Choosing The Right Commercial Truck Tyre Changer

Choosing The Right Commercial Truck Tyre Changer

Choosing The Right Commercial Truck Tyre Changer

If you’re running or operating a garage and work on trucks, at some point you’re going to need to change a tyre. While one approach may be to grab a set of tyre levers or even a shovel and use brute strength and curse words to prise the bead off the rim, the best and most professional solution is to use a commercial truck tyre changer.

In this blog we will look at the different types of commercial truck tyre changer that we, at JHM Butt & Co, offer.

Our Range

Here at JHM Butt & Co we offer commercial truck tyre changer equipment designed and manufactured by Italian brand Ravaglioli, who specialise in top quality garage equipment.

All of the tyre changers that we supply feature hands-off operation which take the strain out of handling the tyre and won’t leave you with skinned knuckles or a damaged rim. The electrohydraulic operation not only holds the tyre in place, but also breaks the bead from the rim and rotates the tyre to fully prise it free for you to then remove.

Featuring remote operated controls, you can rely on our commercial truck tyre changer machines to provide a safe, quick, and easy means of removing any large size tyre - including those fitted to mobile plant such as tractors or earth movers.

Our entire range of tyre changing equipment is compatible with a wide range of accessories to make your life easier and expand the versatility of your chosen equipment.

Commercial Truck Tyre Changers - What’s The Difference?

Most makes and models of modern tyre changing equipment share many similar features, however, not all are suited to the same application - with manual, semi-automatic, fully-automatic and super-automatic variants across the market, there are a lot to choose from .

Let’s delve into what sets them apart from each other.

Manual and Super-Automatic

At the lower end of the functionality spectrum are manually operated machines. This basic type of equipment has no automation, and the user is required to lift the wheel onto a stand incorporated into the machine, prise the bead from the rim using a long lever bar, then re-mount the new tyre using the opposite end of the same bar. Some variants of a manual machine have separate removal and mounting bars that are incorporated into the design of the machine.

Because of the manual handling involved in using these basic systems, they are only suited to smaller tyres on cars and vans, or where tyres are changed in lower volume. One advantage of these, however, is that, due to their basic design which does not require a power source, they can be used in remote areas such as farmland or the forest - offering a ‘get out of jail’ solution to a damaged tyre.

Diametrically opposed to manual machines are super automatic systems. Suited to work environments where tyres are changed in very high volume, these offer fast paced, ‘touchless’ operation where every element of mounting the wheel onto the machine, setting the tyre size, removing, and fitting the new tyre is handled automatically by means of lasers, hydraulic clamps, and automatic inflators.

These systems are very expensive and are less likely to be used in your average car or truck servicing garage. 

Automatic vs Semi-Automatic

This brings us onto Semi-Automatic and Fully- Automatic commercial truck tyre changer equipment. These are the two types that JHM Butt & Co supply as they offer the greatest value for money; arriving in the middle ground where ease of use is met with functionality and affordability.

Semi-Automatic

There is some variation within the design of this type of commercial truck tyre changer, however, most feature a horizontal surface which the wheel is physically lifted onto. Before this, the wheel is placed to the side of the machine, and the tyre breaker arm is swung into place to prise the bead from the rim. Once loose, the wheel is lifted onto the flat surface where four pneumatic or hydraulic clamping jaws move to hold the rim in place centrally on the machine.

A separate arm is then brought down onto the tyre to press it away from the rim. The user then manually removes the tyre from the rim using a prising bar.

As you may have gathered, there is still quite a lot of manual handling and operation involved with a semi-automatic system which means they are not suited to large tyres used on heavy equipment.

You can see our range of semi-automatic tyre changers here.

Fully-Automatic

A fully-automatic commercial tyre changer is the best solution when you need to change the tyres on vehicles such as large HGVs, tractors, earth movers, and heavy plant.

Our Ravaglioli systems can handle a wide range of tyre and rim diameters and widths and largely eliminate the manual handling required to change a tyre.

On all systems, the wheel is rolled into position adjacent to the machine. The electrohydraulic system then moves into position and clamps onto the central area of the rim - there’s no messing around with nuts and bolts.

Once mounted, the wheel is lifted up to meet the bead breaking equipment incorporated into the design of the machine. Depending on the model, the tyre is then fully removed from the rim either by hand using a prising bar, (see our G9256.11SL unit) or the tyre will be removed from the rim by the equipment itself, (as in the case of our GTB16EVO unit) saving you more manual handling and time.

Fitting the new tyre is easy and is largely a reversal of the removal procedure.

Wheel and Rim Size

A key consideration when deciding which commercial truck tyre changer is right for you, is the type of tyre you’ll be mainly working with.

If you will be mainly dealing with smaller truck tyres, such as on light and heavy goods vehicles or mobile plant, our GTB16EVO unit will be perfect for you. It’ll happily accommodate wheels up to 1320mm in diameter and 540mm wide. 

Meanwhile our G10760.17 machine will happily mount a whopping 2.7m diameter tyre up to 1750mm wide- perfect for agricultural and industrial machinery such as tractors, front loading shovels, dumper trucks, etc.

Change your Garage as well as Your Tyres

Hopefully by now you’ll feel more informed as to which commercial truck tyre changer will suit your needs. All our commercial truck tyre changer equipment comes fully loaded with features that will make your life easier, and reliably perform day after day. If you need further assistance with deciding which tyre changer is right for you, we’re just a phone call away and would love to hear from you. 01302 710868



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