DodgeForum.com

Dodge Ram 1994-Present: How to Mount a Tire to a Rim

You can save yourself some money by mounting your own tire on your rim.

By Pizzaman711 - July 24, 2015

This article applies to the Dodge Ram 1500 (1994-Present).

Mounting a tire yourself is a lot easier than you may think. It is recommended you only do that when you need to, or if you're mounting the tire on an off-road rim, because the process could lead to a scratched rim. The process isn't popular due to the fact that tire shops are rather cheap and quick. However, having this knowledge can come in handy at some point.

Materials Needed

  • Pry bar
  • Windex or soapy water
  • Cardboard or an old rug

Step 1 – Prepare the wheel and tire

  1. To protect the wheel, it is suggested to lay it down on a piece of cardboard or an old rug. This will help to prevent it from getting scratched or scuffed on the ground. Lay the wheel face up to prepare for mounting the tire.

    Figure 1. Place the rim on cardboard.
  2. Using either Windex or soapy water, coat the tire bead on the first side that will be going on. This will help it to slide on easier.

    Figure 2. Lubricate the tire.

Step 2 – Mount first side

For this step, the larger you are, the easier it will be. You'll be mostly using your body weight to get the first side of the tire on.

    1. Lay the tire over the wheel, make sure to center it as best as possible. Be sure to pay attention if your tire is directional or not. If it is, make sure you have it oriented correctly.

      Figure 3. Position the tire on rim.
    2. Stand on top of the tire and use your body weight to push it down onto the wheel, once you get one side down, walk around on the tire to get the rest down.
    • Figure 4. Walk on tire to push it onto rim.
    • Figure 5. First side of tire mounted.

Step 3 – Mount second side

The second side will be the most time consuming, you'll need to take special care not to damage your wheel with the pry bar.

  1. Using the pry bar, slide it in-between the tire bead and the wheel.
  2. Pull the pry bar back to slide the tire bead under the wheel lip.
  3. Once you get part of the tire bead under the wheel lip, you'll need to keep pressure on it by standing on that section to keep it from coming back out.
  4. Repeat this process alternating sides with the pry bar and working towards the opposite side of the wheel.
  5. For the last section of the tire bead, you'll need to do it with the pry bar upside down so that it's easier to slide out.

Figure 6. Pry the tire onto the rim.

Step 4 – Finishing Up

Once you have the tire mounted onto the rim, you'll need to:

  1. Fill it with the proper amount of air pressure.
  2. Take it to a tire shop and have it balanced if it's going on a road-use vehicle.

Featured Video: How to Mount a Tire By Hand

Related Discussion and Video