Building Tips




Got a sure fire-way to tackle one of those "challenging" tasks on your project or flying RV?
Drop us a note and we'll post it here.


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Tom Berge's Tire Removal Contraption

So, it’s time to replace your tires. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? First, let the air out. Very important! Second, loosen the three bolts holding the wheel halves together. Then take out the bolts and set the brake disc aside. Third, pull the wheel halves away from the tire…….wait a minute. This part just took all the fun out of a simple process. The darn tires are stuck to the wheels. Seems nothing will pry them free without damaging the wheel halves. Put the hammer and pry bar, a.k.a. screw driver away.

After years of struggling with the dreaded tire removal job, I finally decided that a simple, cheap solution could be had. I know there are tools you can buy to do the task, but why spend lots of money for something that is done so infrequently? So here goes.

One 5/8 threaded rod / 12” - $3.29
Two 5/8 fender washers - $.45 each
Two 5/8 nuts - $.45 each
24” 2 x 4 – Free in most workshops
30” 1 x 4 – Free in most workshops
Couple of adjustable wrenches – Better be in your workshop already!

1. Cut the 2 x 4 to about 10 inches and drill a ¾ inch hole in the middle. Need two.

2. Cut the 1 x 4 to about 7 or 8 inches long and cut a curve on the side a bit bigger than the wheel. I used the hub cap that came with the wheel kit as a template. Need four.

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3. Attach one 1 x 4 to each end of the 2 x 4 using 2” screws with the curved edges facing each other and spaced a bit wider than the wheel.

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4. Put one 2 x 4 on each side of the tire, being careful to center the wheel inside the curves.

5. Put a nut and washer on one end of the threaded rod, slide it through the 2 x 4’s and put a washer and nut on the other end.

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6. Tighten the nuts, keeping the wheel centered

Popping the tire off without all the fuss, Priceless!

I timed myself starting with the removal of the valve stem and had the wheel halves off in 6 ½ minutes. Not bad for about $6 in parts and a half an hour of planning/construction.


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Tom Berge's Brake Bleeder Contraption

OK, I just love coming up with contraptions. It’s a great way to be both clever and cheap. Besides, there’s a job to be accomplished. Over the years, I have always used a pump style oil can to fill the brake systems on RV’s from the bleeder valve. This involved hooking up the can with a plastic line to the brake bleeder valve under the wheel cylinder and adding brake fluid without introducing air. It’s sometimes tough to find an oil can that can pump just fluid without air.

Peter Fruehling and I had just finished installing his brake system and needed to fill it. I decided this time to find another method. Buying a pressure bleeder was out of the question due to my cheapness. Eighty-five bucks was too much. I thought, “Why not roll my own?” After much searching, I found the perfect container. A small Vlasic Sweet Relish jar in my fridge would fit the bill fine. Now I’m sure a regular relish jar would work just as good, but I have my standards. After dumping the contents into a convenient Tupperware container and thoroughly cleaning the jar, I started the actual construction.


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Now I know that most RV builders will, by this stage of construction, have a few extra parts lying around. I scrounged up two -3 bulkhead fittings with the associated B-nuts and sleeves from my excess stuff drawer. I then drilled two 3/8 holes into the jar lid and installed the bulkhead fittings. On fitting #1, I attached a 3/16 aluminum tube that extended to the bottom of the jar with just a bit of clearance off the bottom then added a piece of aluminum tubing to the top side. On fitting #2, I attached a short piece of aluminum tubing just to the top. I then attached a 3/16 plastic line from fitting #1 to the brake bleeder valve.

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The way a pressure bleeder works is applying air to the “can” from one line which will force the fluid out the other line. Pretty simple. The risky part for me was how to add the pressurized air. Putting a twist type valve inline would have worked great, but I didn’t have one of those in my junk drawer. Cheapness prevailed. I stuck a piece of the milky white tubing that is included in the RV kit onto the inlet side of the jar to act as an interconnect for a regular air sprayer. These sprayers are not known for their precise metering of air, but what the heck. The worse that would happen is I over pressurized the jar and brake fluid would spray all over Peters fuselage and the hangar floor. I was OK with that since it wasn’t my fuselage or hangar floor!

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The moment came, Peter and I set up. I practiced controlling the air flow and then gave it a whirl. It worked like a charm. The fittings and related parts are about $9 if you don’t have any. The Vlasic Sweet Relish jar was about $1.69 at your local grocer and you still get the relish. Pretty darn sweet.