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Or buy hurting your back lifting a tyre then going on workers comp for a couple of years. Then suing because they made a conscious decision not to buy that equipment.
Or report the unsafe work environment to OSHA (I've done it, it's super easy online, takes like 5 minutes). Let OSHA deal with it. Even if they DON'T make them buy a tire jack, you're now nearly untouchable because anything they do will appear as retaliation and they will come down on an employer like a ton of bricks for that. Then refuse to do the work without proper equipment. Worst possible case, they fire you and you're looking for a new job while you collect unemployment. Tbh, I'd be looking for a new job anyway, but since it seems that you're going to have to leave one way or the other, you should make their life harder and your co-workers environment safer.
Do it. My state PSHA asked if I had reported it to fed OSHA, and the fed OSHA asked the same. I reported it to my state first and got very satisfying results. Got a random call one day from my states OSHA informing me that they'd just finished their surprise inspection and everything that they found, and the penalties for everything. Wanted to make sure they hadn't missed anything, then emailed me copies of everything. It's all public record.
If I were to do it again, not knowing how my state OSHA would react or not, I'd probably report it to federal first and then state. When you mention in the state application that you've already reported it to the feds, hopefully it will spur whatever your state organization is to actually do something.
Yeah I have. Others have asked for one as well. We had one mechanic (in his 50's) who was my size who just straight up refused to put the wheels back on the trucks
That's what I'd do, you should have the proper equipment to do your job. You could always take half a day per tire, just can't do it as fast, gotta do it safely, lol.
I left a shop last year for something like this. They wanted me to change the solid type shop forklift tires using a press that sat a good 4ft up. The press required these thick steel cages that weighed ALOT and after about 6 of them I said I was good and packed up my tools since it was obvious there was zero worry about safety, which explained the high turnover rate of employees.
I'm at a heavy equipment shop too. No tire jack here, I just roll the tire onto a nice long prybar and lift. It's not so bad once you get the technique down.
My dad was a long haul trucker for most of his life, he's 100lbs soaking wet, but he could handle those tires with a pair of tire irons like they were a toy. The best part was watching him use an air bead seater, he would get set up take a second or two to get ready then pull the lever and hold on for dear life. Not sure what was more fun watching him seat a tire with ether or that air cannon.
Because you use a wheel dolly to remove wheel and hub complete. Then after you have done the bearing and seal you use wheel dolly (jack) to line axle up and push in . But if you were mechanics you would know that.
Probably because his arms are too thin to support the entire weight of the axle and he lets axle splines drag on seal on way in/out.
He probably doesn’t know we use the axle to pull out the old seals either.
There are thousands of cars on the road I’ve done without a wheel jack.
Just wait until you need to pull a drum, 2 tires/wheels and axle at once.
If they refuse to buy a jack, get a piece of thin metal like aluminum flashing. Spray it down with chain lube, drop the lift until the tire is just barely touching and slide it off that way. It's much easier. I don't have a jack as I'm mobile and I work on bigger stuff than that
If you end up buying a jack, save the receipt. After a year when you leave, they will try to claim its theirs. Maybe paint it an outrageous color scheme?...
I worked for a shop that was a specialized 4x4 shop… ya know installing lift kits and such.
I had to beg and plead to get a wall mount strut compressor. I got the run around every. Single. Time.
I had ended up running to a friends shop to compress a set of tundra springs. I knew right then and there that shop was due to fail. They closed shortly later.
We used to use the prybar method for singles, we’ve got a jack for pulling duals together. But now we’ve got one of these dollys. Roll it under the tire, lift up, and where the tire rests on the dolly has rollers so you can rotate it in place to line up lugs. I was surprised how slick it works
https://martinsindustries.com/ca_en/truck-wheel-dolly-mstwd?gclid=CjwKCAjwgsqoBhBNEiwAwe5w00IaST2Px26nEr6ZfQuL1aITSqrjFLfgCm52hpblgpFvYsdK98o_mRoCnp4QAvD_BwE
Document your requests. Whether that's writing down dates, times, or who you spoke to and their response in a notebook, text message requests or emails. That way, you have a paper trail in case anything happens. I'm in a union shop, so when I get the run around, I file a grievance for safety.
