How to Make a Tire Swing

Find and wash an appropriate tire

• Call your local auto mechanic or wrecker. Ask if they have any old tires lying around, and if so, if you can take one.
• Look through the available old tires. Try to find one that’s fairly large, with a wide sidewall for sitting on. I recommend a tire with a 17-inch inner diameter, and sidewalls at least six inches wide. Choosing a tire that’s too small or with sidewalls too narrow results in an uncomfortable swing.
• Bring the tire home and wash it with water, dish soap and a scrub brush.
• Rinse off all the dirt and soap.

Robert Maxwell for Family handyman

Choose and prepare a branch

• Inspect the trees around your house. A mature hardwood tree is your best bet for the swing.
• Look for a branch that sprouts horizontally from the main trunk, at least six inches in diameter at its base.
• Carefully set up an extending ladder against the trunk of the tree, or a foldout ladder directly beneath the branch if it’s low enough.
  • If you’re uncomfortable completing any ladder-related steps yourself, hire a professional arborist.

• Test the strength of the branch by throw a rope over it, then hanging on the rope. If the branch doesn’t bend significantly, you’re probably good to go.
• Climb your ladder with a pruning saw in hand. Trim off any smaller branches sprouting from the main branch. These could get in the way of your swing’s anchor point.

Robert Maxwell for Family handyman

Install eye bolts in tire

• With a flexible measuring tape and white permanent marker, measure and mark three spots along the outer sidewall of the tire, dividing the tire’s total diameter into thirds.
• Drill holes through the sidewall at each marked point using a drill and 1/2-in. bit.
• Install a washer and nut on each eye bolt, threading the nut as high as the bolt will allow.
• Slide each washer and nut-clad eye bolt through one of the holes you’ve drilled in the tire.
• Install a second washer and nut on each eye bolt, on the inside face of the sidewall.
• Tighten the nuts together with a pair of adjustable wrenches. Continue tightening until all the nuts and washers on either side of the sidewall pinch the tire firmly.

Robert Maxwell for Family handyman

Install towing strap

• Put a large and medium-sized openable chain link in your pocket, then grab your heavy-duty towing strap.
• Climb your ladder with the towing strap in hand. When you reach the branch, lay the towing strap over it at least three feet from the tree trunk. Wrap the strap over itself at least once to prevent it from sliding when the swing is in use. Ensure the loops at the ends of the strap are aligned with each other and hanging down below the branch.

Robert Maxwell for Family handyman

• Open the large openable chain link by threading the adjustable section clockwise with your fingers. Then slip it over both towing strap loops. Close the chain link over the strap by threading the adjustable section counterclockwise with your fingers until it won’t rotate any further.
• Open your medium-sized openable chain link. Then loop it through the large openable link. Leave the medium-sized link open for now.

Install chains

• Drape your three lengths of chain over your shoulders, then carefully climb up the ladder.
• Make sure the chain isn’t dangling in a way that might cause you to trip. If the chain is too heavy to carry all three lengths at once, make multiple trips.
• Thread one end of each length of chain onto the medium-sized openable chain link hanging from your towing strap.

Robert Maxwell for Family handyman

• Once you’ve threaded all three lengths onto the link, close the link by rotating the adjustable section counterclockwise with your fingers.

Install tire swing on chains

• Climb down off the ladder, then thread a medium-sized openable chain link over each eye bolt protruding from the tire.
• Have a helper lift and hold the tire just below the three dangling lengths of chain.
• Thread the bottom ends of each chain onto one of your openable chain links attached to the eye bolts and tire, then close the links. Ensure every adjustable chain link you’ve installed is tightly closed by torquing the adjustable section counterclockwise with an adjustable wrench. If you close them this way, they won’t open on their own.

Robert Maxwell for Family handyman

• Inspect the swing to make sure it’s hanging level at an optimal height above the ground. Optimal height varies based on the age and height of your child, so do some trial and error to determine the height they find most comfortable.
• Adjust the height if needed with an adjustable wrench, loosening the openable chain link threaded through the top links of the three strands of chain. Remove this link, then thread it through a lower link of chain to lower the swing. Be sure to re-lock the openable links with your adjustable wrench when you’ve determined the optimal swing height.
• Enjoy your new tire swing!