Snow tire storage

[Bryan Parlor]

We are having record snow falls this year but fortunately I decided in October to get snow tires on both cars. The problem is where to store the tires year round (all seasons in the winter snows in the summer), at the moment they are in the car port but I want make a wooden structure(s) in the backyard to hold them.

Anyone made anything like this? It should not be another shed.

I notice that the car racing folks have to keep their fancy tires in a climate controlled environment so one solution is to make glass topped coffee tables for the living room with the tires underneath. I was think maybe two pillars (made from large cardboard forms) beside the deck with a table top and the tires inside.

Any neat ideas would be appreciated.

Bryan

[Ben Cadotte]

Keep them out of the sun. UV light is bad for tires. You see alot of campers that cover their tires. Its for this reason. So if you keep them outside, should be kept out of sunlight. Due to lack of use you will have these for some time. So it is something to consider.

[Greg Just]

One method that is possible is to use bicycle lifts like these:

http://www.amazon.com/Racor-Ceiling-Mounted-Bike-Lift-PBH-1R/dp/B00006JBL3

They are only $15.97. If you mount them close to a wall, you can lift the tires up and out of the way.

[Eric DeSilva]

UV light is bad for tires? Er, mine are mounted on the outside of the car and UV light hasn't been a huge problem.

I swapped the low profile tires on my coupe for something a little more winter-friendly a couple months ago. Thought about a little shelf to put them on and keep them from rolling around the garage, but never got around to it. Don't want them up too high, since the idea is to make it convenient to swap them on and off, but a couple 2x4s a foot apart to keep them in place seems like enough.

[James Wellman]

UV light is bad for tires? Er, mine are mounted on the outside of the car and UV light hasn't been a huge problem.

UV Light breaks down the tires over time, as the carbon black breaks down it turns gray. Also a stationary tire does not move the waxes and polymers in the rubber to the surface like a tire on your car so Ozone will eat away the external layer and combined with the UV light it will prematurely age your tires and crack them.

Wash them, spray on a good rubber protector and cover the tire and try to keep them out of the weather. I made a protective shed for my tire/wheel combos that I switched out depending on weather. These were 33" and 35" tires so the shed was rather large but it did the job. The owner of the house uses it as a small garden shed.

James

[Tom Godley]

I hang one set up on the wall -- one tire to a hanger. The other set is stacked in the corner with cardboard between them. Both of my sets are mounted on wheels - I do not swap the hubs for winter/summer.

I have also used a wheel cover -- like the kind you see at the tire store - they are made to cover four stacked tires.

[Norman Pyles]

Might try a large trash bag, or leaf bag.