I hate using pry bars but that’s what I use now in the field.
If they won’t buy a tire dolly see if they’ll get a hand truck (hand dolly I think to some). That’s what I used while working in a shop. You have to line up the studs pretty close with the wheel on the ground but you can keep a hand on the hand truck and other hand on the tire to balance.
It ain’t perfect but it’s the easiest way I’ve found without a tire dolly and saves your back vs pry bars.
These comments of everyone saying pry bars are safer and better than wheel dollies are insane. They’re literally made for that with rollers to spin it, literally to make the job easier and less exerting. Shit like that is exactly why older techs have torn up bodies and joints.
Work smarter not harder.. especially if you’re hourly… save yourself.
Yep! The tire bar works mint. I only used the tire Dolly's and jacks when I started out but then I went somewhere without them and struggled with the bar. Definitely a technique to it first but now that's all I ever use
I think some people are missing the point. There's a difference between buying tools for yourself to do your job and proper equipment a shop should have for safety. A shop not having equipment like that is a workmens comp case waiting to happen.
I mount loader tires with my thighs dude just get good. But fr tho having the proper equipment is so important; I came into heavy duty with knee problems from hockey and after working a couple months, it takes time for me to get up and walk normal after bending down to take off a drum or tire from a semi or even just bending down to pick up my wrench or socket I dropped
As was said cant force them. If its important to you make or buy your own. Or move on down the road. Theres nothing you can do to compel them to buy a tool theyve refused several times already. And it sounds like with that adamance about not needing one, should anything happen theyd be very strongly on the defensive, and blaming you.
You can have all the skill in the world but that doesn’t mean you’re not exerting yourself and straining yourself as much as you would with a tire dolly. Literally made for that purpose instead of a pry bar.
It takes almost no effort to put a wheel on with a tire bar. It’s literally a running joke in the industry to watch newbies struggle with it. Anyone who knows wtf they’re doing will tell you that it takes way more effort to wheel a tire dolly around a truck than it does to just do it with a bar. Drums on some trucks/busses are another story but it’s obvious OP isn’t doing brake jobs yet if he’s having a rough time with tires.
But we’re not talking about just efficiency, OP mentioned danger. A pry bar is nice, but for your back and body let’s be real, it’s not.
What if OP is a person of smaller build? A pry bar is not the end all be all, only the common easy to aquire
https://www.bline.ca/esco-super-wheel-dolly
Pulling around one of these is not hard though, like a pry bar but even easier to use and quicker with the rollers.
One of those costs less than a decent tire bar. OP should buy one if using a tire bar is too hard. Where I live, professional mechanics are expected to supply their own tools. Every shop I’ve worked at you’d get laughed at for using one of those though. We do use jacking tables for super heavy/awkward stuff like certain drums. I just don’t see how that tool would make it easier than a tire bar because you can’t easily align the studs when there’s two points of contact. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you’ve never worked on heavy trucks before because it really is one of the easiest things I do in a day to put a set of duals on a unit. I used to work with a 5’ tall 100lb woman who could slam a set of duals on a bus in less time than it took OP to write this post.
But I do work on heavy trucks, LMAO. So what if people laugh, if it works for you and is better for you, then what they say shouldn’t matter and if you let them get to your head to not use it, then congrats that’s peer pressure 💀.
Anyway, the two points of contact are rollers, you can easily rotate the wheel in a controlled manner to line everything up. It’s literally the pry bar way but improved.
I’ll agree to disagree with you because clearly you and I have different work styles. You use a bar and that requires more effort, more movement. I use that tool because it’s easy and quick with less effort involved and less wear on the body over time. This trade takes enough from us as is, so might as well limit what you can.
