A home made wall mounted vertical manual tire changer

2x8 inch wood I started with a piece of 2x8 inch planed wood. It has the dimension 45x195 mm and with a saw I cut myself a piece with the length 225 mm. To make it fit within a 13" rim I had to cut some corners...

Hole for center pipe A detachable 25 mm pipe will be placed in the center of the tire holder. This will be used as an axis for a tyre bar. The metal holder for the pipe might also be able to hold bigger rims. I used an adjustable drill to make a 25 mm hole through the entire wooden piece after drilling a hole with a bigger diameter just deep enough for the metal holder.

Bolt Some kind of bolt will be needed to hold the rim in place. I drilled a hole wide and deep enough to keep the nut.

13 mm hole I then drilled a hole almost big enough for the M14 threaded rod.

Widened But as the 13 mm hole was only almost big enough for the M14 threaded rod I had to widen it to fit exactly.

8 cm bolt A bolt length of 8 cm from the steel reinforcement through the 45 mm wood will make the bolt stick out a little more than 3 cm on the other side which will be enough for most rims.

Securing bolt I drilled a hole throgh the threaded rod and the outer nut to secure the home made bolt with a nail. The nut is also secured to one of two TT shaped steel reinforcements used to fasten the 2x8 inch wood.

Alignment Using the center pipe for alignment in its holders I secured the TT shaped steel reinforcements on a 2x4 inch (45x95 mm) piece of wood. I also used some square washers as the stell reinforcements where wider than the wood.

T shape I used the same kind of TT shaped steel reinforcement as before on the 2x8 inch piece of wood to make a T shape of the painted 2x4 inch piece of wood and a new 2x3 inch piece of wood. All these TT shaped steel reinforcements are secured using 8x40 mm screws.

T shaped wall mount Using 5x60 mm screws I built a T shaped wall mount from two 1x8 inch (21x195 mm) pieces of wood on which i fastened some 20 cm long 2x2 inch (45x45 mm) pieces and a topmost 2x4 inch (45x95 mm) piece where I also drilled a 24 mm hole abouth halfway through the 2x4 inch piece of wood. This hole will hide a screw head below a box lock.

Wall mount on wall Everything looks better with some paint...

Hinge on wall mount At the bottom of the wall mount I secured the wall mount to the wall using two 8x90 mm screws. The hinge and the rest of the wall mount was secured using 5x70 mm screws.

Hinge on T shape I placed the hinge on the T shape so it would not stick out downwards..

Lock on wall mount I removed the built in spring from the box lock, instead I will rely on gravity doing its thing. Hidden by the box lock is yet another 8x90 mm screw securing the wall mount to the wall. Those other screws are 5x70 mm. At the side of the wall mount I fastened two attachements using 8x40 mm screws.

8 mm holes in attachement To be able to use 8x40 mm screws to fasten the attachements I had to drill bigger 8 mm holes in the attachements.

Chains The attachements are used to hold chains. These chains will secure the T shape when folded out from the wall on the hinge.

Paint Everything looks better with some paint!

Rubber blanket I glued a rubber blanket to the rim holder, this will protect the rims against screw heads sticking up from the metal holder for the center pipe.

Staples On the wall side, which will not be in contact with the rim, I also used some staples to secure the rubber blanket to the rim holder.

Hole for lock At the top of the T shape I drilled a 16 mm hole for the box lock.

Washer to fit hole for lock To make the lock fit I used an extra washer.

Wheel nut As most of my rims are fastened using spherical wheel bolts I ordered a spherical wheel nut for securing rims onto my tire changer. This was the cheapest part of my project, as a time limited offer this was also sent without any shipping cost! This wheel nut is M14x1.5 and for this I also needed a M14x1.5 bolt. As I wasn't able to find any bolt suitable for my purpose I decided to build one myself using nuts and a threaded rod. Finding an M14 threaded rod was hard, but at last I found one at Swedol. Unfortunately it turned out that the M14 threaded rod from Swedol wasn't M14x1.5 but instead M14x2.0. After some more searching I ordered M14x1.5 threaded rod and nuts from Conrad, this was much more expensive.

Fastening wheel Whenever I change my tires, instead of using a crossed lug wrench I use this breaker socket bar. Now I use it also to fasten the rim to my tire changer.

Bead buster When removing a tire, the bead has to be broken in some way. There are different tools to do this. I use this bead buster which I can operate using the same 19 mm socket as I used to fasten the wheel nut.

Wall side of tire The wall side of the tire is accessed by folding out the T shape on the hinge and letting it rest in the chains. The chains are fastened with snaplinks to make it easy to remove the T shape from the wall mount if I want to store it elsewhere. By folding out the T shape I am able to also work with the bead buster on the wall side of the tire. To secure the bead buster to the rim it is not enough space to use the breaker socket bar, instead I use an adjustable wrench for that.

Center pipe in place Before trying to get the tire of the rim I put the center pipe in place.

