Pathetic Tire Shops these days

[MNBobcat]

When I was 17 I used to work in a tire shop. I used to work on tractor tires (some taller than me. Some filled with fluid), Semi Truck tires, car tires, you name it. I used to work on the split rims that you had to know what you were doing or they could kill you. We didn't have no OSHA cages for split rims. While airing up a split rim we continually pounded the split rim ring, all around, with a hammer to keep it in place and not have it blow your head off while airing it up!

Never worked on a big earth mover tire but other than that in a tire shop back in the day (1979) you pretty much saw it all.

I even ran a hydraulic crusher that would crush the tires/rims so you could separate them and sell the rim for steel value.

Fast forward to now.... I got the skid steer stuck in the mud yesterday and I popped a bead and filled the tire with mud. That means the tire has to come off the rim and get cleaned and then put back on the rim again. I could easily do it myself in about a half hour if I had the 3 foot long tire irons that I needed but unfortunately I didn't have the right tools.

Called at least 15 tire shops and none of them would do a skid steer tire. Are you kidding me? You are not a real tire shop if all you can do is a car tire using the brainless tire machines to do all the work. Heck....we used log splitting wedges and a sledge hammer to break a bead on a tractor tire.

Sheesh! Kids these days.

Anyway...finally found a John Deere dealer who was able to fix the tire today.

I ordered two 3-foot long tire irons from Northern Tool today. Next time something like this happens I am not going to be dependent on the pathetic excuse for a "tire shop" that seems to be prevalent now.

There may be a small handful of shops that will do a skid steer tire but that might be 5% of the shops today.

 

[oosik]

Unfortunate experience. No idea where you are but in the PNW its Les Schwab to get any tire fixed.

 

[Oldoak]

Understand there are different kinks of tire shops. Automotive (cars and light trucks), industrial tire shops, and still other shops that will handled them all like oosik pointed out.

It has nothing to do with "kids these days". Equipment, training and liability plays a big part. Times have changed since we were all kids. Safety and ambulance chasing lawyers have had a lot to do with it.

 

[Bird]

[QUOTEWhen I was 17 I used to work in a tire shop. I used to work on tractor tires (some taller than me. Some filled with fluid), Semi Truck tires, car tires, you name it. I used to work on the split rims that you had to know what you were doing or they could kill you. We didn't have no OSHA cages for split rims. While airing up a split rim we continually pounded the split rim ring, all around, with a hammer to keep it in place and not have it blow your head off while airing it up!][/QUOTE]

Tire shop??? I worked on ALL of those tires in my Dad's Mobil service station in Texas when I was 17. But then when I was in my early 50s, I worked in my brother's tire dealership in Anchorage, and as you said (and Oldoak explained), we only worked with car and light truck tires. Incidentally, there's a difference between the "split rim" and "split ring" truck tires. I got more experience with both than I wanted.:laughing:

 

[ustmd]

Yeah in the "good old days" (1980s and before) the fatal injury rate was 10 deaths for every 100,000 workers....it now hovers around 5.

 

[ruffdog]

"I ordered two 3-foot long tire irons from Northern Tool today."

....and you can bet those tire irons are not made as good as the ones from the 70's either.

 

[ultrarunner]

Tire shops here are very picky...

I wanted to buy tubes that they had in stock and refuse to sell them to me without seeing the wheel first.

Needed to have a tire moved from my spare from one trailer to the rim for another... said the tire is 5 years old and they would not be able to re-mount it.

For as "Careful" and concerned with liability these days too many rims and lug studs are still getting over torqued or cross threaded... with no mind.

I always do my own work but hit shrapnel on the highway and bought a new Michelin Tire and mounting for the truck... I heard the guy say something but was in the customer area...

Drove the truck for a couple of thousand miles... my truck has wheel covers.

Go to check my brakes and one stud is missing... totally gone... try to loosen the nuts and can't... get the torque wrench and 275 lbs is a high as it goes and some were that tight...


Truck bought new and never had a impact wrench on it except when new...

The nuts washed out the rims and stretched the lugs and cross threaded one nut...

Contacted the company and was told it was over 30 days...

 

[RoyKing]

Your story brought back memories, around 1966 I turned 16 and wanted to work for real money not just for my dad. So he said I'll find you work. First year was the canning factory, man that was like dawn of the dead, steam whistle would blow and all the kids and women would come out and start walking to the canning factory, you worked until everything picked that day was canned, I also did clean up and regularly put in 11 hour days. Next summer I said how about better job Dad said sure, so 7:30 am I found myself at a truck stop, that did maintenance on KRAFT and Hammermill paper trucks. So I changed repaired split rims tires all day long, then got promoted to bearings and brakes, finally oil changing and grease jobs. Finally after years in college and I stopped coming home for the summer to work, found much better job on campus that Xmas my Dad said it is about time, wondered how long you were going to keep letting me get you the crappyist jobs I could find to make sure you went back to school in the fall. You know it worked

 

[4570Man]

The local tire store will change everything even loader or skidder tires. And they’ll give you a ride back to work if you’re buying a set of tires or having major work done. I’ve pressure washed the bead out on broken beads filled with mud. It’s probably not an ideal solution but it beats spending 3 hours and probably $50 dealing with it.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

There may be a small handful of shops that will do a skid steer tire but that might be 5% of the shops today.

Where "I" live, there would be NO problem at all, getting that tire fixed!

In fact, there several places around here, that will come right out to your place and fix a tire like that. All you have to have, is money!

SR