Dismounting a tire by hand
 

Since I'm thinking of driving to some remote places once I retire, I decided I needed to know if I could dismount and mount tires by hand. I used to watch a guy in a wheelchair who ran a tire shop out of his garage change car tires by hand from his wheelchair so I thought I should be able to do it.
I bought an LT 235/75 16 tire on a chevy truck rim so I could use the tire as a spare for my Fuso. I purchased two 24" tire irons from Harbor Freight and went to work. I thought I'd have to be creative in breaking the bead and first tried a scissors jack with the tire under the back of my 300TD. It didn't do anything so I decided to start using the tire irons. I was able to break the bead with the tightly curved end of the tire irons. I placed them about 8" apart under the rim and pried downward, moving around the rim. I then removed the top side of the tire from the rim with the flatter end of the tire irons.(I lubricated the tire with soapy water) The top side was pretty easy. I found the bottom side harder and had to add a third prybar to get the bottom side off. My final tactic was prying up from the bottom side with the pry bars under the tire rather than prying from the top as I did with the top side.
Anybody have much experience with this that can add hints to make the process easier? Once my Fuso rim arrives, I'll try mounting it and experiment with the controlled explosion method of seating the bead on the rim. I think I'll purchase a third iron to make the job easier.

Bottom side is child's play; stand tire up - use one tire iron, under edge of rim, pry until shaft is across the tread and then work your way around the rim "tapping" bead off the rim with a 3# hammer, takes 30 seconds or less for anything under 8 ply.

The mini sledge is invaluable; once the top side is off I rarely use more than one iron for the removal of the "back" side and reinstallation of both sides, the hammer takes most of the work out of it.

Jim

I'm having a hard time visualizing what you are doing. Are you prying from the top side or the bottom side (the top side being the side already off)

I don't get it either...

That dude in the wheelchair sounds like a cool dude to me. I love it when a handicapped person can do something for themselves. :D

My hat is off to the wheelchair bound person that busted a tire by hand.
I've changed many tires using an operated powered machine in a repair shop and I've got the scars to prove it. There is/was a device similar to a lever powered C-clamp that could break a bead. I never used one.
I've watched mechanics from the motor pool bust tires with a device resembling a pick axe. It was brutal.

My brother inlaw is handicapped, he was in a bad car wreck when he was 14, he can now walk with a crutch. FYI never challenge him to grip competition he will crush your hand. :D

The wheelchair guy could do a tire by hand on the floor, bending over from his wheelchair faster than I could do one on a machine. He had a sad story. Contracted a disease one day after he was discharged from the army which paralyzed him. If he'd have contracted it one day earlier he'd have been eligible for some kind of military disability.

I was astounded at how effective the HF tire irons were at breaking the bead. I only decided to try them on a lark but they were extremely effective. I think they have just the right double bend in them to put pressure on the bead in precisely the right place.

The guy in the wheelchair might have massively strong arms and upper body but its seriously impressive that he could do it wo using his legs for balance and leverage!

H-F sells a bead breaker for $40 but I don't know what your storage limitations are. In the past, when I've had trouble with a tire, I just got frustrated and drove over the outside edge of it with the truck... :) This is of course, provided the vehicle is still mobile and you're not worried about damaging the tire.

For mounting/bead seating, I've found that a ratchet strap around the perimeter of the tire works well.

rechargible sawsall!

From the bottom side. Visualize the tire upright; from what we are calling the "bottom" side put the iron between the tire and rim under the "bottom" bead and across to the "top" side of the rim then lift the iron up across the "bottom" sidewall and down across the tread. You then have a clear shot at the bead as it is tensioned against the "top" edge of the rim.

When we operated the dairy farm, with all of the machinery, cars, trucks, wagons, etc we had 120+ tires to maintain. Even so, I never could justify the cost of a tire changer because either my son or myself could dismount and remount a tire with spoons and a hammer in less than ten minutes.

Jim

Got it.
What was your method of bead breaking?

I fashioned a "breaker" bar 35 years ago. It is an old wrecking bar with the curved end cut off. Amounts to a piece of 3/4" hexagon steel, 24" long with a flattened end about 1" wide at a slight angle to the shaft. I rounded the flat end slightly so as not to cut the tire or damage the rim. I put the flat end on the bead and use the hammer on it.

I also have a commercial "breaker" which is a similar bar about 4' long with a "hammer" fashioned from a 30" length of heavy walled 2" steel pipe with a 3/8" steel cap (similar to a steel fence post driver). Slip the pipe hammer over the bar and pound (eliminates the chance of missing the bar as with a conventional hammer and makes it easy to direct the force). I use this bead breaker primarily for larger tires (20" and up) although it will make short work of a difficult 16". Also works well on heavier tires (we have some 12 ply wagon tires that can be a bear to break down).

Kerry,

FWIW. When remounting the tire; stand tire up, force "top" side of rim into "bottom" side of tire (at about a 45 degree angle) as far as you can (usually not quite to the halfway, or maximum diameter point). Lay the assembly down with the rim on the ground and use the small sledge to work the bead on, 2" or so at a blow, starting at one of the points where the bead crosses the rim. Once you get the hang of it this is the easiest part of the entire procedure.

Jim