Seating That FIRST Tire Bead: Easy Method

There are various methods online for seating the second tire bead, but you can take much of the fight out of it if you are able to seat the first tire bead beforehand.
This is especially the case with new tires, because the beads are close together, and not out where they will seat on your rim. Once you have that first bead seated, you can use several methods... even just pushing the wheel in to the remaining bead... to easily finish the job.

[@raysheerer]

Thanks a lot for this video. I was lost on where to begin to set the bead on my 12” lawn tractor tire. After your video it took less than ten minutes to do so.

[@proto57]

That's great! And thanks for taking the time to comment on it...

[@neilmac1123]

Thanks a ton, I just broke down two trailer tires and replaced them with new ones, I fought and fought trying to get that one side to seat. I finally found your video and used old plastic milk crates and an old bucket of the same height and POP it went right on and aired right up. Thanks again.

[@proto57]

Great! Good idea about the bucket and crates... all the best, proto

[@garylovett166]

Thank you so much. I’ve been struggling with this tire for hours.

[@proto57]

I'm glad it worked for you!

[@NCSU4x4]

When I thought I'd seen all the tricks I learn a new one and it works great! Thanks for sharing.

[@proto57]

Wow thanks! I'm glad it worked for you... the whole reason for sharing, to try and make things easier for all of us.

[@NCSU4x4]

@@proto57 well the way tires are increasingly coming from over seas, collapsed sidewalls are a growing problem. Adding tricks to combat the issue is essential. I can see this working well in conjucntion with a bead seater tank. Yes I have had them not seat with one of those alone too.

[@christopherw6309]

Helpful video, thank you!

[@keithahlstrom176]

Well dang! Wasn’t expecting that at all. I’m filing that one away for later use. Thanks.

[@wtla]

5:30 - The struggle is real with Great Value spray bottles. I threw mine in the trash today. 😅

[@GaryTravels]

I watch many other videos. This one actually worked and quickly. Thanks

[@proto57]

It's weird, isn't it? It seems so simple, but works. Thanks for the comment!

[@zazult]

Worked like a charm thanks for the video !

[@michaldrechsler9906]

Thank you. I was just about to give up. This really helped

[@vicpetrishak1077]

Murphy ‘s tire and tube mounting compound is an excellent rubber lubricant and the use of open flow air chuck really works . Amazon supplies both products.

[@alainramanonintsoa7254]

I really appreciate it. I tried strap wrench but not working. This is the best method that I've ever tried. For the block of woods, I used 3 tires instead.

[@proto57]

Great idea with the three tires... I'll try that next time, too. And I'm glad it worked for you!

[@PeteLamb]

Awesome. Worked like a champ.

[@richardsayers3651]

I put my small lawn tractor tires on top of a 5 gallon bucket and stomped them a few times and it worked. I had been trying different methods to set the for about 2 hows and after watching this video I set them both in less than 5 minutes.

[@proto57]

I'm glad it worked for you... thanks for commenting!

[@Riccoassennl]

Thank you very much for this video! I was struggling for days but this helped me out!

[@proto57]

Hey I'm glad it helped! That all makes it worth my feeling silly dancing around on the wheel, for everyone to see! These things will drive you nuts sometimes...

[@knobsdialsandbuttons]

Excellent video, thanks 👍

[@ernieclapton2226]

I was beating my brains out on this. Your post helped a lot! Thank you.

[@proto57]

Glad it helped!

[@paul_warner]

Thanks I'm about to change the tires on my car and i saw a video about mounting the tire on the wheel but it didn't say anything about seating the bead

[@pickuptrucker17]

Worked great thanks!!

[@dedomv11]

Thank you, so much help to see your video.

[@elbowroom7993]

Just what I needed. Thank you.

[@proto57]

I'm glad it was of use to you!

[@chrisbergeron5625]

Yeah, yeah, it looks sketchy ..but it works! Just use a ladder or deck post for stability so you don't break yourself. Thanks for posting. 👍

[@proto57]

Yes good points. It would be more stable with a ring of the right size, of some sort.

[@OU812NVME]

Your Technique was setting the first bead save me $250 because I was able to use my 3 gallon air compressor and the way you took the other side it just took both your hands and gently pressed down you made it look so simple I'm so glad I wasn't recording myself doing the same thing before I watched your video because it did not look good thank you again

[@proto57]

Well I think I still look pretty silly doing it, too, but I'm glad it worked for you...

[@Country_Nasty]

Your suckin air In your spray bottle

[@abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz012_]

Nice thanks for help😊

[@davidcampos5844]

Fantastic!

[@007kid5]

Thank you so much for that tutorial. I decided to start learning mechanic I had a problem setting the bead for a tire. I will definitely let yk if this worked for me

[@proto57]

OK best of luck with it. I will point out that others have suggested a more stable support than the method I used... just make sure it is secure and stable when you try this.

[@nickaxe771]

Very very good. When re-mounting I prefer to use tyre soap pasre.....all that spay lead to lots of liquid trapped inside the tyre for ever more.....possible corrosive as well. Here in the uk...dish washing liquid contains salt. Tyre soap can be bought in small tube for a few bucks. Glad you mentioned taking out the valve core....lets the air rush in much faster....blasts those walls outwards. I also have quick release air fitting on the end of my airline.....I pop that on the valve....it seals on the rubber of the valve.....WIOW the air flows well then. Great job though.

