Rubber tire came off wooden cart wheel. Who can fix?

[Cinnabarwood_Bonanza]

It just twisted right off the rim while making a tight turn. The metal rim is “u” shaped, and the tire came right out of the channel, all in one piece.

It’s a country gig (I’ve been told) made maybe mid-1990s(?) with flush hubs, if that means anything. No maker’s mark anywhere.

Fortunately this happened at home so I didn’t have to go any distance on a tireless rim. Can a tool-savvy person fix this at home or do I have to ship it somewhere?

I’m on the Central Coast of California.

The caballo has been so unbeleivably fabulous when driving lately, better than I ever dreamed it could be between him n me, so blessed . . .

[hosspuller]

Does the tire have air in it? Or is it a solid tire ?

If aired, likely a DIY job. A solid tire … take it to a tire shop. One that does agricultural tires.

[goodhors]

I am reading this as a wood or metal spoked wheel with rubber for the road, not a show cart, type tire wheel.

If I am correct, using the headline as the clue, is the rubber flat or pointed where the “rubber meets the road”? Ha ha Sorry, couldn’t resist.

There are wheelwrights out in California, but I will have to ask for names to give you, that can fix the wheel.

[Cinnabarwood_Bonanza]

yup, wood spokes

with flat rubber tires, not pointy.

[Plainandtall]

I think you’ll have to get it to a carriage wheelwright. usually rubber is held on with wires which run inside the rubber- the whole tire is put in the channel and braced on there so the wires come together- then the rubber is pushed back to expose the ends of the wire and it’s welded- then the rubber is released and it creeps back up the wire to fill the gap. Sometimes if a weld breaks, or over time if the wire stretches- the rubber will get loose enough to come off. Even if your rubber is still in a circle- can you see the gap where it’s joined?

Also- this job is a very quick fix for a person with the specialized tools to do it, so if you can locate someone within driving distance, I’d think you could schedule an appointment and be able to wait while they do it and go back home with your wheel.

When I started driving in Philly a lot of streets still had trolley tracks and a person had to be very careful when changing lanes, to do so with determination and not just ease over lazily- to not fall into the track… and if you did fall in- to pull out of it in the correct direction… as one side of the groove was sharp and the other side sloped.

One time I was driving a carriage with a loose rubber- it probably had one of the two wires broken- it was driving me nuts with it’s creaking- I was out on a tour and as I drove past the First bank of the United States, on a slight downhill slope- the rubber finally left the channel and the tire continued to roll alongside my carriage like a hoop- I reached over and grabbed it and placed it up over my knees and never missed a beat. My favorite losing a tire story.

[Cinnabarwood_Bonanza]

Thank you for your replies.

I have looked on the internet and have asked the local driving club secretary and have not discovered any California wheelwrights. Any leads would be welcome, as well as recommendations if I have to ship it. Thank you again!

[Plainandtall]

This guy is in Montana- an he might know who is working in your area.

http://www.engelscoachshop.com/

This is the other western company I know of who might have a lead for you-
http://www.hansenwheel.com/

[goodhors]

I asked my friends and they said “Central Coast” mentioned in your first post is too large an area. Need some more specific town, county to narrow down the area you are in for suggestions of wheelwrights. California is huge for driving to a place, so an area could save MANY miles of travel.

[Cinnabarwood_Bonanza]

Fixed it! But still could use referral.

Between Monterey and Santa Cruz. All else being equal, I would rather drive ANYWHERE in CA, from Oregon to Baja, and meet face-to-face for (I hope) a quick fix, than ship this huge heavy thing in the middle of the best of the outdoor season to the far away unknown.

I may still need to in the future.

Hubby and I got it back on with WD40, a furniture clamp, a giant screwdriver, and a prybar. Basically the same way you put the tire on a bicycle, but no worry about tearing the inner tube. Oh, and a deadblow hammer. What we did was we seated as much of the tire as we could, which left the rest of the tire on a chord spanning about 20 degrees of the circle. (Does this make sense?) We kept it in place with the furniture clamp and starting at the opposite side of the wheel, whacked the tire with the deadblow hammer at as shallow and angle as we could. I got the idea from a youtube of a fellow who closed a gap in the rubber that was showing the wires, by striking the wheel sideways against the concrete floor. He used WD too. So we kept whacking diagonally till we got to the near end of the chord. This bought us about three inches lengthwise, which was enough to pry the tire back over the rim. Seemed impossible till we sprayed it with WD40, then it was amazingly easy. Then whacked it all back the other way, to even it out.

The interesting part was re-installng the wheel on the cart. The bearings were a little tricky but since Joe has reconditioned his Harley wheels, and I’ve serviced bicycle bearings, we eventually figured it out. (Turns out we coulda replace the tire without removing wheel.)

Delighted to be back in action, but I do think that the reason it came off is, as plain n tall said, the internal wires are stretched. That tire is still some looser than its mate. So still interested in referral.

Shared this story because I am so grateful for my amazing Joe (and proud of us), and because I thought it might offer hope to another in a similar sitch sometime.

[goodhors]

When you were putting it back on, did you find the wires? I think there are two in the flat rubber, which helps keep it laying flat in the channel.

Sounds great that you could get it back on yourselves! We also use a mallet like that, to move the rubber along the wires and keep all the wire and channel covered to drive on. Separation of rubber ends can happen with use of the wheel, so having a mallet/hammer like that can fix the problem.

WHEN you have to remove the wheel again, it is suggested you lay the parts out on a clean rag or piece of cardboard in the order they come off. Then you just put them back on in reverse order. You might want to keep some spare cotter pins to just replace that piece instead of fighting to get the two ends thru the hole and flared out again. Like paper clips, they can break off when you bend them back and forth a number of times with wheel removal. Wheels should come off and get the grease cleaned out, replaced, once a year to let you see if there is wear or things need fixing. Just keeps you safer.

Morgans is well recommended, not sure of how close to you it is. I will pass on any other suggestions that come in.

http://morgancarriage.com/home/