Harbor Freight Tire Changer (Pittsburgh 58731): Specs, Limits, Upgrades and Amazon Alternatives

Most searches for a manual tire changer end at one machine: the floor-post stand from Harbor Freight. This page describes it from its product page and from a copy of its owner's manual, says plainly where you buy it, and shows what our selection has around it. We earn nothing when you buy the Pittsburgh changer at Harbor Freight; the Amazon products further down are alternatives and upgrades, and they are marked as such.

Who is behind it

Harbor Freight is a U.S. tool retailer with its own stores and house brands. Pittsburgh is one of them, Maddox another. House-brand products are sold through Harbor Freight's stores and website. That is why the Pittsburgh tire changer is not in our selection, and why this page links to the Harbor Freight product page as its source.

The Pittsburgh manual tire changer, item 58731

Stated range: 8 in. to light truck (7-1/2 in. x 16), flotation tires up to 12.5L16

8 in. to 16 in.

Height (product page)

36 in.

Warranty (product page)

90 days

Price class

Budget

According to the product page the changer is of all-steel construction, has a predrilled base for secure installation and needs no power hookups or pneumatic lines to operate. The page also describes it as designed to protect inner tubes. It is a manual tire changer in the plain sense: a post on a base plate, a bead-breaker arm near the floor and a long bar that levers the tire off and onto a one-piece rim.

Harbor Freight notes that specifications are approximate and subject to change, and prices move with coupons and offers. Check the product page before you drive to the store.

Where the manual draws the line

The product page is short. The limits are in the owner's manual. Harbor Freight's own PDF of the manual could not be opened from our location, so we read the copy on ManualsLib, a 13-page document with a 2022 copyright notice. Every statement about the manual on this page rests on that copy, and we paraphrase it.

Two of these are worth a second look. “Light truck” sounds like a current pickup, but the bracket says 16 in. rims, not today's 17 to 22 in. pickup wheels. And the rim caution is the manual's own; we read it to mean that the machine is for wheels where a mark is acceptable.

Strengths and weaknesses

For whom: owners of steel and basic alloy wheels up to 16 in. on cars, trailers and older light trucks, with a place to anchor the stand and patience for a learning curve. Not for whom: anyone with 17 in. or larger wheels, low-profile tires or rims that must stay unmarked. The page are manual tire changers worth it goes through that decision.

Mounting it

AI-generated

The base is predrilled. According to the manual copy the changer is not to be used without mounting it to the floor, and only on a secure, level surface that can support the weight of changer and tire. The assembly steps have the base mounted through the mounting holes at the ends of the base parts and name a wood pallet or a concrete floor as examples of the surface. A note asks for a floor surface at least 4 in. deep, and the safety section says to verify that there are no hidden utility lines before drilling or driving screws.

The manual copy says nothing more about the pallet: no size, no weight, no way of loading it. Hitch-receiver mounts are a user solution that neither the product page nor the manual copy mentions. The page on portable tire changers sorts the options.

Upgrades owners look for

The plain bar tip and the fit of the wheel on the post are what the most-searched upgrades address. Our selection has parts for both from seller brands. Harbor Freight publishes no fit for third-party parts, so every fit statement below is the seller's. The manual goes further: among its safety points it says to use the changer only with the accessories that came with it and not to alter it for jobs it was not built for. Anything below is therefore outside what the manual covers, and fitting it is your own decision.

• Duck head kit. A mount/demount head in place of the bare bar tip reduces steel-on-rim contact. The EXODIOS duck head kit^* (paid link) is a kit that its seller lists for manual tire changers; measure your post and compare it with the listing first. Kits and limits are compared on the page about duck head kits. A kit does not raise the 16 in. limit of the manual.
• Centering cone. The AFEISOL centering cone^* (paid link) is listed for manual tire changers and, according to the seller, made of billet aluminum. Fit depends on the post and on the hub bore of your wheels.

Amazon alternatives to the Pittsburgh changer

If there is no store nearby, or you want the stand delivered, our selection has the same layout from other brands. These are alternatives, not the Harbor Freight machine.

Amazon alternativeAd

VEVOR

VEVOR Manual Changer 8–16 in.

The Amazon counterpart to the store-bought reference machine: post, bead breaker and lever bar for 8 to 16 inch wheels.

Why here: Same layout, same 8 to 16 in. range and same price class as the Pittsburgh changer, and its maker states the specifications on its own product page.

Best for: Steel and basic alloy wheels up to 16 in. on cars, trailers and older light trucks, in a garage where the base can be bolted down.

