Nashville TJ's Build - Continued

NashvilleTJ said:

No, but they do balance them for me.

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Apparition said:

Discount said they'd balance mine if needed but they are good enough without balancing so I've never taken them in.

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Well, y'all are lucky with your local DT shops. On Tuesday morning, after reading your posts, I called my local DT shop and inquired about balancing tires on beadlock wheels. "Let me go ask my manager...yes, we can do it for you for $35/tire." I then set up an online appointment for 8:30am today. I just got back, and it didn't go well. I walked in, and walked up to the appointments counter. Checked in with an assistant manager. The guy read what I noted in the appointment notes, scowled, and started to say that they don't work on beadlock wheels. I said that I called on Tuesday and was told it was okay. He looked surprised and said, "OK." I then gave him the section in the Hutchinson Installation Instructions on how to properly balance them. He said, "Let me go talk to my lead tech to make sure he's okay with this."

Five minutes pass, and he's back. "I talked to the lead tech and then the store manager. We don't do work on beadlock tires, so we're not going to be able to do this for you." I very politely told him I was extremely disappointed, especially with this DT location, because every time I come here something gets screwed up. I mentioned that we moved our office from another city 30 miles away a few years back, and the DT store in that other city was as much on the exceptional side of the spectrum as yours is on the sucking side of that spectrum. I mentioned the name of the former manager of that store and how he always made sure I was taken care of. He says, "wow! he's the guy who hired and trained me way back when, and you're right - he's a great guy. I'm sorry we've let you down, and here's my card. Whenever you need service here, ask for me. I'll make sure you're taken care of the way he would." But he still wouldn't balance the tires...

I'm glad I have a "concierge" there now, but still disappointed. NashvilleTJ, is your son unhappy with your fatherly performance? Perhaps I could adopt him?

P.S. I called a smaller tire shop that was listed on Hunter's web site as having their Elite road balancer, and the manager said they'd balance them, so I'm dropping them off at lunch and picking up end of day. Hopefully, that goes well...

sab said:

Well, y'all are lucky with your local DT shops. On Tuesday morning, after reading your posts, I called my local DT shop and inquired about balancing tires on beadlock wheels. "Let me go ask my manager...yes, we can do it for you for $35/tire." I then set up an online appointment for 8:30am today. I just got back, and it didn't go well. I walked in, and walked up to the appointments counter. Checked in with an assistant manager. The guy read what I noted in the appointment notes, scowled, and started to say that they don't work on beadlock wheels. I said that I called on Tuesday and was told it was okay. He looked surprised and said, "OK." I then gave him the section in the Hutchinson Installation Instructions on how to properly balance them. He said, "Let me go talk to my lead tech to make sure he's okay with this."

Five minutes pass, and he's back. "I talked to the lead tech and then the store manager. We don't do work on beadlock tires, so we're not going to be able to do this for you." I very politely told him I was extremely disappointed, especially with this DT location, because every time I come here something gets screwed up. I mentioned that we moved our office from another city 30 miles away a few years back, and the DT store in that other city was as much on the exceptional side of the spectrum as yours is on the sucking side of that spectrum. I mentioned the name of the former manager of that store and how he always made sure I was taken care of. He says, "wow! he's the guy who hired and trained me way back when, and you're right - he's a great guy. I'm sorry we've let you down, and here's my card. Whenever you need service here, ask for me. I'll make sure you're taken care of the way he would." But he still wouldn't balance the tires...

I'm glad I have a "concierge" there now, but still disappointed. NashvilleTJ, is your son unhappy with your fatherly performance? Perhaps I could adopt him?

P.S. I called a smaller tire shop that was listed on Hunter's web site as having their Elite road balancer, and the manager said they'd balance them, so I'm dropping them off at lunch and picking up end of day. Hopefully, that goes well...

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Discount is all over the map about what they can and cannot do. Some are sticklers and some like business.

Apparition said:

... and some like business.

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Where I live is the one of the highest growing (population-wise, not even counting illegals) areas in the country. We bought our place 25 miles from any city for the isolation, but COVID caused many new neighbors (who mostly don't know how to live rurally). And the city this DT store is in has been the top-growing city, annually, in the country several times in the past decade. They ain't lookin' for bidness, unfortunately. In fact, I bet if you asked the manager, he'd lament about too much business.

NashvilleTJ said:

I just received an awesome package from Ben ( @MagnumV8 ). You may recall I mentioned welding Ben's rear lower shock mount out in Moab.

Well, we also had another repair out on the trail. Ben spun a rear driveshaft u-joint on Pritchette, and the team helped replace it. After the repair Ben was handing out these wipes. I commented how well they worked, and that they don't totally liquify like the hand cleaner I carried in my rig.

Thanks Ben!

View attachment 536652

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Curious how they compare to the brand Tub O' Towels that I get from Napa.

reddvltj said:

Curious how they compare to the brand Tub O' Towels that I get from Napa.

