Tire Changer For Small Garden Tractor Tires

Tire Changer For Small Garden Tractor Tires TIRES/WHEELS Miscellaneous 33-2-42 George Liskey, Buford, Georgia, built his own tire changer for 8-in. and smaller front tires on garden tractors. "It lets me separate even the most stubborn tire from a rim quickly and almost effortlessly," says Liskey, who used parts from a semi-mounted moldboard plow to build the tire changer. "I built it because I needed to change several 4-ply garden tractor tires, which are difficult to handle. Most tire stores don't even want to change these small tires. "It's designed only for smaller tires, 8 in. diameter or less. For larger tires I use a regular tire changer. I built it entirely from scrap metal. My only cost was for welding rod and a little spray paint." The unit mounts on a 20-in. dia. plow coulter, which serves as a base, with a 3-ft. length of 6-in. dia. pipe welded to it. A threaded rod - off the plow's tail wheel adjustment system - runs down through the pipe and has a big nut welded to the bottom of it. The tire sets on a 10-in. dia. concave metal "dish" that's welded on top of the pipe. The nut on the bead breaker is tightened to keep the tire from moving. Part of the tire changer was made from the plow's tail wheel adjust mechanism. It threads onto the rod coming up from the bottom nut. The operator simply pushes down on a handle to break the bead away from the rim. Once the bead is broken, the bead breaker assembly is removed and replaced by a tire removal unit. A 5-ft. long breaker bar is then used to remove or install the tire, similar to a normal tire changer. "The 5-ft. long bar was made from the axle off a garden tractor. I shaped and heat-treated the ends to match the 8-in. and smaller rims," says Liskey. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, George C. Liskey, 2712 Duncans View Trace, Buford, Georgia 30519 (ph 770 614-7564; jdjake@bellsouth.net).

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