ETpilot
Gold Member
I got a flat tire on my lowboy trailer. The problem turned out to be an old leaking tubeless tire valve. To change it out I had to break the bead. I made this simple device to do the work. I cut a short 2x6 for the compression piece and used a 2x2 for the actuation lever. I cut a dado in the lever to fit the angle iron on the trailer and clamped a stop block for the compression piece. I set the lever at a 10-15* angle. It worked real nice.
I also decided to clean and paint the old rim. Looks good now.
The down side is that the 2x2 is not strong enough. Once I got the outside bead broken, I tried the inside bead and broke the lever. A 2x4 on edge would have been stronger but I did not have one handy.
I am going to experiment with this and may make one out of steel with an exhangeable foot for the different rims. I will see. I am going to put balancing beads in my truck tires so I will try this on my truck tires and see how it works.
Thought I'd post FWIW.
I also decided to clean and paint the old rim. Looks good now.
The down side is that the 2x2 is not strong enough. Once I got the outside bead broken, I tried the inside bead and broke the lever. A 2x4 on edge would have been stronger but I did not have one handy.
I am going to experiment with this and may make one out of steel with an exhangeable foot for the different rims. I will see. I am going to put balancing beads in my truck tires so I will try this on my truck tires and see how it works.
Thought I'd post FWIW.