How to change your forklift tires depends on what type of tires you have.
Press-on tires have to be – you guessed it – pressed onto the wheel using a hydraulic press. Removing and reinstalling the steer (rear) and drive (front) tires changes slightly too since the steer tires typically have a dust cap over them.
Solid pneumatic tires also need to be pressed off and the new tire pressed on.
Pneumatic (air-filled) tires have to be inflated with extreme caution inside a tire cage.
First things first: we recommend you have a professional change out your forklift tires. We do not suggest you attempt to change forklift tires yourself. Always call a reputable dealer.
Here’s how our tire technicians remove and replace your forklift tires.
How to Change Press-On Forklift Tires
For press-on tires our tire techs:
1. Jack the forklift
2. Block it safely by strategically placing blocks at four points of the machine.
3. Use an impact gun to remove the lug nut on the drive (front) tires.
4. Uninstall the drive tires from the forklift
5. Uninstall the steer tires
- First our techs remove the dust cap over the steer (rear) tires.
- Remove the cotter pin.
- Remove the castle nut.
- Now they can uninstall the drive tires.
- And finally remove & grease the bearings.
6. Then our techs press the tires.
The used tire is pressed down about 1 inch using a tire press. Then the new tire is placed on top and pressed. The used tire is simultaneously pressed off while the new tire is pressed onto the wheel.
It can take up to 5,000 psi to press forklift tires. This is just one of the reasons we DO NOT recommend you press the tires yourself. Always have a trained tire technician press your forklift tires.
7. Repeat the process in reverse to reinstall the press-on tires.
How to Change Solid Pneumatic Forklift Tires
When it comes to solid pneumatic forklift tires, the process starts out similarly to press-on tires.
Our tire techs:
1. Jack the forklift.
2. Block it safely by strategically placing blocks at four points of the machine.
3. Use an impact gun to remove the lug nuts.
4. Uninstall the tires from the forklift.
5. Dismount the tire from the rim.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Solid pneumatic tires are often part of a multi-piece wheel assembly with a side ring and lock ring. But that’s not the only option for solid pneumatics. Split rims are also fairly common.
If you have a multi-piece wheel our techs:
- Remove the side ring
- Remove the lock ring
- Dismount the tire from the rim
If you have a split wheel our techs:
- Use a tire iron to pry the top half of the split rim from the tire
6. Clean and inspect the rim.
7. Next our techs press the tires.
Again, how you press the tires depends on what kind of wheel you have.
For a multi-piece wheel our techs press the tire onto the rim, then replace the lock ring and side ring.
For a split rim wheel the new solid pneumatic tires are pressed onto the bottom half of the split rim. Then the top half of the wheel is pressed down to meet the tire.
8. Reinstall the tires onto the forklift.
Let’s move on to pneumatic tires. They’re filled with air like a car tire. Since the tire can explode if it’s inflated improperly, pneumatic tires must be inflated for the first time inside a tire cage.
How to Change Pneumatic Forklift Tires
When changing pneumatic tires our tire techs:
1. Jack and block the forklift.
2. Deflate the old tires.
They remove the valve core and make sure all the air is out of the tire casing.
3. Uninstall the wheel assembly from the forklift.
First they use an impact gun to remove the lug nuts, then pull the wheel assembly off the forklift.
4. Remove the side ring.
5. Remove the lock ring.
6. Dismount the tire from the rim.
7. Clean and inspect the rim.
8. Mount the new tire on the rim.
9. Replace the lock ring and the side ring.
10. Place wheel assembly in a tire cage.
11. Finally our techs inflate the tire to the proper air pressure.
The “proper” air pressure changes depending on the tire. Then they visually inspect the steer linkage parts/wheel assembly to make sure nothing stands out as wrong.
12. Deflate the tire.
13. Remove the wheel assembly from the tire cage.
14. Re-install the tire on the forklift.
15. Then re-inflate the tire.
Now that you’ve got brand new tires on your forklift, the used tires can be recycled.
There you have it! Now you know how our techs replace your forklift tires.
As a quick reminder we do not recommend you attempt to change forklift tires yourself. It’s important to be trained and experienced on how to change a forklift tire as well as have the right equipment like a tire press and tire cage. Always call a reputable dealer.
For everything you need to know about forklift tires read Forklift Tires – The Ultimate Guide.