average labor cost to change 2 main tires on 210?

rbridges

rbridges

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rbridges
my buddy had a flat tire recently. Long story short: he bought 2 tubes and 2 tires from Spruce and had them delivered. The shop in middle Georgia charged $381 labor to change them. The receipt said flat rate. Nothing out of the ordinary. Charged him for cotter pins and lock washer so it doesn't appear they ran into any problems. The labor seems high to me. What do you think?
 
rbridges said:
my buddy had a flat tire recently. Long story short: he bought 2 tubes and 2 tires from Spruce and had them delivered. The shop in middle Georgia charged $381 labor to change them. The receipt said flat rate. Nothing out of the ordinary. Charged him for cotter pins and lock washer so it doesn't appear they ran into any problems. The labor seems high to me. What do you think?
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A little high for what or shop charges. We charge hourly and things like cotter pins are expendable items. Or shop pays for them.


But the price doesn't seem unreasonable.
 
That would sound about right if they had to remove and replace a stubborn wheel fairing. Without a fairing it seems to me it shouldn't take more than 3 hours of shop time at $95/hr to do the work (and document it).
 
thanks. I talked with my IA while he was changing the main on my mooney. Didn't seem to take long relative to what my friend's shop charged. Oh well, cost of airplane ownership I guess.
 
rbridges said:
my buddy had a flat tire recently. Long story short: he bought 2 tubes and 2 tires from Spruce and had them delivered. The shop in middle Georgia charged $381 labor to change them. The receipt said flat rate. Nothing out of the ordinary. Charged him for cotter pins and lock washer so it doesn't appear they ran into any problems. The labor seems high to me. What do you think?
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What do I think?

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They told him to bend over and grab his ankles, guessing he didn't have access to a jack and some basic tools to change it himself?

People who will pay those rates, that's how aviation becomes expensive.





Brad Z said:
That would sound about right if they had to remove and replace a stubborn wheel fairing. Without a fairing it seems to me it shouldn't take more than 3 hours of shop time at $95/hr to do the work (and document it).
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It's a 210, that's a RG, no wheels pants.

3hrs? Maybe if it's your first time changing a tire.
 
A friend of mine had two tires changed on a small plane with fixed gear and no wheel pants. Total including tires was ~$400
 
James331 said:
It's a 210, that's a RG, no wheels pants.

3hrs? Maybe if it's your first time changing a tire.
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Thanks, I familiar with 210s. I'm pretty sure most mechanics could do it in less than 3 hours, but 3 hours is the max of what I'd consider reasonable. Wasn't that the question?
 
Brad Z said:
Thanks, I familiar with 210s. I'm pretty sure most mechanics could do it in less than 3 hours, but 3 hours is the max of what I'd consider reasonable. Wasn't that the question?
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But anything close to 3hrs, I'd expect the guy doing the job to be a non mechanic changing his own tire, or learning and changing, for the first time.



210 appears to sport a 6x6, spruce has airhawks for $75 each.
 
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James331 said:
I'd didn't ask one.

But anything close to 3hrs, I'd expect the guy doing the job to be a non mechanic changing his own tire, or learning and changing, for the first time.
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James, that's what I was thinking. If we had the jacks, we could have done it ourselves. Someone charging close to $100/hr shouldn't take 4 hrs.
 
rbridges said:
Someone charging close to $100/hr shouldn't take 4 hrs.
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My thoughts exactly. :nod:
You can pay a bad mechanic $150 for 5 hours. Or you can pay a good mechanic $150 for 1.5 hours. The final cost should be the same, it just depends on how well and fast it is done.
 
they had to swing the gear and might have balanced them and i would have added some profit for the owner supplied tires and tubes
 
Doesn't even take the wing jacks if you're just changing the tire. A normal floor or bottle jack with a block of wood can lift the tubular leg up enough to remove the tire. Remove the brake caliper, pull the cotter pin, unscrew the bolt and remove the wheel. Undo the bolts holding the split wheel together, remove the old tire, reverse the process to put the new one on.

Why would you swing the gear? Additional profit they seem to have plenty of.
 
flyingron said:
Why would you swing the gear? Additional profit they seem to have plenty of.
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Because theoretically the tire might be a slightly different size and could get stuck in the wheel well, not allowing you to extend the gear again.

I've never seen a gear well that tight but I have seen an FAA document recommending a gear swing after a tire change before. I think it was an advisory circular, but I can't remember.
 
