Mounting tires on rim

[BackwoodsMan]

Does anyone have suggestions for mounting new tires on rims? I bought new tires for my trailer (5.70-8). I struggled to get the old ones off. I finally thought of putting liquid soap on the beads to help slide them off the rims. Now I am trying to get the new ones on and can't seem to stretch the bead over the rim with tire irons. These tires aren't that big and I never expected it would be so hard to put them on.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Put one of the irons inside the rim and hold it there, work away from it going one direction and keep going that same direction till a bit over half the tire is on. Then work either one till you have it on. make sure the last little bit of tire you have that the opposing side of the tire is under the portion of the rim where it will seat or else it will be short of impossible to stretch the tire over the rim edge.

Put some grease on the new tires at the bead if they are still difficult, when it seats and the beads pop out when airing it up it will shoot a bead of grease around the rim and you'll know that they are seated properly.

 

[Soundguy]

Don't use a silicone or petroleum lube onthe tires.. use a vegitable lube.. it's widely available and won't attack the rubber.

Otherwise.. good info on the install.. 2 irons is the easiest.. preferably, one flat spoon, and one stepped spoon,. use the stepped spoon to flip the bead under the rim.. hold it there with one foot.. then use the other spoon to pop the bead over and as the other psoter said.. work around.. After you've done a couple.. the 10$ the local tire man charges will seem real cheap... I actively try to NOT get into a situation where I have to boot my own tires.. (grin)

Soundguy

 

[RichNJKubota]

I've mounted most of my tires for years. It takes practice to get the tougher ones. And sometimes the smaller tires are the hardest ones.
A couple years ago I bought a manual tire changer from Harbor Freight. I think it was about $50. Bolted it to the concrete floor and now it takes just a few minutes the change a tire. Much quicker than driving to town and waiting 30 minutes (at least) to get it done at the tire shop.
The main reason for doing it myself is just convenience.
I put a few drops of dish soap and water in an old windex spray bottle to help lubricate the tire bead when mounting the tire.
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[MJPetersen]

Just be careful if there is a tube. Screwdrivers can easily pinch the tube and you will be doing it again. Tire irons will also pinch and puncture the tube, but because of the rounded and smooth edges, not so likely as a screwdriver. The smaller are sometimes the hardest.

Mike

 

[Birdhunter1]

Yesterday i was putting 7.50-16's on my front tractor tires and I coudl only find one of my tire spoons so I deceided to use 1 spon and a crowbar. The crowbar pinched a hole in the tube very quickly, luckily I had another tube so I did finish the job but like MJPeterson said tire irons will work much better and less likely to pinch the tube.

 

[bx23barry]

Believe it or not I've alway found the smaller the tire the harder to mount. I love them bolt together wheels.

 

[travis potter]

make sure the bead is in the deep part of the rim opposit where the tire irons are. you can't streach the bead as it is steel wire it must go at an angle across the rim. hope this helps if you cansee what i'm trying to say. if it is tubeless use rope tied around the tread and tightened by twisting a tire iron in it to helpseat the bead.

 

[SFish]

Many years ago working for my ol-dad I mounted hundreds (maybe thousands) of tires on 8 to 20 inch rims. This was before tire mounting machines were common. An important tool was a large rubber hammer. Hold the tire tilted at about 60 degrees sideways from the ground and ram the rim straight down so that it sticks in the tire. Carefully lay the rim flat on the ground with the tire slightly tilted part way on the rim. Use the hammer (hitting hard) to push the tire bead out and down onto the rim. No tire irons necessary for this first bead. For the second bead (other side of the tire) use the hammer and two tire irons carefully, so as to not pinch the tube, to finish the installation. I still use this technique for home repairs.

Steve

 

[Bird]

Gosh, Steve, you're not as old as I am, are you? I started working in my dad's service station when I was 16 and repaired everything from bicycle tires to water filled tractor tires to big truck Budd, split rim, split ring wheels to cars and pickups and we didn't have any of the modern fancy tire changing equipment. The rubber hammer was commonly used to put tires on, and for breaking the bead loose on big truck and tractor tires, we had a sledge hammer type tool with a flat blade on one side so you learned to swing it accurately to hit the tire just right to have that blade slip between the rubber and the rim. Someone who either couldn't swing those things straight enough, or just someone who was a lot smarter, invented a slide hammer device to do the same thing in later years, but we didn't have that tool when I was a teenager.