Changing tires has become a bit of a sore subject for me. I’ve owned UTVs for years—even had a Honda Foreman quad at one point—and in all that time, I only ever had one flat. That is, until I bought my Pro R. For whatever reason, every time I come back from Mammoth, CA, I end up with a flat. Three years of owning this beast and I’ve had three flats—yes, even running new 10-ply System Three XC 450s.

Tires aren’t cheap, and while I could probably get away with plugging them, my OCD won’t let me. So, I’ve been replacing them and mounting them myself. I prefer doing it on my own rather than letting someone else mess with my stuff—partly because I grew up that way, and partly because I’ve had bad experiences with shops. Either it was a warranty issue or I didn’t have the tools, but every time someone else worked on my ride, it came back worse.

After blowing a hole in the sidewall of my first tire, I decided to invest in a manual tire changer. It’s been a game changer—saving both time and money. I won’t lie, it’s tougher than swapping a dirt bike tire (and those were no picnic), and it’s especially tough on me because of my back problems. But I’ve told myself I’ll keep doing this stuff as long as I physically can.

The first challenge is breaking the bead. Even with beadlock rings, it’s no joke. I can’t break the bead by hand anymore, so I found a workaround using the leveling jacks on my toy hauler.

Works like a dream—and after 25 years of payments, that toy hauler is finally all mine!

Once the bead is broken, I throw the tire on the changer and use a couple of long tire spoons I picked up on Amazon. A little silicone spray helps the bead pop right off. Mounting the new tire is basically the reverse process. I got lucky this time—the tire beaded on its own. Last time, I had to use a ratchet strap to pull the sidewalls in and get a seal.

When reinstalling the beadlock rings, it’s important to torque the bolts down progressively—tighten one, then the bolt directly across, working your way around in three rounds until you hit the torque spec. I always add a dab of thread lock to each bolt, just in case.

And that’s it—a fresh new set of tires, ready to tear up the dirt again.

Not many people work on their own machines these days, but I do it because I know it’s done right—and because it gives me a sense of pride. If you’ve never tried doing your own tire swap, I highly recommend it. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of knowing you did it yourself.