And if it is just changing a tire, sure, it can be done quick. Removing old weights, cleaning the rim, gluing that dumb sticker back on the wheel that has the torque value since someone else put wheel weights over it, this all takes time to make it right. Now if you just want a tire slapped on the rim with ten years of brake dust stuck to it and sticky brake caliper pins, pay someone $100 to do it.
 
Wheel weights? Surely you jest.
If you got ten years of dust in your brake calibers, you need to find a new mechanic to do your annual (or do some of your own maintenance).
 
This is one of those learning situations. Set the scope of work and nail down the price before the work is commissioned.

"What will you charge to replace the two MLG tires with owner supplied tires and tubes? Please do not include repacking the wheel bearings in the scope of work."

But does ~$400 surprise me? It seem pretty stout, but not outrageous. I'd say that job should take 2-2.5 hours for someone who does it for a living. A gear swing would be extra.
 
flyingron said:
Wheel weights? Surely you jest.
If you got ten years of dust in your brake calibers, you need to find a new mechanic to do your annual (or do some of your own maintenance).
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I typically find both those things on wheels when changing tires.
 
kyleb said:
This is one of those learning situations. Set the scope of work and nail down the price before the work is commissioned.

"What will you charge to replace the two MLG tires with owner supplied tires and tubes? Please do not include repacking the wheel bearings in the scope of work."

But does ~$400 surprise me? It seem pretty stout, but not outrageous. I'd say that job should take 2-2.5 hours for someone who does it for a living. A gear swing would be extra.
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Why wouldn't you want the bearings repacked?
 
About $100 a tire seems reasonable. That's what I pay on a retract, I already had the tire & tube.
 
mondtster said:
Because theoretically the tire might be a slightly different size and could get stuck in the wheel well, not allowing you to extend the gear again.

I've never seen a gear well that tight but I have seen an FAA document recommending a gear swing after a tire change before. I think it was an advisory circular, but I can't remember.
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No.

The big boys don't even do that, unless you're putting a non book size tire on, I don't see a need
 
James331 said:
No.

The big boys don't even do that, unless you're putting a non book size tire on, I don't see a need
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The AC was referring to retread tires, if I remember correctly. Also, just because a tire is listed as a certain size doesn't mean they're the same diameter. I've measured a few before because I was curious how close they were.

I don't care whether you or anyone else does a retraction test or not. Some shops might want to do one however, because there is guidance suggesting doing it.
 
JOhnH said:
You typically find 10 years of brake dust on a plane that undergoes an annual every year?
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When they come to us for the first time, we often find aircraft with thick, caked on grime on the wheels.

It is similar to finding a puddle of old LPS on the inside of wings or really old grimy grease in the wheel wells of retractable gear aircraft. Owners don't want to pay for cleaning, A&Ps/IAs don't require it be cleaned or are just laze so it doesn't get done.

Another example is finding bundles of old wires behind the panel that are no longer used. Owners don't want to pay for the time to remove them so it gets neglected until it is a serious problem.
 
mondtster said:
The AC was referring to retread tires, if I remember correctly. Also, just because a tire is listed as a certain size doesn't mean they're the same diameter. I've measured a few before because I was curious how close they were.

I don't care whether you or anyone else does a retraction test or not. Some shops might want to do one however, because there is guidance suggesting doing it.
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That would be a really bad retread, or you could just take 30 seconds with a tape measure.

But who am I to stand between a mechanic and his mortage payments.
 
Joshuajayg said:
When they come to us for the first time, we often find aircraft with thick, caked on grime on the wheels.

It is similar to finding a puddle of old LPS on the inside of wings or really old grimy grease in the wheel wells of retractable gear aircraft. Owners don't want to pay for cleaning, A&Ps/IAs don't require it be cleaned or are just laze so it doesn't get done.

Another example is finding bundles of old wires behind the panel that are no longer used. Owners don't want to pay for the time to remove them so it gets neglected until it is a serious problem.
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I believe you. But that is not the way I, or any of my A&P/IAs work. If they did, they would not be my A&P for long.
 
JOhnH said:
I believe you. But that is not the way I, or any of my A&P/IAs work. If they did, they would not be my A&P for long.
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And that is a good thing. Repairing others' repairs is a ridiculous task.
 
Joshuajayg said:
When they come to us for the first time, we often find aircraft with thick, caked on grime on the wheels.

It is similar to finding a puddle of old LPS on the inside of wings or really old grimy grease in the wheel wells of retractable gear aircraft. Owners don't want to pay for cleaning, A&Ps/IAs don't require it be cleaned or are just laze so it doesn't get done.
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I don't know anyone that can inspect through thick grime.
 
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