Tools needed to do your own road side tire swap?

[Brewster64]

Back in the old days(here we go, lol) of bias ply tires, all of my dad's trucks carried a bottle jack, hex bar, wheel wrenches, and blocks. If ya popped a tire, you pulled over and changed your spare over, nobody went to a tire shop. This would happen at least monthly. Guys that were on the big track carried extra tubes, as well as a snap wring bar and a tire bar. Just the way it was when truckstop and tireshops were 300 to 400 miles apart. When we switched to tubeless we added plugs, and patches to the standard equipment. Only the pussies went seeking a tire shop and good luck getting the old man to reimburse you the $12 bucks for a change over, lol. Ahhhhh, THE GOOD OLD DAYS!

[Hammerhead]

I carry;
1) (2) 20 ton bottle jacks, I use them to lift/adjust loads if I need to as well.
2) 3/4" drive torque wrench
3) 3/4" air impact gun, and hose for it and filling tires as well
4) 3/4" breaker bar
5) sledge hammer
6) a pair of Tire bars, one regular and one spoon
7) tire mounting lube (tide works great) and a brush
8) cordless tire grinder, for patches
9) tire patch kit (prep cleaner, glue, patches, patch roller)
10) spare valve stems, valve cores, a plug kit
11) mounted spare tire
12) dont tell the EPA, I carry ether instead of a blaster. I do have a blaster at the shop.

I pack the first 5 items for other purposes as well, so adding the things I needed to fix a tire wasn't a big deal for me.
I get routed all over the back roads with these OS loads, so trying to give a tire shop truck directions can be pointless at times. Also, waiting on the side of the road when your wider than a lane for any longer than necessary isn't a very safe practice.
Basically, short of more than one spare tire, I am my tire repair shop. But then I have 34 of them, so my chances of needing one are more than double most. I know that's not twice as many tires, but being oversize I have to move onto the rumble strip (flat tire getters) often.
My repair order is;
1) can I safely move off the road? Yes=do it, No=call police.
2) can it be plugged? Yes, plug and go.
3) will a change to spare be quick? Yes, change and go.
4) at the end of the day, dismount tire, remove plug and patch with proper tire repair.
5) removal, and breaking the head on the side of the road is only a last resort.

[kryten]

Changing a tire the Australian way. He says most trailers carry spare tires already mounted because if you're out in the bush and you get a flat you may be there for a couple of days waiting for the tire truck.

[gatow900]

Earthquake 1 inch impact gun $300 set of 1 inch impact $100 sockets 50 foot 1/2 inch air hose $50 and 12 ton bottle jack $30 from harbor freight. Air bazooka $100 from eBay to seal tire bead. Two tire irons $100 and sliding tire hammer $130 and 1/2 inch quick connect for your gun at any trailer company

[jimeneztrans84]

(08-01-2017 )gatow900 Wrote:  Earthquake 1 inch impact gun $300 set of 1 inch impact $100 sockets 50 foot 1/2 inch air hose $50 and 12 ton bottle jack $30 from harbor freight. Air bazooka $100 from eBay to seal tire bead. Two tire irons $100 and sliding tire hammer $130 and 1/2 inch quick connect for your gun at any trailer company

You think I can hook up hose for impact gun from truck trailer hose or has to be directly from truck tank?

[Midland]

My experience has been that you will need to tie directly into your air tank to run a 3/4 or 1 inch impact. I don't get enough volume out of the trailer hose. Like the guys above, I carry two spoons, 20 ton jack, 1 inch impact, dawn dish soap, bead blaster, air hose, straight and angled air chucks, 1 or two spares, and a whole bunch of other tools not directly related to tire repair. At one point I tried one of those gear drive wrenches from Northern Tool but the cost and weight penalty is almost the same as a good 1 inch impact.

[AussieISX]

It would be extremely rare to find an operator here that doesn't have the equipment to change a flat tire with them , a driver not capable of doing a flat tyre change would be ridiculed generally. Must be a different world over there in the transport industry. I personally keep a steer and drive wheel bearing set and small amount of 85/140 , alternator, all idler bearings, fan and a/c belts , starter motor , boost hoses , 2.5" silicon hose for coolant hoses , all sorts of o-rings clamps and all the tools required to change any of the components that I carry as spares . To get a so called mechanic out costs a ridiculous amount and takes more time sitting waiting than just getting on with it yourself. Not everyone carrys all the gear I do but a lot of guys do

[gatow900]

(08-01-2017 )jimeneztrans84 Wrote:  

(08-01-2017 )gatow900 Wrote:  Earthquake 1 inch impact gun $300 set of 1 inch impact $100 sockets 50 foot 1/2 inch air hose $50 and 12 ton bottle jack $30 from harbor freight. Air bazooka $100 from eBay to seal tire bead. Two tire irons $100 and sliding tire hammer $130 and 1/2 inch quick connect for your gun at any trailer company

You think I can hook up hose for impact gun from truck trailer hose or has to be directly from truck tank?

I hook directly to primary tank and I loosen 4 to 6 lug nuts lay a time and to tighten I do 2 at every time the drier blows

[dhirocz]

I carry a 3/4 torque wrench, tire spoon, plug kit, sockets and extensions, a 20t hydraulic/pneumatic bottle jack, skid plate for use in dirt, chock block, and an impact. Probably missing a couple things. I normally carry a spare steer mounted on a wheel though I'm waiting for a new spare holder to be made to clean the truck up some.

I used it twice last year and the whole deal paid for itself the first time I used it. Just make sure if you do carry a spare you keep an eye on it since it'll still rot since it's technically still in service. When I put on new steers, I kept the best one to use as the spare since they weren't used up yet.