Spending a week off in the dirt requires a bunch of tools to keep your rig up and running, but spending a week deliberately changing tires every hour in different terrains requires more than your basic bag of wrenches. With a little preparation and a quiver of gear, our tire-testing team could quickly change 24 tires and air up and down so we could run various vehicles through diverse terrain over and over again. Here's some of the latest and greatest in trail and shop equipment that we had with us.
Lifting your truck to change tires is a fundamental part of wrenching, and nothing works better than a good old floor jack. The current trend of aluminum jacks is great for easily placing the jack under your 4x4, but we've found most are grossly underpowered to lift a fullsize truck. While surfing through the Northern Tool Web site (a Mecca of parts and supplies for just about any 4x4 or garage project), we came across these massive 3-ton aluminum race jacks by Torin. Just 16 strokes takes it from a minimum height of 4 inches to a max of 18, and yet the aluminum construction means it's the same weight or lighter than some lesser steel jacks. | 
Getting a heavy truck like this extra cab longbed off the ground was easily handled by the Torin floor jacks, and to keep it safe while swapping tires we also used the Torin Big Red 12-ton jackstands from Northern Tool. The security of blatant overkill in strength is nice if you ever have to crawl under your heavy 4x4. And the ease of ordering online or from the Northern Tool catalog is hard to beat. With a minimum height of 18 inches and a maximum of 28, these are great for heavy trucks with big tires. | 
We used a tire durometer gauge to discern the varying hardness of each tire. Of course the hardness of tires will change over time, but this gave us a good starting point for comparison. Whether you are testing tires for your competition 4x4 or your drag racer, a tool like this from Intercomp is the hot ticket. We got ours through Summit Racing, home of all things automotive. |
Airing up tires is a trail-end pastime, and when you're moving between multiple vehicles it's hard to beat a Powertank. We've run them on lots of project vehicles and every year there seems to be another great upgrade. The new 15-pound tank is filled with compressed carbon dioxide, and now has liquid-filled gauges and a heavy-duty tire inflator with a 60-psi gauge, and it comes in a handy carrying case so that it doesn't bounce around and damage the tank. We know firsthand that severely dented tanks won't be refilled, so always use a proper mounting bracket to secure your Powertank in your vehicle. The Powertank quickly filled our tires and had us ready to hit the road to find the next mud hole or rock pile. | 
Taking tires off fast is way easier with power tools, and the new line of rechargeable tools from Ingersoll Rand is definitely worth checking out. We removed tires all day and never killed more than two batteries, and usually needed just one fully charged unit. Weighing in at just 6.2 pounds, but with a sturdy steel/composite case, this impact was a tough little bugger. We're talking 360 lb-ft tough with a 19.2-volt lithium Ion battery that can quickly be recharged, and has power level lights to show you if it's fully charged. | |