How do you supply tyre bay equipment to an island that has no cars or roads?

Well Automotive Garage Equipment have achieved the near impossible and done it.
To celebrate 5 successful years of their web site at www.agequipment.co.uk they decided to attempt to get a tyre changer to as remote a place as realistically possible. Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel was the chosen location for this enterprise.

Lundy Island from the air.

Island maintenance manager Roger was delighted with their proposal to donate a tyre fitting machine to the island as he currently has to either ship wheel and tyre assemblies back to the mainland for changing or change tyres in a rather physical, time consuming and potentially tyre and wheel damaging procedure. Automotive Garage Equipment decided to donate one of the last reconditioned machines that they will do, as costs and the [competitively priced new machines] they sell are making it uneconomical to do many more. The machine was completely stripped, shotblasted and re powder coated by [Redditch Shotblasting], recognised as one of the best shotblasters and powder coaters in the country. Machine parts were then reconditioned with worn parts being replaced. The machine was then re assembled and tested with a Dunlop Motorsport rally tyre. The machine was then taken to Illfracombe ready to be placed on the M.S. Oldenburg ready for shipping along the Bristol Channel into the Atlantic and on to the remote Island of Lundy.

Tyre changer being hoisted onto M.S. Oldenburg

Fortunately for the machine and passengers it was a fine crossing.

Approaching Lundy

Upon arrival at Lundy the machine was hoisted off the boat, lowered onto a tractor and taken up the steep path to Rogers workshop in the small village on the Island.

Tyre changer in place.

The machine will now be used by Roger to maintain the tyres on the islands 2 Landrovers and their fleet of quad bikes.

Official handing over of the lever

Automotive Garage Equipment would like to take this opportunity to thank all of their customers over the years that have enabled them to make this donation.

You can find out more information about Lundy Island at www.lundyisland.co.uk