Tires

[mung]

I am going to buy the good goo.  The parts stores still sell it.

[buswarrior]

A busnut may economize by using the dish soap/water in a spray bottle of choice to act as a lube for getting tires onto rims. Many pros do not spend money on tire lube.

Not to be confused with bead sealant, the nasty black goop used to be sure the bead seals tight to the rim.
Clean the bead on the rim carefully, sand, brush as necessary for a clean surface and then use the goop. There is no substitute here for spending good ca$h!

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Charles in SC]

If I was going to change many I would look into one of the forked tire tools that all the shops use now. I do not know the proper name but they really make a quick easy job of it. Also there is a tire guy near me that sometimes jacks up the wheel and changes the tire without removing the wheel.

[luvrbus]

You are not going to blow a tubeless tire off a drop center even if you try so why all the drama just do it, not brain surgery for pete sake you changing a tire

Here and other boards if I ask what time it is some one is going to tell you how to build a clock  

[mung]

I have some swan neck bead breakers, some smaller tire irons, and have http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MIUJNI/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 on the way.  

I am not going to open a tire shop, just want to be able to change my tires when I need to both on the bus and other things.  

Now for using a bike tube for a bead sealer.  Just a standard 22" bike tire tube?  put it over the rim and inflate it?  Goop it up and air the bus tire up until it seals?  

While the air powered bead seaters are really cool, doing it the old school way has some charm so I am intrigued by it.  

[mung]

Well Cliff, apparently according to some on here (and other places) I am the anti-Christ for daring to put take-offs on my bus and do it myself.   

From what I can tell as soon as I get the tires on and take the bus for the first trip the world will come to an end and dogs and cats will live together.  It is a big responsibility I have here, so I want to make sure that I don't send a rim to the moon before the world comes to an end.

[Jon]

While I don't agree with putting used tires on a bus except in an emergency to get you home to your local tire dealer, in the context of how you described you use the coach I can understand you know the risk and due to your use you made an informed decision.

Please don't try to stir the pot and put words into my posts that are not there.

I change my own tires and have done so for almost 25 years. It is not a big deal, and I do it because it pisses me off to think some kid with a GED is going to beat my polished aluminum wheels to death. So I also understand why you might want to change your own tires. I'm almost 72 and still changing them so it is not that impressive if an old fart can change them.

But I do look critically upon decisions in which bus owners ignore their safety and that of others and use old and or damaged tires to save a few bucks, and then post about cruising the interstates at posted speeds. They not only put themselves at risk, they risk damage to their coach, but their heavy tire casing when it separates can harm other motorists. Now if you do fall into that category, then I am critical of your decision.

[mung]

No issues with your comments Jon.  The tires I picked were all young and in good shape.  Until I am comfortable with everything about the bus it is only going to be driven locally to our local camp sites.  Right now what is on there are a mix of tires that are who knows how old they are and 2 used roadside replacements from the PO when he delivered the bus to me.  So what I am putting on there can't be worse than what is already on there.  I know that curb side steering tire is way out of round as it vibrates like a cheap motel bed when driving it. 

If I go any real distance at any real speed, I will put new tires on. 

[PP]

With using 11r-22.5 on 22.5 x 8.25 rims, you probably won't have to use anything fancy to get them to bead especially since they are lightly used tires. If all fails, I've seen tire guys spray ether into the tire then throw a match onto the tire-rather explosive way to bead the tire.

Good Luck, TomC

Wow! I've done dirt bike and quad tires that way, but a bus tire, that would make quite the boom. Bigger cojones than this guy LOL

[mung]

I have seen videos of people doing it and for years have heard people talk about doing it.  While it will work, there is no reason to do it when we have other options.  Again the bike tube looks interesting and the bead blaster is just cool.  Heck for $100, I heard they make a really cool potato gun too.

[Charles in SC]

Using ether to set the bead is not that big of a deal. I have done it many times and have not blown anything up yet.

[OneLapper]

Using ether to set the bead is not that big of a deal. I have done it many times and have not blown anything up yet.

I owned a Deere dealership and we used ether to seat tires of all sizes.  The Galaxy floatation turf tires were a bear to seat if they were cold, as well as R4 industrial tires, as well as 4" trailer tires.... actually, most of them were difficult.  I purchased a Hunter tire machine that handled tires up to a 24" rim, worth every penny.  Anyhow, a short spray of ether into the rim and a match tossed at it worked like a charm.  We never had a damaged tire using ether.

To aid in seating a difficult bead we used a special grease.  It was extremely thick and stringy, a right mess!  You packed the grease between the tire and rim then inflate.  This worked well in most cases, albeit gooey.  It wasn't expensive. 

Warm tires will help more than you think, btw.

The danger is mounting two or three piece rims (split rims), when the tire bead pops on it can break the bolts hold the rim halves together causing the entire wheel assemble to blow apart.  NEVER exceed the recommend bead seating inflation pressure, take you're time.  Sometimes it can take 15 minutes at the proper psi for the bead to pop on.  Lubrication is key too.

[mung]

Thanks.  I think this is going to be an adventure, but one worth taking.  I am not sure when I am going to actually get to doing it as I have a full weekend this weekend, maybe try one next weekend.

[itspaidfor]

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[lvmci]

good thing we don't have split rims anymore, although my trailer had them. We should all learn how to read the DOT date code on tires, week and year. lvmci...