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Brady Melville
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Brady Melville
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Brady Melville
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Brady Melville
Story & photos by Brady Melville of Pathmaker Productions
If you have spent any amount of time on the trail, then you know the benefits gained by lowering the air pressure in your tires, which expands your footprint and increases traction on the rocks, mud and sand. The downside of running a lower pressure in your tires is it is much easier to lose the tire bead when your tire is aired down. Walking the fine line between the softest tires possible and keeping the tire on the rim, sometimes you can unfortunately lose that battle. At this point someone usually pulls out an old 9v rattlebox style air compressor and you go to work trying to get the tire tight enough against the rim for the puny compressor to build up enough pressure to push the tire back onto the bead. For those of you not sure what I’m talking about when I mention the bead of the tire it’s the thick innermost rim of the tire that has steel belts running around it, creating an extremely tight fit with the wheel. On top of that your rim has a small bump built into it called the safety bead, which runs around the circumference of the rim and holds the inside of the bead tight when the tire is properly mounted to the wheel. The result is that if you lose your bead on the trail, you can expect a difficult time to re-seat it.
If you are lucky enough to be out with someone who has an on-board air compressor (OBA), the first step is to see if you can re-seat the tire using it. I get great cubic feet per minute (cfm) out of the old York AC Compressor on my rig, and I can usually re-seat a tire by letting 150psi build up in my rear-bumper/air tank and filling it from there. Occasionally because of mud on the rim, or cuts on the tire bead, the tire will not seat even using OBA, which leads us to the least safest method (but one of the most effective) - re-seating the tire with an explosion! Do not attempt this method during any extreme or high fire danger situations.
The more flammable the gas you can get - the better, so I prefer to use ether or starting fluid since they’re commonly found in someone’s tool bag. First step is to get out your fire extinguisher, then get the Hi-Lift under the rig and get the tire in the air. You can leave it mounted to the truck; you just want to get the tire floating free. Next take a ratchet strap and run it all the way around the tire right in the middle of the tread and crank it tight. That will help push the bead outwards and centre the loose tire on the wheel. If you have a tire valve core removal tool it’s a good idea to pull the valve core at this point and I’ll explain why in a moment. At this point gather all your friends around and let them get out their cameras because they’re not going to want to miss the next part! Take your ether and spray all the way around the tire on the outer bead as well as a trail of ether up and onto the tread of the tire. Clear the area in front of the rim and step to the side, then light the end trail of ether and watch the fire travel around the tire and explode. It sucks the oxygen out of the inside of the tire with such force that it pulls the tire bead back onto the rim. At this point if you did not pull the valve core you can expect the tire to suck in on itself as the remaining air inside the tire cools and with the valve core in it can create enough suction to pull the bead right back off again. After the tire stops sucking in air on its own you can replace the valve core and inflate the tire with the bead fully seated.
Please keep in mind that this technique can be very dangerous and it should really only be attempted after you have tried the safer methods of re-seating your tire. From forest fires to rigs falling off jacks to pinched fingers, this is not something to be taken lightly, but if that’s what you have to do to get yourself off the trail, then it’s a great trick to keep in your back pocket. Check out this video from back in 2008 of the right and wrong way to re-seat a bead. How to Re-Seat a bead with Ether - https://youtu.be/_aejvCjVvWI
Brady Melville of Pathmaker Productions made a fantasy a reality by leaving corporate construction to pursue a career as an offroad photographer and videographer. Share in his adventures off-road at http://www.pathmakerproductions.com and www.youtube.com/pathmakerproductions for a front row seat on his next journey.
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