Quieting noisy trash bin wheels

[Sodo]

I have a 400ft gravel driveway.
Part of the driveway goes past some neighbor houses and when we drag the trash bins (3 of them) up & down the driveway I often feel like it's noise the neighbors don't need to hear. When I'm getting the newspaper @ 6AM I like to drag one of the bins back to the house, but don't want to make the noise.

So I decided to change the hard plastic wheels to pneumatic. Harbor Freight had a sale on 10" wheels for $4.99 so for $30,,,, my bins are now quiet. And they seem to roll easier too (ball bearings). Now.... if these dang wheels will just hold air, it will all be good. Prob should fill them with slime NOW.

They're held on with metal caps. Which I could NOT get off.
I could cut them off with an angle grinder but then I'd have to go to the store & buy replacements.

Decided to just cut the axle & re-weld. Fast & easy.

 

[dragoneggs]

I bought those same wheels for a wood storage cart. Slimed them right away. My problem is the loaded cart is too heavy for pneumatic tires.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Those tires go too flat to quickly for my taste. I got the foam filled version.

But my big question it looks like your cans are city owned. I would be worried about them swapping them out, or worse some neighbor stealing your cans (we have it happen all the time, PITA).

 

[Sodo]

There's enough separation I don't think they will be intermingled, and they have the house-number written on them. It wasn't a big expenditure or effort.

At HF when you go thru the stack - lots of them are flat or soft on the shelf. I wonder what they do with those wheels - they can't hardly 'fix' them. Will one can of fix-a-flat would seal a lot of HF wheels? It's not punctures to seal, it's tiny leaks.

At work, they lobbied for foam-filled wheels on the handtrucks. Then bought flat-free wheels; $80 of hand-truck accessories. Those handtrucks don't roll as nicely as a pneumatic tire. I took the old wheels home and they've been holding (some) air for years. I should fill them with fix-a-flat.

 

[Ford850]

There's enough separation I don't think they will be intermingled, and they have the house-number written on them. It wasn't a big expenditure or effort.

At HF when you go thru the stack - lots of them are flat or soft on the shelf. I wonder what they do with those wheels - they can't hardly 'fix' them. Will one can of fix-a-flat would seal a lot of HF wheels? It's not punctures to seal, it's tiny leaks.

At work, they lobbied for foam-filled wheels on the handtrucks. Then bought flat-free wheels; $80 of hand-truck accessories. Those handtrucks don't roll as nicely as a pneumatic tire. I took the old wheels home and they've been holding (some) air for years. I should fill them with fix-a-flat.

I tried an expensive 'flat free' wheel on a wheelbarrow. It was ok when empty or with light loads, but medium to heavy loads were very difficult to push around. I swapped it out for a pneumatic tire and it now rolls easily even when overloaded.
I like your upgrade. I've used those wheels on several hand carts etc, and some hold air better than others. I add air occasionally, and they work well for me.

 

[Dadnatron]

If they go flat, scuff up the inside rim, add some bead sealer, and change out the valve stem core for a new one. 10min and they should never go flat again, unless you make them so.

 

[Travelover]

I wish my neighbors were half as considerate.

 

[Sodo]

So much HarborFreight "rubber" cracks apart after a few years; how long will the tires last? Removing the tubes etc sounds like too much effort inputted.

I'm thinking about this stuff: 32 oz for $10.23. It should seal the core too.
Marathon Flat Free Tire Sealant Bottle, 32-Ounce http://a.co/05diWmV

 

[Big Barn]

This would also work. Might be easier to maneuver with the extra length for leverage.



Terry

 

[Sodo]

Terry that's for me to do - but this is my girls' job.:thumbsup:
But I drag them back to the house (with the newspaper).

I was gonna build a 2" receiver-hitch carrier (with 3 carry hooks) but then decided they can walk once a week.

But I had to use the welder for something, so cut the axle & welded it back.

 

[Big Barn]

I can't imagine not having a newspaper to read in the morning. You and I are probably among the last to have papers delivered.

 

[yomax4]

Nice work. I did similar. Slime 1st. I remember the pesky neighbor kids ( prior to getting out of f'n town ) They had those cool electric cars, ATV's and tractors. The plastic tires were so loud on the blacktop culdesac it drove me nuts. I took an old inner tube and cut 6" tubes out of it and went out and pulled them all over. Stretched the tubes over the tires and the whole neighborhood lived happily ever after until I got the **** out of there. Don't non welding type people ever think of anything like this? Any of you would have done the same thing.

 

[square1]

Another trick (did this to all my kid's hard plastic wheeled ride on toys) is to glue cross sections of an inner tube to the ground contact surface of the hard plastic wheel. Use an inner tube that has a circumference equal to roughly 75% of the wheel circumference. Let them ride it for a while on the plastic to scuff it up, then use contact cement.

 

[Sodo]

My driveway is gravel, so not sure that would work. But yeah thats a simple way to quiet the wheels on pavement or concrete. All good suggestions. And Useful to maintain neighborhood quiet when you forget to take the trash out, then get outta bed @ 1AM....:shocked:

 

[crazyal]

If they go flat, scuff up the inside rim, add some bead sealer, and change out the valve stem core for a new one. 10min and they should never go flat again, unless you make them so.

They are two piece wheels and have an inner tube in them. Look closely you can see the bolts holding the two halves together. If they are going flat it's either a poor quality tube, a hole in the tube, or the valve core is leaking. After all you are paying a could bucks for them so the quality isn't that high. But a leak in a tube is very easy to fix. Just make sure that there's nothing inside the tire or on the steel wheel that's puncturing the tube.

Instead of using these wheels I've been using the wheel barrow wheels. I have a supply of them I bought new from a flee market for about $7 each. They are rated for 500lbs but aren't the flat free type. If there's room to use them I switch over. They also roll easier because they are larger. The hubs do stick out on both sides vs just one like the smaller wheels but it's never been a problem for me.

 

[crazyal]

Nice work. I did similar. Slime 1st. I remember the pesky neighbor kids ( prior to getting out of f'n town ) They had those cool electric cars, ATV's and tractors. The plastic tires were so loud on the blacktop culdesac it drove me nuts. I took an old inner tube and cut 6" tubes out of it and went out and pulled them all over. Stretched the tubes over the tires and the whole neighborhood lived happily ever after until I got the **** out of there. Don't non welding type people ever think of anything like this? Any of you would have done the same thing.

The kids where I use to live did this but not to make them quieter. They did it for traction. Those plastic wheels could barely climb anything without spinning. Once one kid got smart the rest quickly followed.