View attachment 536660

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I keep those in my Jeep and with my carry tool bag. They work well.

NashvilleTJ said:

I just received an awesome package from Ben ( @MagnumV8 ). You may recall I mentioned welding Ben's rear lower shock mount out in Moab.

Well, we also had another repair out on the trail. Ben spun a rear driveshaft u-joint on Pritchette, and the team helped replace it. After the repair Ben was handing out these wipes. I commented how well they worked, and that they don't totally liquify like the hand cleaner I carried in my rig.

Thanks Ben!

View attachment 536652

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I love those things! I don’t have running water in the shop, yet, and those are so good at cleaning with minimal “wetness”!

NashvilleTJ said:

I won't be able to test drive it, as this tire is going back for a warranty replacement, but it does seem to work.

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I'd like to know how long it will hold up with flexing.

reddvltj said:

Curious how they compare to the brand Tub O' Towels that I get from Napa.

View attachment 536660

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I have used these as well, but prefer the Goop ones.

MagnumV8 said:

I have used these as well, but prefer the Goop ones.

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Sorry, just checked, and the other ones I have arent the tub o towels that you mentioned. They could be the same as the goop ones

NashvilleTJ said:

I just received an awesome package from Ben ( @MagnumV8 ). You may recall I mentioned welding Ben's rear lower shock mount out in Moab.

Well, we also had another repair out on the trail. Ben spun a rear driveshaft u-joint on Pritchette, and the team helped replace it. After the repair Ben was handing out these wipes. I commented how well they worked, and that they don't totally liquify like the hand cleaner I carried in my rig.

Thanks Ben!

View attachment 536652

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After using Ben’s goop towels two years ago I bought a couple tubs for myself, I’ve not seen a better towel.

BlueC said:

I keep those in my Jeep and with my carry tool bag. They work well.

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Been using them for a couple years now. First discovered them on a trip to Nor Cal to visit family and the batteries in the folk's motorhome took a crap. decided to try them and been a staple ever since.

NashvilleTJ said:

My guess is the exact same stuff, from the exact same factory. The lid and tub are identical.

Here is the towel:

View attachment 536671

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The description "Rough Towels" leads me to believe the Goop has some kind of abrasiveness in the wipes?
The Tub O Towels is more like if someone made an industrial strength baby wipe with some grease cutting cleaner..
"Not recommended for baby's bottom!!!"

reddvltj said:

The description "Rough Towels" leads me to believe the Goop has some kind of abrasiveness in the wipes?
The Tub O Towels is more like if someone made an industrial strength baby wipe with some grease cutting cleaner..
"Not recommended for baby's bottom!!!"

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Keen observation, there reddvltj! Those orange fibers give the towels a rough feel, and that helps scrub the grime off - like the pumice in Lava soap.

NashvilleTJ said:

I can't imagine that they would hold up to a good rub against a jagged rock, but the intent is to get you off the trail if you are not carrying a spare. Bleepin' Jeep (Matt) tested these exact patches and said they did hold up to some hard wheelin'.

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I used the patch kit on a large combine tire after a deer antler punched 2 holes in it that did not go all the way through the tire but would pack with corn stalks and would eventually go through, it stayed on most of the fall and did finally peel off in one corner. I was impressed it stayed that long.

NashvilleTJ said:

So, I often find that I am not nearly as smart as I think I am...

Since I run beadlocks, I mount my own tires. The toughest thing about changing a tire on a beadlock is breaking the inner bead - which is tough on a big tire.

A few years ago, I build this contraption to break the beads. It bolts top the floor and works fairly well:

View attachment 541464

But it's still a lot of work - and even with the leverage of that 6' tube it takes a good bit of effort to break the inner bead.

You may recall that I cut a sidewall out in Moab a few weeks ago. I ordered a replacement tire (gotta love Discount's road hazard warranty) which came in this week. Now both Nina and I have been pretty sick after getting back from Mexico (Covid, which has really been kicking my ass), and I've not felt anywhere near up to fooling with the tire. But for the last couple of days, I've been on the upswing.

Now I still did not feel up to getting out the bead breaker and going at it, but I wanted to get back out into the shop and do something.

So on a whim, I did this:

View attachment 541465

And man, was that crazy easy! Much, much easier than the old setup, and no need to haul that heavy thing out, bolt it to the floor, and then wrestle the big tire up and onto it. Say what you want about the high lift....

Anyway, got the new tire installed:

View attachment 541466

This week I'll take it in to get balanced, and call it good.

The tough part is now I have to find a place to carry the Hi-Lift on the rig again....

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Much lighter than the hi-lift



https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ERQ68BC?tag=wranglerorg-20

I used a ratchet strap and my badlands offroad trolley jock to break the beads when I installed balance beads. It was CRAZY easy...