[@proto57]

Thanks, Nickaxe... and those are all great tips. I do often wonder if using water-based lubricant is a very good idea. It stays in there pretty much forever. I'll look for alternatives like this "tyre soap" you mention, and keep it on hand for the next time... All the best, Proto

[@nickaxe771]

Hope I didn't come across as negative want my intention......it was great watching you work on your wheel.....I have been doing car tyres since I was 17....now 70....still enjoy the work out. I wonder....were they cross ply tyres looked stiff....maybe for a trailer. Keep up the good work. Nick from the UK.@@proto57

[@proto57]

@@nickaxe771 You didn't come across negative at all to me. You just added some important ideas and points. BTW I am similar to you... I'm 66 now, and have been changing my own tires since I was 16. In the past, because I just did everything... it was always cheap to have done, I just worked on all my own cars myself. Fun memory of "those days": I was 16 years old, driving my 1940 Chevy Special Deluxe about 12 miles from home, when a tire blew. Of course I had no spare. So I was hitchhiking back home, and the first ride let me off on a little bridge (only half a mile from my house). I was walking across the bridge, and in the shallow water I see a tire. So I go down and pull it out... it has green plants growing on it, and was probably in there since the 1950's. But it had no dry rot, and still had tread! So I rinsed it off, and rolled it up to the road, and hitch hiked back to my car with the tire. I got to my car and removed the flat, rolled it across the street to a garage, and the mechanic put it on the rim for $2 (EDIT TO ADD: I didn't have my tire irons in the car). That was one of the best tires I had on that car, and I drove it like that for another year or two.

[@nickaxe771]

WOW a 1940 Chevy Special Deluxe at 14....you have some great cars and trucks over there.....I love the old stuff. Love the story of the old tyre in the river....can you see that happening today. I have a 59 year old Land Rover...until about 10 years ago I used to regroove its tyres....loads of rubber still after the tread is near gone with an electric regrover......... You must have some great memories like me.....only person ever worked on my cars is me....I like to be self surfactant. Bought the old Landrove new when I was 22 my mate thought me mad. How do you bread beads and get tyres off....I see those Hf tyre change machine are very popular over there.....we can get them here but I just used tyre iron....3ft long....got them for the landrover.....but great for cars.....and a DIY bead breaker....does the job with ease. Nick from near Liverpool UK. @@proto57

[@proto57]

@@nickaxe771 Cool on the Land Rover! I kick myself for not picking up one up back in the day... what seemed expensive at the time is peanuts today. I do drive an LR2... but not a "real" Land Rover, but more a Ford platform built in the Liverpool factory. I love it though. I break beads with a 2x6 board placed like a ramp right up to the rim of a tire laying on the lawn. Then I carefully drive up the ramp until the bead pops. I have done this dozens of times over the years, but would like to improve it with a curved edge to the "ramp", and a softer liner underneath where it contacts the rubber. It works fine as is, but that would be better.

[@mee_topes2759]

Genius 💯

[@renleedativo1679]

Now it makes sense.

[@ctgriffi3899]

I'm 210lbs and tried this with a 4.80-12 trailer tire; never could get that first bead fully seated. Also, tried using a couple of spare 14" tires underneath, instead of wood blocks, and was able to enjoy a pretty effective trampoline effect... but still no bead action. 😅

[@proto57]

I'm sorry it didn't work for you. Without seeing your setup and attempt, I couldn't give any possible reasons. I would say you need a solid base, and I don't think using tires as a base would work... which you also realized. But what was your first support made of? Was it solid? And did you use a lubricant, like soapy water, or tire bead lubricant?

[@ctgriffi3899]

@@proto57 I tried wood blocks first, with plenty of soapy water. But, no worries... will just take 'em into the shop later. Thanks for the video tips!

[@proto57]

@@ctgriffi3899 Well good luck, and sorry that it didn't work for you.. all the best...

[@leondutchak2050]

Try starting fluid and you'll same a lot of time

[@kng9934]

Continue use this way. Any time… hospital sit waiting for u….😭

[@lawrencedavis2089]

A picture is worth a thousand words... let your doing do the talking 🤔

[@davidconway6315]

Here is a better idea have professional mount it

[@The-Armed-Pacifist]

Blocks collapse, operator falls and breaks ankle. Hospital trip in ambulance. Ankle surgery and on crutches for two months. OR, just pay someone to mount it.

[@proto57]

Well of course having someone do anything is always the other option. But it's not just one thing, it's a great many things... tire changes on two trailers, a motorcycle, three cars, it's tune ups, and roof work, building projects, siding, body work, yard work like mowing lawns, pruning, cutting down trees... splitting wood... it's a million and one things that we can choose to do ourselves, not only to save money, but to save time, and because we like it. Can we pay others to do it all for us? Sure. Many do. But the satisfaction, and the money and time saved, is to me very much worth it. And, BTW, I'm 65 and I never broke a bone in my life... or lost a finger or toe, for that matter. No fires, accidents, expensive broken stuff... So you are right, it is a choice. For me, it is an easy one. To each their own, though, that's fine.

[@The-Armed-Pacifist]

@@proto57 Actually, I agree. I am 74 and I do most of the stuff you mentioned myself, also. I have saved a ton of money and picked up a lot of experience. With that said, the wood block work surface seemed pretty unstable. I HAVE lost a finger in a wood splitter and I now pay someone to do that job after I have cut the trees to woodstove length and cleaned up all the tops and brush. I will not do roof work because we have a two story with a 10-12 roof pitch and I just don't want to take the chance of falling. Wishing you good health and the ability to continue safely with the jobs that you enjoy.

[@proto57]

@@The-Armed-Pacifist Honestly the wood splitter scares the crap out of me, and I always worry about that. Best of luck with everything, and stay safe.

[@johntrollston9630]

It's alright if you're young, wouldn't try it as an old boy

[@The-Armed-Pacifist]

@@johntrollston9630 I totally agree.