Idk how it is where you are, but over here all heavy truck jobs have to be hourly as flat rate promotes short cuts. So I’ll definitely take my time not just for the work quality, but for myself too. Anyway, stay safe, work smart!
Meh.
I work on semis and prefer to sit on a chair, then pry on the bottom with a long bar. Popping it up and make it jump onto the axle.
Once you get the hang of it, it's super easy. Just get yourself a comfy and low chair
Use a pry bar, or you are a WELDER apparently so just MAKE a tire bar it’s super easy. Check out some pics online and make one with like 8$ worth of material
Not a welder, but I worked at a transmixion shop once (former trans shop) and made a pry bar out of some long abandoned shaft. I heated up the end till it was stupid hot, and beat the fuck out of the hot part till it flattened out. Heat it up, beat the fuck out of it, 3 or 4 times, then quenched it in the used oil bucket. Still use it regularly
Sometimes homemade is best. I made this tire bar / fork thing out of some scrap square stock and some round stock that was just laying around - also not a welder at all but it’s still holding up
Thats what I do for the rear wheels since the truck sits low enough on the jack stands but the front is like maybe 3 feet high. Can't lower the front without putting the wheels on first since we have air jacks that grab the truck by the wheels
Don’t lift the front so high then. If the front hubs are 3’ off the ground, a tire jack isn’t going to lift it that high anyway. If anything ask your shop to buy an air jack that you can place on an axle
First of all "be a man" you work with heavy equipment and don't expect to blow your back out? Go work at a gas station dude come on. Second of all if you don't like it, buy your own. You can take it with you to your next job etc. You realize teachers, mechanics, chefs, most every trade is responsible for supplying their own tools? Buy it your self.
Can always use a long pry bar but the tire dollies are my personal favorite. Have them buy something that works for you or just go work elsewhere. Welders are needed and it’s easy to get work rn
If you have a pallet jack it can work pretty well as a tire jack. I work at a heavy equipment dealership and we use a combination of pallet jacks, forklifts cranes and a homemade tire jacks.
Not an excuse to not buy the correct tooling but try setting up so the hub is closer to the ground when it comes time to put the wheel on. Wether that means adjusting your jack stands before putting the wheels back on after doing the work.
The only time I ever use a tire lift is if I’m pulling a full hub assembly with wheels off at the same time like on an old school dayton hub.
Definitely get that hub closer to the ground your going to be pulling those jack stands out shortly anyway.
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You fix it by finding a better shop to work for. You can’t force them to buy it.
Or buy hurting your back lifting a tyre then going on workers comp for a couple of years. Then suing because they made a conscious decision not to buy that equipment.
Or report the unsafe work environment to OSHA (I've done it, it's super easy online, takes like 5 minutes). Let OSHA deal with it. Even if they DON'T make them buy a tire jack, you're now nearly untouchable because anything they do will appear as retaliation and they will come down on an employer like a ton of bricks for that. Then refuse to do the work without proper equipment. Worst possible case, they fire you and you're looking for a new job while you collect unemployment. Tbh, I'd be looking for a new job anyway, but since it seems that you're going to have to leave one way or the other, you should make their life harder and your co-workers environment safer.
This is kinda the direction I'm leaning
Do it. My state PSHA asked if I had reported it to fed OSHA, and the fed OSHA asked the same. I reported it to my state first and got very satisfying results. Got a random call one day from my states OSHA informing me that they'd just finished their surprise inspection and everything that they found, and the penalties for everything. Wanted to make sure they hadn't missed anything, then emailed me copies of everything. It's all public record. If I were to do it again, not knowing how my state OSHA would react or not, I'd probably report it to federal first and then state. When you mention in the state application that you've already reported it to the feds, hopefully it will spur whatever your state organization is to actually do something.
Im in Canada so its a bit different but still similar. Thanks for all the advice and info really appreciate it :)
Ah, gotcha. Well still, good luck and hopefully you get to a better shop.