Pipe not strong enough Unfortunately the pipe was not strong enough for the forces needed to remove the tire. The pipe was bent and needs to be replaced by something stronger.

Replaced pipe with solid bar The pipe was replaced with a 1 meter solid 25 mm aluminium bar, this should be strong enough.

Accessories

Tool to break the bead To get the tire of the rim you will initally after removing the valve core have to break the bead in some way. This takes a lot of force and some kind of tool is useful for this. There are many different tools for this purpose, I did choose this BeadBuster which I ordered from the USA.

Steel tire bars I have two steel tire bars. These are useful to remove tires from steel rims. They are also useful to quickly push the tire along the bead once the bead has been broken at one place with the bead buster instead of using the bead buster at many places around the tire on the same side of the tire.

Brush, alloy tire bar and valve tool A brush is needed to apply lube to the tires. The alloy tire bar is used to remove tires from alloy rims and to apply new tires to rims. I bought this Sealey TC963 alloy tire bar from ebay UK, but there are also other options. The valve tool was bought from Biltema, again there are other options but I like this tool as it is usable both to remove the valve core and to install the valve in the rim.

Modified air filler When filling air into the tire the bead will get in place with some noise. This modified air filler will allow me to be somewhere else when the bead gets in place. Unfortunately, when trying to use this remote air filler I found that to be able to seat the bead I sometimes had to use a hand to adjust the tire position to avoid air leaking out between the tire and the rim. So there is not much point in having this modified air filler.

Ratchet strap Sometimes air passes between the rim and the tire and the bead won't seat. I bought a cheap ratchet strap which can be used to put pressure around the tire and this somehow makes it easier to seat the bead.

Wheel balancer Once the tires have been changed you will need to balance the wheels. I have this rather simple wheel balancer without engine where the wheel is manually spinned to measure the balance. Most wheel balancers are more advanced and have an engine to spin the wheel, but there are also more simple bubble balancers which are even portable.

Consumables

Tire lube and valves The tire lube is needed to attach the tire to the rim and it also makes it easier to remove a tire from the rim. When changing a tire also the valve should be replaced.

Parts list

Description	Supplier	Product number	Price
1 m aluminium bar, diameter 25 mm	Maskindelen.se	51942.1000	168 SEK ≈ 17 €
Shipping	Maskindelen.se		120.00 SEK ≈ 12 €
2 pairs of pipe holders	Byggmax	7270162	2 x 48.95 SEK ≈ 2 x 5 €
hinge (a pair)	Byggmax	729393	51.95 SEK ≈ 5 €
Shipping (the above was only available for purchase online)	Byggmax		99.00 SEK ≈ 10 €
2x9 inch (45x220 mm) wood, 3.3 m	Byggmax	0814522055	120.29 SEK ≈ 12 €
1x8 inch (21x195 mm) wood, 5.1 m	Byggmax	08021195	93.33 SEK ≈ 10 €
2x4 inch (45x95 mm) wood, 2.5 m	Byggmax	08145096	40.75 SEK ≈ 4 €
2x3 inch (45x70 mm) wood, 2.5 m	Byggmax	08145071	30.75 SEK ≈ 3 €
2x2 inch (45x45 mm) wood, 2.5 m	Byggmax	08145046	20.75 SEK ≈ 2 €
2 x 15 pieces screw 8x40 mm	Jula	302070	2 x 29.90 SEK ≈ 2 x 3 €
10 pieces screw 8x90 mm	Jula	302072	29.90 SEK ≈ 3 €
100 pieces screw 5x60 mm	Jula	303029	69.90 SEK ≈ 7 €
100 pieces screw 5x70 mm	Jula	303030	69.90 SEK ≈ 7 €
10 pieces 8.4x24x2 mm round washer	Jula	315994	29.90 SEK ≈ 3 €
10 pieces 9x25x3 mm square washer	Jula	300077	19.90 SEK ≈ 2 €
3 x 200x60x96 mm steel reinforcement	Biltema	87885	3 x 34.90 SEK ≈ 3 x 3.50 €
62x20.5x1.2 mm steel reinforcement	Biltema	44133	6.90 SEK ≈ 1 €
Box lock	Biltema	86296	49.90 SEK ≈ 5 €
Slide lock	Biltema	86594	39.90 SEK ≈ 4 €
2 meter 6mm chain	Biltema	25148	79.90 SEK ≈ 8 €
4 x attachements	Biltema	25348	4 x 44.90 SEK ≈ 4 x 5 €
2 x 8x80 mm snaplink	Biltema	250117	2 x 12.90 SEK ≈ 2 x 1.50 €
2 x 7x70 mm snaplink	Biltema	250110	2 x 26.90 SEK ≈ 2 x 3 €
250x300 mm rubbel blanket	Biltema	60240	49.90 SEK ≈ 5 €
Wheel nut M14x1.5	Autodoc	01214	8.99 SEK ≈ 1 € (shipping was included in this price when I placed my order!)
1m threaded bar M14x1.5	Conrad	134784	129 SEK ≈ 13 €
100 nuts M14x1.5	Conrad	131593	269 SEK ≈ 27 €
Shipping	Conrad		59.00 SEK ≈ 6 €
Sum of parts			2178.41 SEK ≈ 220 €

