My buddy had some hubcap type rims that he supplied, put on his truck at a tire shop. He parked the vehicle for the winter and on the weekend took it out to put back on the road. One tire was soft, but when he tried to take off the rim, he couldn't figure out what to do. He eventually found the special tool that came with the rims. I wouldn't have thought you'd need a special tool to take off a rim.