've done it many dozens of times.

 

[DT86]

When I did the parking brake band on our old JD 2355 w/ 16.9-28 loaded rears, I just walked the wheel off the hub and rolled it against a tree until later.