Accessories list

Description	Supplier	Product number	Price
BeadBuster XB-450	BeadBuster	XB-450	104 US $ ≈ 92 €
Shipping	BeadBuster		38.46 US $ ≈ 34 €
Toll and VAT	PostNord		223 SEK ≈ 23 €
Fee	PostNord		125 SEK ≈ 13 €
Alloy tire bar Sealey TC963	eBay UK	321520451958	90.95 GB £ = 1158.15 SEK ≈ 116 €
Shipping (no toll or VAT when ordering from EU)	eBay UK		10.88 GB £ = 138.43 SEK ≈ 14 €
Valve tool	Biltema	191527	119 SEK ≈ 12 €
2 x steel tire bars	Biltema	10203	2 x 99.90 SEK ≈ 2 x 10 €
Brush	Biltema	3300	59.90 SEK ≈ 6 €
Modified air filler	mostly Biltema	I already had most of the parts needed for this. Buying these parts new would probably cost about 300 SEK.	300 SEK ≈ 30 €
Ratchet strap	Jula	388609	19.90 SEK ≈ 2 €
Wheel balancer Pela U-108	Verktygsboden	491615	6950 SEK ≈ 700 €
Shipping	Verktygsboden		200 SEK ≈ 20 €
Sum of accessories			10761.20 SEK ≈ 1076 €

Consumables list

Description	Supplier	Product number	Price
Tire lube (2 kg)	Biltema	36000	229 SEK ≈ 23 €
50 Valves TR 414	Biltema	33080	149 SEK ≈ 15 €
Sum of consumables			378 SEK ≈ 38 €

Total cost

Description	Price
Parts	2178.41 SEK ≈ 220 €
Accessories	10761.20 SEK ≈ 1076 €
Consumables	378 SEK ≈ 38 €
Total sum	13317.61 SEK ≈ 1335 €

Final thoughts and different options

Finished tire changer Looking at the total cost of the home made tire changer you realize that it is probably going to take about 15 years before it has paid off compared to taking your wheels to a local tire shop. But more than half of this cost is for the wheel balancer. It would have been possible get a cheaper solution by choosing different accessories.

Cheap wheel balancer I would have gotten about half the total cost if I would have choosen one of these cheap bubble wheel balancers. I have no experience from these bubble balancers myself, but I assume the work good enough for thin tires. My guess is that the result might get less good for wide tires as they don't point out different angles for the weights on the inside and outside of the rim.

Cheaper bead breaker This is kind of bead breaker is cheaper and maybe also quicker to use. However I really like that my BeadBuster is so small and doesn't need much storage space.

Tool to seat the bead Some tool like this might make it easier to seat the bead. So far I have been able to seat the beads without any such tool. By widening newly stored tires before placing them on the rim and by applying some tire lube on the rim around the drop center I have been able to avoid air passing between the tire and the rim. Ta maximize air flow into the tire I also remove the valve core.

Tool to hold the tire Another tool I haven't bought but considered to buy is a tool to hold the tire in place when putting the tire on the rim using the tire bar. Instead I now use one hand to hold the tire and the other hand to use the tire bar. Sometimes if I fail holding the tire firmly enough the tire pops back and I have to restart with the tire bar. Some tool like this would hold the tire in place and allow me to operate the tire bar with both hands. However, after some use of my wall mounted tire changer I have found that the bead buster is usable also as a tool to hold the tire in place when mounting the tire.

Professional made tire changer You could also buy a professional made tire changer. That would be a much cheaper solution if you would choose something like the Harbour Freight tire changer in the picture above. You could also choose something more expensive like a No-Mar tire changer or maybe even a professional motorzied tire changer. However, my home made wall mounted solution occupies less space than any other solution I have seen. I am even able to use it in my garage with my cars parked in the garage. Those walk around tire changers need more space when used.

Updates and fixes

Lessons learned At the time of this writing I have used the tire changer to change 8 tires, there is also a video at youtube where a tire is mounted. I have found two things that needed to be fixed.

Lock of hinge When working on the wall side of the tire the T-shape sometimes fell off the hinge. To avoid this I added a slide lock to secure the hinge.

Cracks My 2x8" piece of wood was not strong enough for the forces needed to change tires. It cracked at several places. In an attempt to fix this I have replaced the 2x8" piece of wood with a 2x9" piece of wood which is rotated 90 degrees so the fibres of the wood gets perpendicular to the TT shaped steel reinforcements. If this 2x9" piece of wood does not prove to be good enough I will probably have to try plywood instead.