dfkrug
Super Member
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2004
- Messages
- 7,184
- Location
- Santa Cruz Mtns, CA
- Tractor
- 05 Kioti CK30HST w/ Prairie Dog backhoe, XN08 mini-X
Any one out there mount and dismount your own tires? I know some have
purchased the Harbor Fright tire changer. I bought mine years ago, and
as with some other HF tools, it works, but you need to modify it a bit....
First, you have to mount it onto something that won't move around with
the large forces you use. I tried bolting it to some 4x12s and parking a
tractor on it, but that was only fair. Here I show how I mounted it to my
multi-purpose support that slips over the tines of my pallet forks. This is
the same implement that I use with a receiver to move trailers around.
So, I whacked off the bottom of the HF tire changer and welded some
sched 40 pipe on the bottom. This just fits inside some larger pipe, which
is then welded onto the support. Some 5/8" rod stock makes a nice pin.
(My HF foor-mount bender also fits into this pipe.) See first photo.
In the second photo, you can see the original bit that clamps the wheel
down. Pthttt! (Bronx cheer). It broke after 4 or 5 tires. I replaced it
with a 5/16" piece of steel to give continuous contact with the wheel,
and its own hole for the anti-spin pin. The anti-spin pin normally goes
through a stud hole in the wheel, but that means you have to unscrew the
whole wheel clamp just to spin the wheel a few degrees. Works much
better.
In the 3rd photo, I am breaking the bead on one of my JD 4300 front wheels.
Clearly, the tool had to be several feet up in the air to get the full leverage
I needed to use the bead-breaking feature. With heavy wheel/tire assemblies
I lower the FEL all the way down, and curl it forward. This helps me lift
these heavy guys onto the mounter. Note that I do only tractor tires as
car/truck tires have very tight beads and are hard to break free. Also, I
do not recommend using this tool on aluminum wheels. This particular tire
was my first R4, and it was pretty tough to do. R1s have been much
easier.
The 4th photo shows the removal commencing. Tire irons do help.
purchased the Harbor Fright tire changer. I bought mine years ago, and
as with some other HF tools, it works, but you need to modify it a bit....
First, you have to mount it onto something that won't move around with
the large forces you use. I tried bolting it to some 4x12s and parking a
tractor on it, but that was only fair. Here I show how I mounted it to my
multi-purpose support that slips over the tines of my pallet forks. This is
the same implement that I use with a receiver to move trailers around.
So, I whacked off the bottom of the HF tire changer and welded some
sched 40 pipe on the bottom. This just fits inside some larger pipe, which
is then welded onto the support. Some 5/8" rod stock makes a nice pin.
(My HF foor-mount bender also fits into this pipe.) See first photo.
In the second photo, you can see the original bit that clamps the wheel
down. Pthttt! (Bronx cheer). It broke after 4 or 5 tires. I replaced it
with a 5/16" piece of steel to give continuous contact with the wheel,
and its own hole for the anti-spin pin. The anti-spin pin normally goes
through a stud hole in the wheel, but that means you have to unscrew the
whole wheel clamp just to spin the wheel a few degrees. Works much
better.
In the 3rd photo, I am breaking the bead on one of my JD 4300 front wheels.
Clearly, the tool had to be several feet up in the air to get the full leverage
I needed to use the bead-breaking feature. With heavy wheel/tire assemblies
I lower the FEL all the way down, and curl it forward. This helps me lift
these heavy guys onto the mounter. Note that I do only tractor tires as
car/truck tires have very tight beads and are hard to break free. Also, I
do not recommend using this tool on aluminum wheels. This particular tire
was my first R4, and it was pretty tough to do. R1s have been much
easier.
The 4th photo shows the removal commencing. Tire irons do help.