Badland Part 103 Pilots and Builders Forum

For the 3rd time I picked up my port wheel assembly from the tire shop that finally consented to doing the mount of tube & tire to the 6" split nylon Azuza rims. When I tried t0 do the mount as I did on the starboard wheel, I managed to pinch the tube between the rims so after 2 shops refused to even try the mount. I found a shop 17 miles away. They told me that puncture was in a location that could not be patched. I then got a new tube from Walmart, and took that to the shop. They said no guarantees but they'd give it a try. I picked up the wheel with 20 psi and by the time I got home it was flat. I returned to the shop and they tried again. 4 hours later, same result. They then refused to try a third time an refunded the charges. When I disassembled the wheel, I found that they had punctured the new tube 3 times and patched it. The final puncture was at the edge of one of the patches so the "new" tube was now useless. I managed to patch the "original" tube and took the assembly to yet another shop (20 miles away). These guys gave it a good shot as well but could not get the assembly together. The 480x4.00x6" tube (the same one as on the completed starboard wheel) just would not fit over the nylon split rim. The "tire expert" said that he'd seen the problem before and replaced the 6" tube with a similar 8' wheelbarrow tube ($12 from Tractor Supply). I zipped off to the local store, but alas NO such tubes with a right angle valve stem. I checked with Chris and he said that should work so we ordered the replacement tube and I should have the assembly back early next week. Total adventure has taken almost 2 weeks and I'm almost $100 out of pocket.

Check your rims very carefully. Make sure that there are no rough edges to the mating sections of the rime. You will undoubtedly have to grind down (I used a 2.5" sanding drum on my hand drill) the interior bead of the tires. Also check for any foreign objects or sharp edges inside the tire.