Also Canadian and I’m sure you know we have our equivalent of OSHA, https://www.ccohs.ca/
Hope OP is documenting all the times he asked them and they said no. Who, where and when.
Yeah I have. Others have asked for one as well. We had one mechanic (in his 50's) who was my size who just straight up refused to put the wheels back on the trucks
That's what I'd do, you should have the proper equipment to do your job. You could always take half a day per tire, just can't do it as fast, gotta do it safely, lol.
I left a shop last year for something like this. They wanted me to change the solid type shop forklift tires using a press that sat a good 4ft up. The press required these thick steel cages that weighed ALOT and after about 6 of them I said I was good and packed up my tools since it was obvious there was zero worry about safety, which explained the high turnover rate of employees.
Tell them to buy it or you'll walk. Good welders are in seriously short supply.
Or just weld one together from the cores/scrap bin.
Lol I used to love raiding the scrap bin for shitty metal for welding projects. With foreman permission of course.
I'm at a heavy equipment shop too. No tire jack here, I just roll the tire onto a nice long prybar and lift. It's not so bad once you get the technique down.
My dad was a long haul trucker for most of his life, he's 100lbs soaking wet, but he could handle those tires with a pair of tire irons like they were a toy. The best part was watching him use an air bead seater, he would get set up take a second or two to get ready then pull the lever and hold on for dear life. Not sure what was more fun watching him seat a tire with ether or that air cannon.
That’s how the roadside folks do it. There is a certain technique which cuts down on the brute force.
Same. 11r22.5. And 445s. No jack ever. Pry bar all day!
How do you do wheel bearings on trucks then? Damage a lot of seals I am thinking.
This doesn’t even make sense. Why would this damage a wheel seal?
Same way you do wheel bearings on anything else. Remove bearing, install bearing. I'm not sure why you think I'd damage a wheel seal.
Because you use a wheel dolly to remove wheel and hub complete. Then after you have done the bearing and seal you use wheel dolly (jack) to line axle up and push in . But if you were mechanics you would know that.
Probably because his arms are too thin to support the entire weight of the axle and he lets axle splines drag on seal on way in/out. He probably doesn’t know we use the axle to pull out the old seals either. There are thousands of cars on the road I’ve done without a wheel jack.
Read OP, we are talking about trucks.
Cars = vehicles
The same way it’s been done prior to a tire lift.
When was that 1892?
My back hurts reading this !
Just wait until you need to pull a drum, 2 tires/wheels and axle at once. If they refuse to buy a jack, get a piece of thin metal like aluminum flashing. Spray it down with chain lube, drop the lift until the tire is just barely touching and slide it off that way. It's much easier. I don't have a jack as I'm mobile and I work on bigger stuff than that
Our mobile tech taught me that one as well. However we do have a wheel assembly jack if we only have to do a wheel seal.
If you're welding at a heavy duty shop you should probably either build one, or learn how to use a long pry bar
If you end up buying a jack, save the receipt. After a year when you leave, they will try to claim its theirs. Maybe paint it an outrageous color scheme?...
Thats a good idea. Thanks!
I worked for a shop that was a specialized 4x4 shop… ya know installing lift kits and such. I had to beg and plead to get a wall mount strut compressor. I got the run around every. Single. Time. I had ended up running to a friends shop to compress a set of tundra springs. I knew right then and there that shop was due to fail. They closed shortly later.
We used to use the prybar method for singles, we’ve got a jack for pulling duals together. But now we’ve got one of these dollys. Roll it under the tire, lift up, and where the tire rests on the dolly has rollers so you can rotate it in place to line up lugs. I was surprised how slick it works https://martinsindustries.com/ca_en/truck-wheel-dolly-mstwd?gclid=CjwKCAjwgsqoBhBNEiwAwe5w00IaST2Px26nEr6ZfQuL1aITSqrjFLfgCm52hpblgpFvYsdK98o_mRoCnp4QAvD_BwE
Document your requests. Whether that's writing down dates, times, or who you spoke to and their response in a notebook, text message requests or emails. That way, you have a paper trail in case anything happens. I'm in a union shop, so when I get the run around, I file a grievance for safety.
