Gumby

Manual / Portable Tire Changer

So has anyone ever used one of these suckers???

HF keeps having them half price and I got one today as a gift.
THe pic they show with a tire on the sucker ready to go does not show it bolted down. I assume I better get a bad of cement and some bolts but they do call it portable.

How portable is it???

I basically got it for free so no complaints here, espically if it saves me a few buck or make a few now and then.


Matt

TomP

HF as in harborfreight.com? What's their part number?

Xophertony

harbor freight actually has physical locations, there is one about twenty minutes from my old house, out in hilsboro

Gumby

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=34542



Change Tires on the Job!
Change tires at a fraction of the cost! No expensive 220V power hookups or pneumatic lines. Handles all tires from 8" to light truck (7.5 x 16 and flotation tires up to size 12.5L16). Use in the shop or on the farm--you can even mount tires at the jobsite. All steel construction.
Dimensions: 15" x 18" base, 7-1/2" diameter x 3/16" thick wheel rest plate
Shipping weight: 42 lbs.



ITEM 34542-9VGA
$69.99

$34.99

Gumby

Well so far you can take a tire off with out bolting it down but puting them on you need your full strenght. Gotta go get some spreadder pins. But its does work. Took a tire off a 15x10in rim, some big 60s and it was just heavy but it came off easy. The bead breaker take 3-4 time to work it off, not gonna break a bead in one pull.

CC_HotRod

Soap the bead of the tire up real good with some dish detergent. You can almost put the back of the tire w/o the machine. I found that for some reason Ivory works the best, once the soap dries you have a good seal.
I have one of the old tire changers before the garages went to the ones that grip the rim from underneath. I got that and an old bubble balancer.

Gumby

Ya know, I think they got a balancer but have never seen a price that makes me remember it. I need to buy a new tire. I only got some old bleep tires that the guy said he was afraid of ripping them on the machine. And told me all that spray junk they sell is what does it.

anyways I tried to mount one of them on another rim but I could not get the last bit, They are "dry" or shrunk and its either taking off rubber or popping out. It looks like im trying to put a 14in tire on a 15in rims but I am not.

Matt

RBob

iTrader: (1)

The trick to R&R'r tires is the drop center. Set a bare wheel up in the same position as it is on a car (stand it upright on the ground).

Notice that part of the rim between the beads is smaller in diameter. This is the drop center.

When working that last area of tire onto the rim, the bead of the tire already on the rim needs to be pushed into this drop center. Essentially it makes the rim smaller in diameter.

And always start the tire onto the rim from the side that is closest to the drop center.

RBob.

Gumby

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you.

The tires just about fall on now. This thing is a breeze to work once you get the hang of it and ha ve it well bolted down. It well worth it at half price, even just as a toy.

Matt

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

If you guys want a real tire changer. Check out what a local (to me) equipment re-seller has on eBay: tire changer

Lon

Gumby

So you would spend $200 after shipping on a used machine to change a couple tires a year???? Cheaper to pay the $7 walmart wants. $35 to change a couple of tire a year is a steal, and its easy to use. I know a little work is hard for some people that or they really wantto sell something.

That was useful to my post.

billb

I know this topic is old, but it helped me decide to buy it. It is on sale for half price now and it seems all the places around me want to charge $80 to mount and balance. Now I need to buy there balancer if it works.

Gumby

The balance they have works good. A spin balance is better but that can take all day at the shop and you could balance them every other day. Along with anything else you got. i have got more than my monies worth out of it. Even nicer to be able to pop tires on n off any time you want.

[anyone wanna buy those rims? They have been professionally cleaned and polished real nice. But there an odd patten.]

TechSmurf

No thanks.. already got 4.. those look exactly like the rims on my gf's firebird.. she hates them, I get them

camaro_junkie

Here I go, dredging up an old post. I'm just wondering if these portable tire changers have a high risk or a low risk of damaging aluminum/alloy wheels?

Also, if you're swapping tires on a set of rims, is it necessary to have the tire/wheel assembly balanced afterwards, or are you okay because the rim is already balanced?