I finally decided to give tire changing a shot (with the encouragement and help from Ian). I've heard that the hardest part was breaking the bead - so I built a bead breaker (out of wood, of course)
(click here for pic)It works like a charm. Just 3 big bolts and 5 pieces of wood (not including the wheel platform - which is not attached). The base and leverage arm are both 4 feet long. The 2 boards coming up from the base are 2 feet long, and the "plunger" is about 20 inches long (with a couple of different holes drilled to fit different size rims - if you also have a quad.
I've also seen a real clever design which uses the hitch on your truck. You use the receiver lock-pin hole as the hinge point and bolt a 4-foot 2x4 to your hitch. Then, about 6 inches from the hitch, bolt a 2-foot 2x4 (use only 1 big bolt), and this will supply all the downward force you need to break the bead. I would've used this method yesterday - but it was raining... and I melt in the rain. (of course, you still need extra wood for a platform for the wheel to protect those precious rotors!)
As for instructions on changing the tire, the best set of instructions that I've seen on the internet are here:
(click here)
