New Leverless Wheel Service

By Author: Brian Davis
Total Articles: 20
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The Ranger RX3040 features the latest in touchless wheel-service technology and provides your shop with the most advanced tire changing capabilities on the planet. Put those tire irons and levers away because you don't need them. The RX3040 is a hydraulic powered workhorse designed to work on all wheels without damaging the rim and without the use of clumsy toolbars, bead locks or tire levers.

Why risk the chance of damaging expensive wheels when you can go touchless? With the Ranger RX3040, tire irons and levers become a thing of the past. The unique reversible tool head effortlessly mounts and dismounts the most stubborn tires with no wheel contact. Ergonomic joystick control combined with a precision hydraulic actuator allows you to inch the bead hook or lifting tip into position for gentle handling of delicate alloy wheels. Take your pick; a durable Nylon tool head or hardened steel with replaceable nylon inserts. Both come standard giving you the option to choose just the right tool to make those delicate services as simple as can be.

The Ranger RX3040 is a durable day-to-day performer with the flexibility ...
... to service a wide variety of wheels with ease; including OEM configurations and exotic performance wheels with ease. The full-menu of time saving features includes automatically operated bead breaker rollers with controlled penetration and loads of power, a power-assist traveling drop-center arm, and a power-drop assist roller that allows you to change even difficult run-flats and low-profiles with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. So whether you're dealing with standard steel wheels or expensive custom alloys, you can tackle them with confidence.

No More Heavy Lifting
An integrated wheel lift with easy-guide rollers helps facilitate the handling of heavy wheels and virtually eliminates operator injury.

Powerful Assistant Tools
A powerful pneumatic drop-center tool dramatically reduces the effort required to change tough-sidewall tires. Workers can concentrate on working safer and more efficiently. This must-have feature holds tire sidewalls in the drop-center area of the wheel then follows the bead around as the tire mounts. The reversible drop-center tool also doubles as a convenient tire hook for lifting tires up and off the wheel flange, reducing the effort required to demount the lower bead. A power-drop top bead assist roller helps position top beads at an optimum position during both removal and installation of tough sidewall tires.

Quick and Precise Set-Up
Tires are secured to the changer in the same manner as a wheel balancer for user familiarity and super-fast set up times. A rubber base mount combined with multi-size center cones and a patented no-mar "Quick-Nut" makes mounting wheels fast and easy while reducing the risk of wheel damage.

Wide Service Range
The Ranger RX3040 provides an expanded service range of 10" - 30" to 22" wide, giving you the ability to work efficiently on a variety of wheel styles and sizes.

Powerful Bead Breaker
Automatically operated bead breaker rollers feature controlled penetration to easily loosen even the most stubborn and awkward beads.

RimGuardâ„¢ Technology
Ranger RimGuardâ„¢ Technology means expensive wheels are handled with greater care, resulting in less damage and increased work efficiency. A single automatically operated tool head mounts and demounts tires without touching the wheel or requiring levers of any kind. The RX3040 comes standard with a durable Nylon tool head or a hardened steel tool head with Nylon inserts.

Target-Lock Precision
Our exclusive Target-Lockâ„¢ button located on the joystick control provides automatic locating of both the tool head pulling tip and the mounting tip to an exact fixed point 1/8" away from the wheel edge. This non-touch feature ensures that no contact is made with the wheel during mounting and dismounting procedures. Precise position-sensing data from the robotic upper bead roller generates the exact coordinates for the Target-Lockâ„¢ tool head, making underside tool positioning as easy as pushing a button.

Easy View Camera and LCD Monitor
The RX3040 features a built-in camera and a large, full-color LCD monitor for a full view of underside operations.

Maximum Power at Every Step
The RX3040 has conveniently-placed foot pedals to give operators precise control at all times. The powerful turntable works systematically at a controlled speed for easy tire removal and installation. The smooth, effortless, power delivery of the 3-HP motor and 3000 PSI hydraulic power unit provides multi-speed install performance, even on tires with stubborn beads. Reversible direction offers operators the ability to back up in the event of turntable stall during stubborn bead installation.

Powerful Bead Seating & Inflation
A handheld turbo-blast nozzle allows technicians to direct a powerful burst of compressed air precisely where needed to seat even the toughest stubborn beads in seconds. A simple slide valve requires two-hand operation to protect operators from accidental discharge. Integrated tire inflation system features air-surge pulse inflation for faster inflation speed and improved bead seating. A large, easy-to-read pressure gauge with built-in pressure limiter and air dump valve simplifies tire inflation.

European Technology Combined with Italian-Made Hydraulics
The RX3040 gets its muscle from an Italian-made rear-mounted hydraulic power unit that puts out an impressive 3000 PSI. This high pressure hydraulic power is harnessed specifically to control the wheel mount pedestal movement, bead rollers and tool head operations. 3000 PSI translates to over 10,000 pounds of combined bead breaker force and massive power at the tool head. Having extra power where you need it means stiff sidewall tires yield easily simplifying all mounting and demounting procedures. The external rear mount design provides easy access for service, while providing protection for the motor, manifolds and pump components. The five-station hydraulic manifold revolutionizes the RX3040 hydraulic control circuitry. Rather than using multiple external manifolds and independent valve assemblies, the five-station hydraulic manifold features Italian-made hydraulic solenoids with only two moving components, eliminating all concerns related to on-site adjustment, oil leaks or hydraulic component failure.

Precision Control Valves
The RX3040 features high-precision foot pedal control valves that will withstand high-use in large volume tire shops. Aluminum-alloy valve bodies with durable, corrosion resistant stainless steel spools are combined with a high precision finish for maximum seal life.

Extra Wheel Protection
As added precaution, Ranger provides you with all the necessary tools to ensure wheel damage is minimized during wheel service operations. Our total-care package includes replaceable nylon inserts for the steel tool head, replaceable nylon remount and dismount heads, rubber pedestal cover, spare drop-center pull hook tool head and a no-mar Quick-Nut.

Mounting Cone Package
When you purchase a performance changer, you should receive a performance tool package. We like to call our tooling package the Total Performance Package with an added bonus. Not only do we give you our standard car and light truck cones, we include our heavy-duty truck cone as well. Our Total Performance Package includes three automotive and light truck cones covering hub sizes 2.00-2.75, 2.75-4.00 and 4.00-6.00 and one heavy-duty truck cone that fits hub sizes 5.50 - 6.50.

Environmentally Responsible Power Delivery
As the world's premier manufacturer of automotive service products, we take environmental concerns very seriously. We engineer our products to work great and offer tremendous value, but also design them in a way that reduces energy consumption and green-house gases. As part of our ongoing "think-green" initiatives, the RX3040 features Auto-Shutdown Technology which switches off key power system components after 15 seconds of inactivity. This proprietary power-saving technology shuts off the pump and motor when the machine is at idle, representing tremendous savings in energy-use and minimizing wear and tear on critical operating components. Auto-Shutdown Technology also reduces background noise, creating a more environmentally responsible workplace.

Brian Davis is an espert on automotive service equipment and has written many articles on the subject. See more about the Ranger RX3040 HERE
See more automotive service equipment HERE