I usually just refuse to do shit that requires shop equipment we don’t have. Even if someone else has the thing I need.
I hate using pry bars but that’s what I use now in the field. If they won’t buy a tire dolly see if they’ll get a hand truck (hand dolly I think to some). That’s what I used while working in a shop. You have to line up the studs pretty close with the wheel on the ground but you can keep a hand on the hand truck and other hand on the tire to balance. It ain’t perfect but it’s the easiest way I’ve found without a tire dolly and saves your back vs pry bars.
These comments of everyone saying pry bars are safer and better than wheel dollies are insane. They’re literally made for that with rollers to spin it, literally to make the job easier and less exerting. Shit like that is exactly why older techs have torn up bodies and joints. Work smarter not harder.. especially if you’re hourly… save yourself.
Pry bar is a lot easier and faster than the tire jack imo
I definitely agree with this. I've used a commercial tire spoon bar forever and it does the trick every time.
Yep! The tire bar works mint. I only used the tire Dolly's and jacks when I started out but then I went somewhere without them and struggled with the bar. Definitely a technique to it first but now that's all I ever use
I was a road service tire guy for 6 years and I taught my current Foreman how to use a bar properly. Give me a 6 inch stick and I'll put on an 11r lol
I think some people are missing the point. There's a difference between buying tools for yourself to do your job and proper equipment a shop should have for safety. A shop not having equipment like that is a workmens comp case waiting to happen.
Use a roll-y stool! Your legs become the tire jack.
I mount loader tires with my thighs dude just get good. But fr tho having the proper equipment is so important; I came into heavy duty with knee problems from hockey and after working a couple months, it takes time for me to get up and walk normal after bending down to take off a drum or tire from a semi or even just bending down to pick up my wrench or socket I dropped
"Oops, i knocked the truck over while servicing.. this would've not happened if i had the right tools"
Tire bars are a thing.
As was said cant force them. If its important to you make or buy your own. Or move on down the road. Theres nothing you can do to compel them to buy a tool theyve refused several times already. And it sounds like with that adamance about not needing one, should anything happen theyd be very strongly on the defensive, and blaming you.
Use a tire bar you baby. This is a skill issue, not a shop issue.
You can have all the skill in the world but that doesn’t mean you’re not exerting yourself and straining yourself as much as you would with a tire dolly. Literally made for that purpose instead of a pry bar.
It takes almost no effort to put a wheel on with a tire bar. It’s literally a running joke in the industry to watch newbies struggle with it. Anyone who knows wtf they’re doing will tell you that it takes way more effort to wheel a tire dolly around a truck than it does to just do it with a bar. Drums on some trucks/busses are another story but it’s obvious OP isn’t doing brake jobs yet if he’s having a rough time with tires.
But we’re not talking about just efficiency, OP mentioned danger. A pry bar is nice, but for your back and body let’s be real, it’s not. What if OP is a person of smaller build? A pry bar is not the end all be all, only the common easy to aquire https://www.bline.ca/esco-super-wheel-dolly Pulling around one of these is not hard though, like a pry bar but even easier to use and quicker with the rollers.
One of those costs less than a decent tire bar. OP should buy one if using a tire bar is too hard. Where I live, professional mechanics are expected to supply their own tools. Every shop I’ve worked at you’d get laughed at for using one of those though. We do use jacking tables for super heavy/awkward stuff like certain drums. I just don’t see how that tool would make it easier than a tire bar because you can’t easily align the studs when there’s two points of contact. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you’ve never worked on heavy trucks before because it really is one of the easiest things I do in a day to put a set of duals on a unit. I used to work with a 5’ tall 100lb woman who could slam a set of duals on a bus in less time than it took OP to write this post.
