Ranger R80EX Tilt Back / Dual-Tower Assist / 34" Clamping Capacity

Count the towers. Most assist-equipped tire changers carry one, on the right, and every awkward tire has to be worked from that side. The R80EX carries two — left and right — each with its own traveling drop-centre hold-down, bead lifting disc and assist roller. The tire is held down on both sides of the rim at once while the tool works, which is the difference between coaxing a stiff sidewall into the drop centre and simply putting it there.

That is the whole design argument for this machine. Low-profile, run-flat and heavy light-truck tires are defeated by the bead refusing to sit in the well, not by a lack of power, and a second assist tower attacks the problem from the side a single tower cannot reach. Add a tilt-back tower design, so the duck head does not need resetting between wheel combinations, and the R80EX is built for a bay that sees a different wheel every time.

What to confirm about the clamping ranges

The turntable clamps with four adjustable RimGuard wheel clamps, driven by dual pneumatic cylinders, working internally or externally. The specification table on this page gives the internal clamping range as 10" - 30" (254 mm - 762 mm) and the external range as 13" - 34" (305 mm - 864 mm), which is where the 34" clamping capacity in the product name comes from.

One point to confirm before you order. Published sources differ on which of those two ranges is which. A separate Ranger data field reverses the labels, giving the internal range as the wider figure and the external as the narrower. The four figures themselves are consistent everywhere; only the assignment differs. If your work sits at the extremes — very large wheels clamped externally, or small wheels clamped from the inside — confirm the assignment with us before you order and we will check it against the current Ranger specification sheet.

The same applies to one more figure. The specification table gives a maximum rim width of 15" (381 mm); a separate data field records 18". Both are printed here, each attributed to its source, and neither is presented as the specification. If maximum rim width decides your purchase, confirm it with us in writing before ordering. Maximum tire diameter is not affected: 47" (1,194 mm).

Bead loosening, and the part that corrodes

The bead loosener is bilateral and power-controlled, worked by a single lever on the shovel handle — one control, one hand, and the operator's other hand free and out of the way. Its cylinder is stainless steel, which sounds like a detail until you consider where a bead loosener lives: at floor level, in the water and tire soap that ends up on every tire bay floor. That is the component that rusts first on a cheaper machine and it is the one that has to move smoothly for the tool to be controllable.

Above it, the tabletop is a geometric design that leaves the bead visible for inspection and reachable for lubrication — the two things that most reduce tire damage during mounting, and both of them are simply about being able to see and reach what you are doing.

Inflation, restraint and the Turbo-Blast system

The machine includes a Turbo-Blast bead seating system, an inflation gauge with an integrated air dump valve, an inflation pressure regulator and limiter, a wheel centring and inflation restraint device that is pneumatic and non-marring, and a built-in tire iron slot.

Read that list as a safety system rather than a feature list. Seating a stubborn bead is the most dangerous moment in tire service; a restraint that holds the assembly, a limiter that caps the pressure and a dump valve that releases it instantly are what keep the moment routine. The air supply requirement is 110-175 PSI (8-12 BAR) — check what your shop air actually holds under demand, not what the gauge reads at rest.

Will It Fit?

The recommended footprint is 72" x 70" x 76" (1,829 mm x 1,778 mm x 1,930 mm). That is not the machine's own size — it is the working envelope, including room for the towers to move and the operator to stand, and it is the figure to mark on the floor before you order. A tilt-back tower needs clearance behind it, so do not push it against a wall.

Power is 3 HP at 220 VAC, 50-60 Hz, so this is a wired installation rather than a plug-in machine; confirming the supply with your electrician in advance is the customer's responsibility. Air, as above, has to be genuinely available at pressure.

It arrives at 1,256 lbs. (570 kg), crated at 65" x 60" x 72" (1,651 mm x 1,524 mm x 1,829 mm). Measure the route in, including the doorway height and any turn.

Perfect For

• High-volume tire centres — dual assist towers are aimed directly at floor-to-floor time on difficult tires.
• Shops seeing modern low-profile and run-flat fitments, where a single-assist machine turns each job into a fight.
• Light truck and SUV work — the external clamping capacity is what the name is built around.
• Bays with mixed daily work, where the tilt-back tower saves a reset on every change of wheel type.

What's in the Box

The changer with its tilt-back tower design, dual left and right power assist towers with upper bead assist rollers and dual power-drop, traveling drop-centre hold-down devices, four adjustable RimGuard wheel clamps on dual pneumatic cylinders, the bilateral power-controlled bead loosener with single-lever shovel-handle control and pneumatic blade, the Turbo-Blast bead seating system, wheel centring and inflation restraint device, inflation gauge with integrated air dump valve, inflation pressure regulator and limiter, water filter with oiler and lubricator, air regulator, tire iron and bead lever tool, a large soap and lubricator bucket, a brush, and tool tray and bin storage.

Optional, not included: motorcycle turntable clamps.

Specifications

Certification, honestly

No third-party safety listing is claimed in this product's data, and we are not going to write one onto the page. A manufacturer's own declaration of conformity is a different document from an independent laboratory listing of the finished machine, and some insurers, franchise standards and workplace inspectors ask for the second specifically on powered equipment — which a machine with a pneumatic inflation restraint device may well attract.

If your site has that requirement, tell us before you order and we will confirm what documentation Ranger issues for this model rather than let you assume it exists.

Shipping and delivery

Crated freight to the lower 48 states, free of charge.

At 1,256 lbs. this is a forklift or loading dock delivery. The driver's responsibility ends at the tailgate and nothing beyond it, so have the equipment on site or choose terminal pickup and collect the crate from the carrier yourself. A pallet jack alone, on anything other than smooth level ground, is not a plan for a crate this size. A home address is a residential delivery and carries a residential fee. In-person collection is also available from the pickup locations listed further down this page.

Inspect the crate before signing. Damage recorded on the bill of lading in front of the driver is claimable; damage found after a clean signature usually is not. On this machine, look at the tower tops and the display side of the crate first — they are what catches on a trailer door.

Warranty

Ranger's warranty document covering this changer is linked in the downloads on this page. The term and its conditions are set out there, and that document is what any claim is settled against, so read it rather than take a paraphrase from us.

One rule of ours protects the cover: if a tower, a cylinder or the bead loosener develops a fault, leave the machine assembled and call us first. A pneumatic assembly that has already been opened cannot be assessed for what failed and in what order, and a straightforward claim turns into an argument.