DENVER — File this one under the “Necessity is the mother of invention” maxim.
Kevin Robinson, a Denver-area car repair shop owner, has designed and patented a shop tool that is built to make tire rotations and new tire installations less strenuous, thereby minimizing the risk of injury from lifting heavy wheels and tires.
The product, dubbed TRAC (Tire Rotation Assistance Cart), was recognized at the recent SEMA Show as the best new product in the Tools & Equipment category.
- This story appears in the Dec. 23 print edition of Tire Business.
Mr. Robinson said he was inspired to design the TRAC after watching techs in his shop, Clean Cars of Denver, struggle with handling tires and wheels during tire servicing.
The TRAC is a mobile tool that supports and lifts/lowers the tire/wheel assembly and allows technicians to move the assembly from one wheel position to another without having to lift or lower it themselves.