Cowboy tire safety cage

[Frank S]

tire safety cages are fine for airing up tubeless truck tires even better it they are laid horizontal so gravity doesn't come into plat causing the rim to try and seat off center. They are not the best thing for older truck tires with 2 piece rims because you can't get to the bead ring to tap on it making sure it seats evenly for those nothing beats wrapping several 3/8 load binding chains around the tire and rim laying it flat on the ground and airing it up tapping occasionally on the bead ring to insure it has seated properly. But when it comes to heavy equipment tires tire cages even those large enough to contain a large tire have to be made so it is possible to tap the locking ring in place. But I like to do it another way 1 of 2 methods I have used for several decades. One method if mounting a tire with the wheel on the machine is to assemble everything use clamps to hold the locking ring tight in the grove Place a backhoe bucket against the rings to prevent them becoming unguided projectiles, add air until it beads up and forces the bead seat ring out to capture the locking ring, remove the air chuck allow some air to escape while taping around the locking ring to insure it is properly seated install the core put the bucket back against the tire and air it up. I only use self holding air chucks that way my arm is never reaching over the locking ring or the bead seat ring and I can just give the hose a jerk to pull the cuck off of the stem.
For when I have the rims laying on the ground I do it like this . I block the rim up off the ground wipe a small amount of Murphy's tire beading compound on the seating area of the rim and both beads of the tire. Drop the tire over the rim, its weight will seat itself with the assistance of the beading compound, install the removable bead seat ring push it down enough to install the O ring, install the locking ring and clamp it in place wrap the tire and rim with chains then air it up as before.



This is one of the tires for my forklift. It is a baby weighing in at under 500 lbs, without the rim I've done tires weighing half a dozen times that I have never had a tire to blow off the rim while inflating and hope I never do because I'm pretty sure I'm too old to regrow missing body parts.

[mr mikey]

Being safe is always #one rule. The backhoe bucket is a good idea. I have not witnessed a ring flying through the air but have seen the damage. A shop not to far from us a young man was killed when a ring hit him in the neck. A very sad day. That happened 30 years ago and it still bothers me. I have also seen tire shops with damaged walls and ceilings. I never understood how a shop that does truck and equipment tires does not have a tire cage. Thanks. Great info. Mr Mikey.

[Frank S]

Being safe is always #one rule. The backhoe bucket is a good idea. I have not witnessed a ring flying through the air but have seen the damage. A shop not to far from us a young man was killed when a ring hit him in the neck. A very sad day. That happened 30 years ago and it still bothers me. I have also seen tire shops with damaged walls and ceilings. I never understood how a shop that does truck and equipment tires does not have a tire cage. Thanks. Great info. Mr Mikey.

Most sizes or equipment tires won't even fit in a tire cage unless it is specially made for that size tire. Which it is all important for the locking ring be well seated in its grove prior to adding any air. 2 piece rims are by far the most dangerous that I have found, especially the old General motors rims that split right in the middle Thankfully those are the rims which were outlawed a long time ago you had to deform the rim itself to separate it or put it back together, Not many have ever seen them much later than 1980 and even then they would have been nearly 20 years old, 2 piece tube type truck and trailer rim where 1 side is the bead seat and the locking ring all in one are still sparingly in use, If a tire man uses caution and experience to mount them there in not a high likelihood of having a mishap, when most of the accidents involving them have occurred was because the ring was miss handled in demounting and became bent or twisted and the guy wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. When mounting them if the guy will only add enough air to cause the tube to begin to swell to the beads about 5 to 10 PSI then allow the air to escape put in the valve core and add a few PSI of air while using the rubber end of his tire hammer to tap all the way around the ring making sure it is well seated Then bolt it on as an outside duel on the truck or trailer and finish airing it up doing this is good practice even if the tire was supposed to be installed on the steer axle, or as I have shown with the equipment tire I mounted use several chains to contain the ring. I by far prefer to work on 4 or 5 piece rims instead of 3 piece, and 2 piece rims are my least favorite, 4 and 5 piece rims will have a tapered secondary ring that is installed between the bead seat ring and the locking ring the tapered ring is there because it is tapered on the inside and the outside it slides over the locking ring fully capturing it before the bead seat ring slides over it, but you don't normally see those until the tires and rim diameters are huge.
The main thing to remember is when dealing with multipiece rim assemblies is and bent or damaged parts must be repaired or replaced before attempting to re mount them even if every other safety precaution is taken the #1 cause of most mounting accidents is un-serviceable components.

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Tire Safety Cage to our Wheel and Tire category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Tire Safety Cage by Frank S

tags: tire, safety

[toolkribkeeper]

I've never seen a split rim, except on aircraft wheels where this is a common practice, and they usually get only 15 - 20 PSI.
But they are still dangerous to life and limb
Even when I was in the Army Combat Engineers, in 19mumblegrumble, we were using the Split rings on all our truck / heavy equipment tires.
When reinflating a truck tire in the field(off vehicle) I'd always place the tire with the ring side down. Luckily I never has a problem.

[the harmonious blacksmith]

I've used the chains idea for years. Safety cages just sit around taking up valuable space if you only occasionally need them.
A friend had a two split rim come loose and he was a long time healing, and he was lucky to not have been killed.
I've changed or repaired tires on my 1941 International I-9 tractor with a Hughes Keenan "Roustabout" boom crane. It came with 10:00-24 tube type duals. Try finding replacement tires for those! I found a pair of 11:00-24 good used tires and with new tires and flaps and shipping it almost cost me a thousand bucks and was lucky to get them. The two inner tires are still 10:00s, and they may be original tires? They were old when I got the crane in the 80s.
It may be the last "Roustabout" crane on an I-9 in existence, I've been unable to locate anyone else with one. It's still a pretty handy machine, but sure could use some power steering.

[Frank S]

I've used the chains idea for years. Safety cages just sit around taking up valuable space if you only occasionally need them.
A friend had a two split rim come loose and he was a long time healing, and he was lucky to not have been killed.
I've changed or repaired tires on my 1941 International I-9 tractor with a Hughes Keenan "Roustabout" boom crane. It came with 10:00-24 tube type duals. Try finding replacement tires for those! I found a pair of 11:00-24 good used tires and with new tires and flaps and shipping it almost cost me a thousand bucks and was lucky to get them. The two inner tires are still 10:00s, and they may be original tires? They were old when I got the crane in the 80s.
It may be the last "Roustabout" crane on an I-9 in existence, I've been unable to locate anyone else with one. It's still a pretty handy machine, but sure could use some power steering.

Does yours look anything like this one owned by Schneider farms & excavation

Your right I suspect there are not many still around
I know a guy over on the Stove bolt forums that knows where the crane that was used in the movie Hooper is located but it is a much later vintage than yours