My annoying tire shop trip
Changed tires yesterday and let me tell ya, the shop charged me a fortune. Felt like highway robbery! Driving home, got steamed thinking about that bill. What if I didn’t need them next time?
Stumbled on a brilliant idea
Found this wild YouTube video after dinner – some dude building his own tire machine in a garage! Looked messy as heck with pipes and stuff everywhere, but man, it worked. Got me thinking: why not try myself? Couldn’t be worse than paying those thieves again.
The great garbage hunt begins
Rummaged through my garage like a raccoon hunting dinner. Found:
- A busted car jack I kept meaning to toss
- Rusty pipes from dad’s old shed project
- Random nuts and bolts in rusty coffee cans
- Scrap wood pieces piled near the lawnmower
Looked like straight-up junk. Honestly almost gave up right there. Decided to sleep on it.
Saturday wrestling match
Woke up grumpy but determined. Dragged all the junk outside. Tried bolting pipes to the jack – disaster. One pipe didn’t fit, another bent like a noodle. Cut my finger and swore at a squirrel watching me. Had to grind down pipe ends with my dying angle grinder, sparks flying everywhere – looked kinda cool, actually.
Welded a base plate from scrap metal. Smell was terrible – wife yelled at me to open the garage door. Mounted the jack sideways using those mystery bolts – surprising held together! Grease got everywhere. Hands looked like I fought a Cheeto factory.
Victory smoke signals
Took almost all weekend, but finally hooked it up to my truck’s first flat tire. Cranked the jack handle slowly… and holy smokes! Tire popped off like a champagne cork! Almost cried manly tears from happiness and greasy sweat.
Dirty work pays off
Changed all four tires that afternoon myself. Messy? Yeah. Took longer? For sure. But that money stayed in my pocket. Added up shop labor costs from last time – saved almost $200 bucks on my beater truck alone!
Neighbor saw it working and asked me to do his bike tire next week. Might ask for a beer as payment.
So yeah, built a greasy monster from garage junk. Works ugly but saves cash. Next flat? Shop can kiss my exhaust pipe. DIY for life.
