mud_thrower87

Hey everyone,
I am currently taking an engineering design and development class and am working on an idea for a product that could be used in off road situations or specifically for vehicles with heavy wheels. If you could please take a few moments of your time to answer a few multiple choice questions on a survey I made, it would be greatly appreciated, your input will be used to guide our concept and to eventually build a working prototype and maybe even beyond. We need at least 100 responses.

Thanks ahead of time!

This is the link to the survey, please give it a try: (It isn't long, I promise.)

https://docs.google.com/a/d155.org/s...NHY3c6MQ#gid=0

N20jeep

you should probably explain your idea. I doubt to many are going to do the survey

XJ-92

sounds like it could help me out quite a bit. im 19 with a bad back from sports and car accident and i have 35s on the jeep and i can lift them for my life and i always have to have people help me with them and im getting tired of having to call up people to come help me and taking important time out of their day.

mud_thrower87

Hey N20, sure I can do that for everyone: Basically, we are looking at a design that is aimed at helping rotate, move, and lift heavy and/or large wheels that would typically be used for large truck, jeep, or off road applications. Without giving too much away, it would be lightweight (at least <30lbs), and foldable in to something like a briefcase sized area. We would likely use a hand operated winch and pulley system so not to need any sort of hydraulic oils or otherwise, as this is designed to be rugged and able to be stored in the back of a vehicle. In conjuction with any kind of jack to take the weight off the wheel, it would be able to lift or drop a wheel to the necessary height, rotate it to line up the bolts, and work like a dolley as well, perhaps having mild off road tires for the purpose of a trail swap. Another concept we have looked at would be having an angle adjustment on the device for lifting on uneven ground.

I personally have a zj with 35" mud grapplers on 17" rims (should of done 15", the tires look too small to me :P) and the things seem like they weigh at least 80lbs, which can be a handlful for one person (aka me) to lift and position on the vehicle alone. Although I can do it, it takes a couple tries, is kind of akward, and there isn't much room to get under/around it, so I feel as though there is a need for something to make the process easier and less bothersome. Further, for people with bad backs or really big wheels (like my cousin's wrangler with 44 tsls XD ) there is definetly a need for something like this to help with the process. However, it is still a pending idea that is in need of feedback so we can hopefully move forward with it, therefore please fill out the survey if you haven't already

For those who have, thanks for the responses, I got about 20 responses overnight (between here and another forum), I really appreciate it! If any of you know of other major forums where I might get some good feedback from let me know too!

Thanks Guys!

Atmos

I'll fill out the survey. but check this out. sit down in front of the wheel hub on your butt. knees bent and feet planted flat. position the tire in on top of your toes. then grab the tire and lean back and push up with your feet. you'll find it's much easier to position it

try that next time you change a tire

mud_thrower87

It would more or less be for lifting wheels from ground to mounting height and vise versa. We considered trying to make it so it could get wheels off a tire carrier, but then it would need to be a little larger. As far a roof rack mounted wheels, we weren't really looking to help people with that... mainly because there is no compact way other than a hoist or small crane to get a wheel off a roof mechanically, without damaging the vehicle. But if you have a really heavy wheel or any kind of major back issues you probably shouldn't store your wheel on the roof of your jeep anyway :/ Hopefully this helps everyone picture our concept...

Atmos

as in jacking the axle up a few inches, unbolting the wheel, and dismounting/remounting. yeah the process I just described makes that very easy to do with little strain on your back

mud_thrower87

Thats a solid technique, thanks haha. I get what your saying, and understand that for most people and situations, it is a very do-able process, and I have done it alone on all my wheels numerous times. I was just more or less trying to see how many people (all testosterone and "I never need help" attitudes aside) would actually use something like this. It would be a more specific demographic of people that have large wheels, back injuries, or just think it's a cool idea but I feel as though it has a serious application. But that's what the survey is for. There have been people who claim to have heavy tires and say they are completely uninterested because they can do it themselves... That is to be expected, but it is more the people like XJ-92 who I am hoping will take the sruvey. Haha unfortunately, but this is a jeep forum, not a monster truck forum, so I think a vast majority of people have tires sized 35" or less, but it is still feeback nonetheless, and therefore still helpful. Again, I hope this helps give you guys an idea of what we're looking to accomplish with this idea.

kennzz05

tried and true, on semi truck tires that weigh in at around 100 or more. all they use is a long rod about 4 feet long as a lever to get the wheel up to the studs takes about 15 seconds nothing to unpack,unfold, setup,teardown,refold,repack

XJ-92

yeah if you have a good back. my is terrible, also having a fracture hip that didnt heal correctly along with a sacrum being out of wack and inflamed 24/7 along with a couple of vertibrea messed up, it makes it very hard to bend down. the main reason i still have a jeep is because i cant get in and out of a small car low to the ground. also putting a 35" tire on my toes isnt going to happen since they weigh about 100lbs

mud_thrower87

Kennzz05, you are completely right, that is a semi wheel changing technique and I have read of it previously. And it's a good technique for sure, but so is lifting it with your toes, or using a small floor jack, or using a friend, just try to understand that we are looking to develop something to make it easier, and less stressful. Yes it needs to be unpacked/repacked, but our idea would allow you to spin the wheel on an axis and lift it higher than a lever would allow without a massive fulcrum (and/or longer lever and another person). If you are lifting a tire onto a carrier, that cannot be done with a lever either, so maybe we could look more towards that approach. A lever 4ft long would be a bit large for the inside of a jeep, but obviously that is a fairly easy problem to solve with a good pin/hinge design, or any kind of simple rack or bumper mount... I am really just pondering concepts right now, nothing is set in stone. Thanks for your feedback though, every opinion helps.

WJBill

Something similar to this?
http://www.otctools.com/products/eas...el_dolly_5095A

Sno_Blynd

took the survey. seemed pretty legit. im a small built guy. im 6ft but lanky as hell. i could barely get the head off my jeep by myself. i dont really have a bad back just not really able to build up my upper body so most lifting is done with my legs but sitting/kneeling to pick up a tire can be....uh...awkward. wouldnt call myself a wuss by any means but just dont have the upper body strength to lift heavy things.

DirtRoadXJ

survey done.

TN12valve

Survey complete.