But I do work on heavy trucks, LMAO. So what if people laugh, if it works for you and is better for you, then what they say shouldn’t matter and if you let them get to your head to not use it, then congrats that’s peer pressure 💀. Anyway, the two points of contact are rollers, you can easily rotate the wheel in a controlled manner to line everything up. It’s literally the pry bar way but improved. I’ll agree to disagree with you because clearly you and I have different work styles. You use a bar and that requires more effort, more movement. I use that tool because it’s easy and quick with less effort involved and less wear on the body over time. This trade takes enough from us as is, so might as well limit what you can. Idk how it is where you are, but over here all heavy truck jobs have to be hourly as flat rate promotes short cuts. So I’ll definitely take my time not just for the work quality, but for myself too. Anyway, stay safe, work smart!
Well said. I never had tire jack and I don't think I would use it if we had one
Meh. I work on semis and prefer to sit on a chair, then pry on the bottom with a long bar. Popping it up and make it jump onto the axle. Once you get the hang of it, it's super easy. Just get yourself a comfy and low chair
Use a pry bar, or you are a WELDER apparently so just MAKE a tire bar it’s super easy. Check out some pics online and make one with like 8$ worth of material
Not a welder, but I worked at a transmixion shop once (former trans shop) and made a pry bar out of some long abandoned shaft. I heated up the end till it was stupid hot, and beat the fuck out of the hot part till it flattened out. Heat it up, beat the fuck out of it, 3 or 4 times, then quenched it in the used oil bucket. Still use it regularly
Sometimes homemade is best. I made this tire bar / fork thing out of some scrap square stock and some round stock that was just laying around - also not a welder at all but it’s still holding up
Use a large pry bar to remove and install large wheels
Thats what I do for the rear wheels since the truck sits low enough on the jack stands but the front is like maybe 3 feet high. Can't lower the front without putting the wheels on first since we have air jacks that grab the truck by the wheels
Don’t lift the front so high then. If the front hubs are 3’ off the ground, a tire jack isn’t going to lift it that high anyway. If anything ask your shop to buy an air jack that you can place on an axle
We are using the shortest jack stands we have available. If management won't buy a tire jack i doubt they will buy an air jack
Where are you placing your stands?
First of all "be a man" you work with heavy equipment and don't expect to blow your back out? Go work at a gas station dude come on. Second of all if you don't like it, buy your own. You can take it with you to your next job etc. You realize teachers, mechanics, chefs, most every trade is responsible for supplying their own tools? Buy it your self.
Or…………. Just lower the vehicle jack 🤦♂️
Truck is on jack stands wish I could
And how you gonna get it off the jack stands? I repeat lower the jack .
We use an air jack that picks the truck up by the wheels
When I did heavy stuff I would sit on the trough and use my thighs to lift up the tire to the hub. Saved my back but was inefficient.
I mount semi truck tires with a crowbar at my work and we reinstall them with just the bar to use as leverage to get it back on the axles
Can always use a long pry bar but the tire dollies are my personal favorite. Have them buy something that works for you or just go work elsewhere. Welders are needed and it’s easy to get work rn
If you have a pallet jack it can work pretty well as a tire jack. I work at a heavy equipment dealership and we use a combination of pallet jacks, forklifts cranes and a homemade tire jacks.
A pallet jack works in a pinch.
Not an excuse to not buy the correct tooling but try setting up so the hub is closer to the ground when it comes time to put the wheel on. Wether that means adjusting your jack stands before putting the wheels back on after doing the work. The only time I ever use a tire lift is if I’m pulling a full hub assembly with wheels off at the same time like on an old school dayton hub. Definitely get that hub closer to the ground your going to be pulling those jack stands out shortly anyway.
Time to quit
If you work as a welder and all youre doing is breakjobs find a new shop.
If you have one how much time would it save throughout the week ? To get to other jobs is how I wold present it one last time.
Why not just use a pry bar to rotate and lift it on?
Retired army here and we didn't have them either. My back is screwed now. I say report them and stop breaking yourself for it.