Tire-Free Rivers

A Guide to Get You Started

Tools of the Trade A hook on a rope works well to haul out a stubborn tire. See Regiment Creek for a demo. You can make your own hook with pieces from your local hardware store.

Use a hand trowel to scoop out the last stubborn muck.

I use a small spade to pry deep-set tires from the muck, and to remove mud from the centre and inside the rims of the tire.

I use an anchor in quick current to steady my boat above a tire.

A power winch would be nice for the big tractor tires, but that takes $$$.

You, or your club, decide to remove the waste tires that litter the bottom of your local stream. You have your reasons, I won't question them, just as you don't question mine. Here are my two cents worth of experience.

 Tire Removal Season 

Here in New Brunswick, the best season for removing tires from riverbeds is August to October, when the water is typically warmer, and streams are at their lower levels. In fact, many tires which are under several metres of cold, quick water in the spring can be resting on a sandbar in September. So it makes sense to wait until late summer or autumn to get at those tires you've been eyeing since the freshet.

 Tips for Easy Tire Removal 

Always go for the easy ones first, small ones in shallow water.

Always go for the easy ones first, small ones in shallow water. Get help for the big ones, and the ones that are stuck deep.

A hook, rope, a come-along, and several more pairs of arms, can come in handy to remove the bigger tractor tires.

Hard-soled footwear and work gloves are musts. Who knows what lurks in the mud?

Note the glass!! Always wear gloves, and scoop all mud with a spade or hand trowel, not your hands.

Usually, the tire is full of mud and grit. Bend at the knees, and lift it off the river bottom a few centimetres. If it's stuck in the mud, use a hook (carefully) to loosen and raise it.

Swish the tire back and forth and up and down in the water to dislodge the muck. Tilt it one side to the other repeatedly, and the muck will slosh out with the river water. Use a hand trowel to scoop out the last stubborn muck.

If the tire is deeply set, a shovel can come in handy to pry it off the mudbank. Digging mud from the middle of the tire can also save time and energy, and spare your back. Poking with the tip inside the rim can also quickly dislodge stubborn muck, especially when the rim's opening is narrow. I use a small folding metal spade myself.

When in doubt, don't risk your back. Leave it until you find someone to help you.

 Careful with that Hook! 

•  Use common sense and be safe! 

  • If you're standing on shore and casting a hook on a rope towards a tire out in the water, toss the hook gently underhand towards the tire. Make sure no one is standing near you.
  • If you're sitting in a boat and attempting to set the hook inside the rim of a tire, don't whirl the hook around or above to get momentum in your cast. Seriously. Steady the boat in the stream directly above the tire and lower the hook with care. If the current is quick, use an anchor.
  • If you use a hook to hold a tire you have removed and shake the mud out of the rim, hold the hook firmly with your hand. Using a hook on a rope can cause injury if the hook slips off the tire's rim and snaps back toward you.
  • If you're in a boat, or on land for that matter, place the hook in a safe position so you don't stumble over it. Ensure the pointy end is pointing away from you and others.

Toss the hook gently underhand towards the tire. Make sure no one is standing near you. Then set the hook in the inner rim of the tire and drag it in to shore.

I'm not patronizing you. I've seen people risk injury by using a hook carelessly.

 Send me your Picture 

When the tire is clean, it's time to take a digital photograph. Pose with your tire, and have your photographer hold the camera in the vertical position. Set your camera at high quality, keep the original. Make a copy, ideally, the photo will be 500 pixels high and 375 pixels long, measuring between 30 and 40 kilobytes. Send it to me, at nanookwww@gmail.com, with your name, date removed, and the name of the river and jurisdiction, and I will post it on my site. It will be featured on the splash page until a new tire photo is sent in.

Or don't, as you wish.

 Send the Tire for Proper Waste Management 

Then it is up to you to contact your local waste management authority and arrange for proper disposal/recycling of the tire. I understand that this is not easy in some jurisdictions. In New Hampshire, for instance, it costs $25 to put a tire in the landfill. But it might not cost where you live. Check it out.

A week's worth of tires from the Nashwaak and Saint John Rivers lies behind the local service station, awaiting pickup and delivery to the TRACC recycling plant in Minto.

In New Brunswick, where I live, the tire can be dropped off for free at any service station where waste tires are routinely removed from vehicles. These tires are set out for pickup by a private contractor, and delivered to their tire recycling plant in Minto. Be sure to get the permission of the service station manager before you add your tires to their collection, otherwise he or she will be wondering what you are doing.

This tire has wedged itself onto a tree root in the mud and behind a stump. It's just upstream of the piers from the old Charles Avenue bridge at the mouth of the Nashwaak. I can't get this one ... without help, anyway.

Oh yeah, you might want to put a tarp on the floor of your vehicle, as dirty water may still be trapped inside the curled inner lip of the tire.

 You Can't Get Them All 

Some tires are too deep. Others are wedged in roots. Then others still are too big and heavy. Leave them be, their time will come.

 Don't Get Addicted 

One final tip: Don't get addicted. When I am gliding in my canoe, and I see a tire lying on the river bottom beneath my boat, I feel a powerful urge to remove it. I know I won't stop before every last tire is out from the mouth of the Nashwaak River near my home.

Beware, don't let this compulsion overcome you. Ha!

Tire-Free Rivers is a non-profit volunteer crusade. Tire-Free Rivers is not affiliated with anything else. Nobody makes any money doing this.

Home Tire-Free Rivers Message Board!

Tireside Chats Most recently removed tire! Current single-haul record! Current team-haul record! Guestbk

Tire-Free Rivers Guide Click here to see the Gallery!

Tire-Free Rivers Official T-shirts Non-profit! Powered by

My Secret River New Brunswick Paddling Tales Hot Links