Fitting tyres by hand.

It is frustrating.
I can do the 305/70R19.5s on the OKA, but it would take me quite a while and just about kill me.
Last week I had a guy strip 4 and fit them to 4 other rims and re inflate them, all in 50 minutes. That would take me all day.
Lube is the first secret. Use good stuff. The stuff the pros use is good. This guy used Lanolin spray in a pressure pack can. Never seen that before.
And good tyre levers. His were also different. Long and with a stop welded on about 100mm from the end.
The third secret is practice & watch the pros.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome.

Make sure the bead of the tyre is sitting on the thinnest part of the inside of the rim, which is sometimes off set to one side, start on that side... If this makes sense.. Good luck with it.. Persistence is a virtue, so I've been told.. Cheers Odog

The profile across the inner surface of the rim is rarely level and parallel to the rim lip. Think about where the tyre bead is sitting in the rim before trying to push the other side of the bead over the outer edge of the rim. You will notice that the experts always choose which side of the rim to start on and wiggle the inside bead up and down until it is sitting in the smallest diameter section of the rim before trying to get the other side of the bead over the lip.

A bit of pure Sunlight soap in water has always worked for me as lube.

Iza

or you can make up a tyre change head and refit tyres in seconds.............. I have mine so I can fit it to the bullbar, have a long bar that fits over tyre edge and you pivot the bar around the centre pivot point, same principle as the tyre fitting machine at the tyre places. Takes longer to set up the head than it takes to refit the tyre. Can't submit pictures at present, will have to work that out later today with Adele.

Thanks everyone. Yes I did try placing tire on smallest Diameter of rim and even close to bead(shortest distance) but I didn't try from other side however. I will get some better lube today and have another crack. The navara rims are not the easiest. I have done tyres before but these ones are toughies.

G'day Kirk

Are you putting the lube in the right spot ?

When re-fitting a tyre put the lube on the inside of the bead - just on the last 1/4 of an inch right next to the sharpish square bit of the tyre and some on the rim where the last bit of tyre goes over - and yes it can be done without any tools !

I get a jar of tyre slip from my tyre dealer - don't know what brand it is but works a treat.


Cheers

Gazz

An investment that saves your rims and your BACK ….. easy as turning a spanner … R&R Beadbreaker & Tire refitting Tool….

Kirk - Start with the rim lying down, valve side up. Lube the rim bead and rim edge.

Always fit the tyre to the valve side of the rim, this side has the narrowest distance from the edge of the rim to the well.

Drop the tyre onto the rim at an angle, ensuring the lowest part of the bead is sitting in the deepest part of the rim well.

Take your big rubber hammer and hammer the bead, several consecutive hits each side, at a 45 deg angle, right at the points where they are touching the rim edge.

Continue to ensure the bottom of the bead is still sitting right in the deepest part of the rim well, while you are smacking the bead over the edges of the rim.

Once the inside bead is on, repeat the process with the outside bead.
Some alloy rims are a really tight fit, you have to really pound the beads to get them over the edge.
Sometimes, a tyre lever will assist with the stretch, but don't use a tyre lever at the same time as you use the rubber hammer.

Cheers, Ron.

Kirk
Whilst there is a lot of good advice given already I find it is best to be standing on the tyre (with suitable sturdy footwear) with my toes pressing down on that section of tyre already on the rim so as to push the tyre bead into the well of the rim and at the same time using the rubber hammer to strike the bead above the rim very close to where it is to slide over the edge. This striking is to push the tyre across the wheel (pulling the bead into the well) and it will slowly stretch itself over the edge.

Also, when removing a tyre always start at the valve, and when fitting always finish at the valve, and if fitting with a tube it may help if the tube is not between the well in the rim and the tyre bead, a small amount of air placed into the tube, just enough to form the tube into shape, can help before fitting the second side of the tyre.

Always work on the side of the wheel that has the well closest to the edge, there are some wheels where this will require the tyre to be fitted from the back of the wheel.

Hope this helps.
Regards
Athol

Hi Kirk
I used to be a tire jockey back in the day but I never managed to fit a road car tire by hand. Some carcass rim openings are larger than others so I'm sure it can be done but I never could.

You got the carcass off, have you checked it for damage from the removal? Its dead easy to rip chunks out of the bead area and that's a recipe for disaster - basically toss the tire.

After all the advice from others, I'd also suggest you visit your local tire shop and ask if you can watch a carcass change.
Ok its not going to be as manual a procedure as what you do but you'll see the mechanics of the operation and they don't change.
You've got the tire levers so your problem is technique and experience.
I break the bead by driving over the sidewall with the truck. Lots of soapy stuff as mentioned then I use some 3 or 4 cheap approx 600mm pry bars (Aldi) as I don't want large heavy tools in the truck that I seldom use, the pry bars can be used for lots of things.
Then its just muscle and patience so as to not rip the bead.

Test image type upload for John.

I am a member as far as I know. I posted a thread so must be. Not sure why I got that message.

Thanks again guys. As I mentioned above I was trying from wrong side. I reversed the rim and got tyre on in ages minutes. Don't even know why I was trying to do that but obviously wasn't thinking. My technique is pretty much what you guys are saying and I have fitted tyres before. Just had a brain fart with this time trying to do too much in to short a time.