On Tue, 24 Oct 2017 21:47:17 -0400, in
,
wrote:

Well Blake, I've likely fixed as many tires as pretty well anyone
else on this list (24 years in "the business") - but I don't have room
for a tire machine at home, and at my age I'm not relishing dismouting
and rmounting tires on alloy rims with a set of spoons.

There are two kinds of tools, and most homeowners only own one kind.

The pro tools and the homeowner tools.
The pro tools you used are *huge* compared to the homeowner tools.

As just one example, look at the *lift* at a typical garage.
It must cost $10K right?
How much does your floor jack in your garage cost?
Maybe $150 right?
A set of drive-up ramps costs, what? Another $50?

Look at the *size* of those the respective tools.
The pro lift is about the length of the entire vehicle.
The homeowner floor jack & ramps pack in the corner of the garage.

We're not talking about pro tools here.
We're talking about homeowner tools here.

The homeowner tools to change, fix, and statically balance are no bigger,
no costlier, no different than any other typical home tool.

Here's what you need (some of which most people already have).
* A floor jack, chocks, stands, wrenches, & "spoons".
* A compressor (which you have if you have air tools)
* A bead breaker (which is smaller & lighter than a floor jack)
* A mounter/unmounter (which is about the size of a light drill press)
* A static balancer (which is about the size of a tub vacuum cleaner)

The argument that the tools for changing tires are bulkier than other tools
you already have in your garage or shed or shop is just not true.

I know I can
do it - I've done it before when necessary and would still do it if I
HAD to - but generally I don't HAVE to any more - so I don't.

What you're saying is that you don't *want to*, since everyone *has to*
change tires when they wear out and everyone *has to* fix a flat when they
get one.

Since you *do* have to change tires, and since you *do* have to fix flats,
then all you're saying is that you don't *want to*, which is fine.

I DID
break the bead on my wife's Taurus wheel to clean up a bead leak on
the weekend by using a scissors jack under the frame of the truck -

I've seen *every* redneck way of breaking (and seating) the bead, and I've
tried a few of them (like driving over on a flat board) and I'll tell you,
a fifty-dollar bead breaker will change your life in a split second.

For fifty bucks, you can forget all the redneck solutions to bead breaking!

but when I got a small puncture in my Nokian snow tire on the truck, I
just dropped it off at my local Nokian dealer and took advantage of
the free repair feature of their road hazard warrantee. Dropped it
off on the way to the office and picked it up at lunch.

If all the tools ever did was fix flats, then I would agree with you that
the tool would likely not be worth their storage costs. The tools
themselves are practically free, so the cost of the tools is nothing (about
$300 bucks for everything that you don't already have).

How much do your tools cost?
Are *none* of them three hundred bucks?

I have a wood chipper, for example, that costs me $650 at Lowes.
It's far bigger and bulkier than *any* tire-changing tool I own.
My drill press is more costly and bulky than *any* of my tire-changing
tools.
My wet/dry vacuum cleaner is much bulkier than the balancer is.
My floor jack is far heavier than the very light bead breaker is.

All I'm saying is that the homeowner tire changing tools are no bulkier, no
more expensive, and no more troublesome to store (since all but the
balancer I store outside) than *any* of your other tools are.

I have access to a tire changer - about a 20 minute drive away - and
that's where the plugs I source end up - for use by my friend who owns
the farm. - and where I can do repairs if I NEED to on a weekend or
holiday.

Usually it's just more convenient to have someone else do it and pay
the price.

I understand as a lot of people tell me it's more convenient to hire a
gardener to mow their lawn. They'd rather pay than mow.

That makes complete sense.

But those people who would rather pay than do will not likely offer the
best advice on what a good lawn mower is, right?

In most cases, if you asked them for the best lawnmower parts, and if
they've never fixed their lawnmower, then their guess would be worse than
your guess, right?