Changing tires and tubes on small rims

[OhioTC18]

Late last season I got a good buy on new 11X4.00-5 tires for the RFM. Mine were really cracked on the sidewalls. I packed the mower up for winter and decided to leave the old ones on until this season. Today was a bit warm, perfect day to do it. I had purchased one of the HF Mini-tire Changers over the winter to help out.

The tire changer was really a big help. I had one new tube on hand because I had one tire that I had slimed a few times. Of course they were all flat or close to it when I started. One of them still is flat. Damned if I didn't need 2 tubes and only had one. TSC was out of stock, so I bought a patch kit. Tried patching the one with the small hole. It still leaks.

But the worst part is trying to pack those little tubes inside those 5" rims and get the valve stem in the hole. My fingers are so f@#*ing sore. 4 new tires and 4 tubes plus a trip to TSC took about 4 hours.

 

[tsaw]

There is a tool for that. The next door business is a tire and exhaust shop.
Being that we are a lawn and garden shop, we never touch tire work. But one of the tire technicians thought he was being nice - and gave us a tool that from the best of my memory (not good) was some kind of thing that would screw onto the valve stem - connected to a chain like thing - and somehow it aided in the installation. We never even tried to use it. We still let them tube them tires for is at 15 bucks.