Type

Floor-post changer with bead breaker

Wheel range

8–16 in. (manufacturer)

Mounting

Bolt-down base, three holes

Weight

30.9 lb

Size

18.1 x 15 x 37 in.

Price class

Budget

What it does well

• Stated range of 8 to 16 in., the range the reference manual of this design covers
• Bead breaker and mounting post in one stand; no power or air line needed
• Base with three mounting holes for bolting down (manufacturer)
• Same price class as the Harbor Freight machine, delivered to the door

Where it falls short

• Has to be bolted to the floor or to a base that takes the lever force
• Stops at 16 in.; not for 17 in. and larger or low-profile wheels
• Steel bar on the rim edge: marks on alloy wheels are possible
• The maker's page states no warranty terms, and we have not read the user manual

View on Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on AmazonRead the comparison

According to VEVOR its changer covers 8 to 16 in. tires, weighs 30.9 lb and has a base with three mounting holes; the brand and the open points in its own pages are described under VEVOR manual tire changer. A second stand of this layout, known from seller data only and not a pick, is the TUFFIOM changer^* (paid link), listed for 8 to 16 in. tires according to the seller; for that one we have the listing only. Whether parts interchange with the Pittsburgh is not documented. All stands are side by side in the comparison of the best manual tire changers.

Using it safely

The owner's manual of your machine comes first. In the manual copy, the mounting steps end with inflating the tire to the proper pressure, checking for leaks and having the tire balanced by a qualified automotive technician, with a warning not to over-inflate. It names no pressure figure for seating beads and mentions neither a safety cage nor a restraint.

Our guide on how to use a manual tire changer follows the same order of work and adds what the tire makers say about the step with the highest risk, inflation: never more than 40 psi to seat beads. They also call for a safety cage or other restraining device if the machine has no positive lock-down device that holds the wheel. Treating a floor-post changer as such a machine is our own cautious reading, not a statement from the manual. If the beads are not seated at 40 psi, deflate completely, reposition the tire on the rim, relubricate and reinflate. The details are on the page how to seat a tire bead.

Other Harbor Freight tire tools

Harbor Freight also sells the Pittsburgh Mini-Tire Changer, item 58920, with a stated capacity of 4 in. to 10 in. rims for ATVs, golf carts and other off-highway vehicles, and bead breakers and tire irons under its house brands. We have not read their manuals and do not assess them here. Its motorcycle stand is described under Harbor Freight motorcycle tire changer, its two balancers under Harbor Freight wheel balancers, and a third-party duck-head attachment made for this kind of machine under Lucid Autowerks Ultimate Manual Tire Changer. For small wheels and stiff sidewalls, the types are explained on the page about tire bead breakers, and the overview of manual tire changers shows which tool suits which wheel.

More Harbor Freight tools on this site

• Harbor Freight mini changerThe Pittsburgh Mini-Tire Changer, Harbor Freight item 58920, is stated for 4 to 10 in. rims and named for ATVs, golf carts and other off-highway vehicles. It is 16 in. tall, has a 90-day warranty and includes bead breaker handles, a mount/demount tool, a centering cone and nylon spacers. It is not in our selection. For rims of 8 in. and larger on cars and trailers, the full-size Pittsburgh changer or a floor-post changer is the documented tool.
• Harbor Freight bead breakersThe Maddox Manual Bead Breaker (item 58918) is a 10 lb steel clamp tool with a screw-action foot for tires up to 14 ply and rims up to 42 in.; Harbor Freight recommends it for steel wheels and says it may damage aluminum alloy wheels. The Pittsburgh Bead Breaker (item 58769) is a floor lever with a wide base. Both are sold by Harbor Freight only. On Amazon, screw-driven clamp tools from VEVOR and BeadBuster work on the Maddox principle; we list no lever stand there.
• Harbor Freight motorcycle standHarbor Freight sells one motorcycle tire changer of its own brand: the Pittsburgh Motorcycle Tire Change Stand with Bead Breaker, item 58770. Its product page names a 15-3/4 in. wheel rest ring for tire sizes up to 28 in., a 27 in. adjustable bead breaking arm, plastic rim protectors and a wingnut that holds the wheel. It has no mount/demount head, so you still need tire irons. It is not in our selection.
• Harbor Freight wheel balancersTwo Pittsburgh models. The Portable Wheel Balancer, item 59140, is a bubble balancer: wheels up to 15 in., hubs from 1-1/2 to 4-1/4 in., for light truck, automobile and light-duty trailer tires. The Motorcycle Wheel Balancing Stand, item 58738, is stated for axles from 1/2 to 1-1/8 in. and tires up to 10 in. wide and 28 in. in diameter. Both have a 90-day warranty and correct static imbalance in one plane only.