Industrial tyre installation

Bearcat Tyres, national distributor for the Solideal, CEAT and Duratough brands of industrial tyres and wheels, has added a heavy industrial on-site installation service to its range of goods and services.

Changing heavy industrial tyres and wheels has always been a tough, demanding job, with obvious physical risks to the tyre maintenance crew and the machine itself. Bearcat has removed the risk by designing and building a complete mobile tyre- and wheel-changing unit, able to handle all tyres up to 3 m in diameter.

The base frame consists of an Isuzu 10 t truck, augmented with an imported speciality crane with tyre-hand able to lift 2100 kilos, a heavy-duty compressor (46 cfm at 175 psi), hydraulic 50 t jacks and air-over hydraulic porta-power and bead breaker.

The truck also features a heavy-duty steel body with pullout drawers and safe storage facilities, a full complement of workshop tools, high-intensity work lights, as well as safety beacons and witches cones to isolate a safe working zone.

Operated by remote control, the crane allows the operator to keep clear of the heavy tyres.

The trucks are currently only operating in Sydney and Perth, but the company has plans to have one in each state by the end of the year.