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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.