I’m currently in the midst of finishing my garage, and so all of my cars are currently parked outside. Obviously, my brick is parked outside, so is my wife’s car and my daily driver. Apart from the unfortunate days of walking outside in the rain to get to your vehicle, its really not that big of a deal to park in your driveway. Finishing my garage however, has its own set of challenges, aside from my Volvo XC60 that is.
See, as any car guy can understand, you tend to accumulate a lot of, for a lack of a better word, stuff. Tools, paints, cleaners, waxes, and of course tires. Its easy enough moving most of my paraphernalia around the garage in order to have clear access to all of the walls, but it gets tiring for certain heavy items read; wheels and tires.
I began my quest for tire storage devices, which led me far and wide, but nothing really close to what I wanted. Instead of settling for an expensive rack that I really didn’t want, I decided to build one myself.
It needed to do three things:
- Stack my wheels vertically
- Allow easy movement within the confines of my garage.
- Cost less than a bucket of KFC fried chicken.
All in all, this project cost me about $10-$15 per dolly. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 X 4 lumber
- Wood glue
- 1.5” wood screws (QTY: 16)
- Casters (QTY: 4)
- Ratcheting band clamp
Cut four pieces of lumber, each with a 45 degree angle on the ends. The distance between the longest points of the wood should be 24”. Make sure to keep the small piece you just cut off for later use.
Step 2: Glue it all together
Take your wood glue and your ratcheting band clamp and glue it all together. A helping hand is useful.
Using the small pieces of wood that you saved after cutting your pieces, glue them to the inside corners. This will give a bit of extra support to the lower tire.
Step 3: Attach the casters
Take your handy drill, and preferably a self-centering drill bit, and drill your required holes through the casters into your 2x4s. Try to overlap the casters with the two pieces of wood to give it some extra strength.
I ended up harvesting the casters from a moving dolly as this was the cheapest route.
Using your wood screws, secure the casters to the frame.
Step 4: Pile on your tires
Try not to put any tire dressing on tires you plan on putting into storage. Over long terms, most tire dressings may harm the rubber. It is recommended to put cardboard between each tire, as well as bagging all the tires to protect them. Additionally, make sure you’re storing your tires in a cool, dry environment to preserve them as best you can. Once you take care of the basics, enjoy your new tire storage, and being able to move your wheels and tires around at the push of a finger.
