I’ve posted before about the plethora of tires on our property! Recently, I was writing a post on ways to upcycle tires for a junkyard’s blog. While we’ve used them before in our bike rack, planter, and a teeter-totter, this post inspired us to find other ways to upcycle tires.
Since adding the play set to the backyard, the kids spend way more time out there. We wanted to add a few more features, and knew some of our old tires would help.
So we took a trip to Grandpa’s junk pile, and loaded the back of the Suburban with some old tires.
The Tractor
Simon LOVES tractors. Well, he really loves anything with a steering wheel and wheels. So, this tire tractor was built with him in mind.
The kids and I tried to install it one afternoon, but we didn’t make much progress. The ground was too hard and dry for me to dig down deep enough. Simon wasn’t too impressed with our progress.
A sprinkler and a husband to the rescue!
After we got the tires placed and secured, it was time for the seat. We found an old metal tractor seat in the junkyard, and it fit perfectly into the tire on the ground.
No tractor is complete without a steering wheel, so Bryan cut the wheel off of a broken riding lawn mower. He drilled a hole in the tire and pushed it through.
In keeping with the tractor theme, we picked up some John Deere inspired spray paint. A couple of coats later, and our tire tractor was complete. Here’s Simon showing you how he uses it. 😀
The kids love it! Even Owen can climb on it safely.
Tire Tetherball
Inspired by this post, we decided to make our own tetherball in the backyard.
I ordered this tetherball from Amazon (aff. link):
Then, we selected a corner of the yard to install it. Bryan picked a tire with a neat looking tread, and found a metal pole around the farm.
Three bags of cement and 24-hours later, we had our own tetherball area!
It’s a bit tall for some of the kids, so we’re thinking about making the rope adjustable. But for now, even Bryan and I enjoy playing a quick game in the evenings.
Painted Tire Table
Our tire table was simple. We just painted two tires of the same size, and added a circular sled on top. The kids can move it around the yard and have a tea party wherever they want.
As a bonus, the top easily comes off to create a hiding space.
Upcycle Tires: Other Projects
We also made some other tire creations to get the pictures I needed for my post, but I’ll tell you about those another day.
I love when we can work together as a family on projects around the farm!
