Mobile tyre service – the essentials
The essential equipment
In fact, it is the same equipment that you already use for your tyre bay locally. Other than that, you will need a truck for the purpose. By truck we mean a car-derived van, like:
- Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer/Citroen Jumper,
- Mercedes Sprinter/VW Crafter.
Cars like Iveco Daily or Renault Master are popular too. Some businesses use trucks like Mercedes Atego, but these are a rather rare sight.
Which one is the best? We can’t advise you on that 🙂 But you need to remember to look at the storage space – there should be as much as possible of that. Don’t forget that a van has to fit in a wheel balancer, tyre changer wyważarkę, or a compressor.
What should you have on?
A mobile tyre fitting car should contain the same units and materials as you have at your own tyre bay. After all, you never know what challenges you may be facing. And you don’t want to send the client away just because that you don’t have a certain tool/material on, right?
What should you have? Let’s start with the tyre changer. A RUNFLAT arm is just essential. Without this part, you will waste loads of time. Even though having a tyre changer locally makes sense (for an additional unit), using it in the roadside mode makes no sense at all.
Why? Well, you can take the RUNFLAT tyre without the arm. Trouble is, it takes a lot of time. And imagine that you damaged the rim or tyre. That’s a shame, isn’t it?
What jack for roadside tyre service?
There’s no too much to choose from. A pneumatic air jack seems like the wisest choice. What capacity should you look for?
If you work with passenger cars mainly, consider getting a jack with 3 tons capacity. It’s going to raise most cars that you work on. If you care about working comfort, consider getting a jack with a special overlay – so you can raise the car even higher.
Working on mobile tyre fitting service, you may have to raise car-derived vans. Or even lighter trucks. There’s no need to take the risk of not having the gear right for the job – like a pneumatic air jack with 8 tons’ capacity.
Pneumatic or hydraulic?
Why do we talk about pneumatic air jacks so much? It’s great for most tyre bay-related jobs. But! There are situations where an air jack won’t work. For instance, when you deal with low-clearance cars. Just two examples:
- Peugeot 407,
- Mazda 3 I generation.
Let’s be honest. These two are very popular cars. This means, there is huge chance you will meet them. An air jack won’t work – but a hydraulic one would be great for that purpose!
Another issue. A hydraulic jack would be a great choice for rusty cars.
What compressor for roadside tyre service?
Overall, for tyre bay-related jobs, a compressor with at least 2 horse power would be just the minimum. If you are looking for working comfort, consider getting a compressor with 4 horesepower. Or even more!
That’s not it. There is another parameter you need to consider – the blow efficiency. How to read it? You can learn more here:
Would you fit it all on the car?
Well that might be obvious but we’d better mention it. After all, limited space is the biggest disadvantage you encounter while running a roadside tyre service. So, before you settle for certain models, make sure to measure the loading space size in the car you drive.