Handling Filled Tires

[Gary Fowler]

I am thinking maybe a ratchet strap tightened a bit above center line and against the lugs should hold the tire, then another strap hooked to that could be used for tires with a solid center hub. For others that you can pass a strap thru and around the outside rim, that would be the best.

 

[DJ54]

Nylon slings are very handy for this. You can use both loops back to a shackle, or make a choker. Just got two new 8 footers from epay, real reasonable.

 

[kevin37b]

Ratchet straps , overhead ,hoists , are you going to take the fenders off ? You are not going to hang those wheels with the fenders on .

 

[Soundguy]

speaking of ratchet straps. I repalce mine every couple years of age. IE.. I mark them for age and rotate new ones in and old ones out at age or damage indication.

the old ones.. I save the metal ratchet bits for repair parts.. and the old straps, I save them or pieces for slings. comes in very handy for non damaging hoisting vs a chain sometimes.

 

[TomSeller]

I like the idea of putting your snow chains on the tires. Then getting under the top chains with forks on the FEL to move the tires. That way they hang and don't need to be balanced when you move them. Plus you can get under the tops of the fenders to reinstall them. Of course you need to have forks and snow chains to do it this way.

Snow chains make a heck of a good cradle for moving lots of awkward stuff. Or I like the idea of hanging them from a loader with straps but would take the fenders off. The ratchet straps would allow fine movements.

 

[Reg]

I haven't read ALL the replies, so don't (yet) know if you got through this OK.

I have a set of the same size tires loaded with RimGuard, I figure ~950 or so pounds each.
The thing I keep in mind is that they are LIQUID filled, though not quite FULL, so there is slop.
Probably 550 of that is liquid.
I use an engine crane to swap them out for turfs and I take things slow and easy.
I would like to think that if one got away from me I would have the presence of mind
to just let it go, but the chance of it toppling just wrong and then rolling back.... Ya never know.

In your situation I would take one off, reverse the inside (plate, soup dish, whatever its called) then re-mount it.
e.g. I would make very sure to have only one side of the tractor jacked up at any one time and I would NOT roll
a near thousand pound loaded tire around.
The tire and outer rim would stay on the engine crane ALL THE TIME !
I would only need to pull the engine crane away from the tractor maybe a foot, maybe less.

On smooth concrete an engine crane with that sort of weight on it doesn't roll very precisely, i.e. lining the
studs up is tricky at best.
Even though you wouldn't be rotating the tire (if you did it how I suggested) while it is off, you would
almost certainly need to rotate the hub to get the holes lined up again.
I do this by putting a couple of wheel bolts in "from the back" and using a pry bar between them.
(hard to describe, probably harder to understand in text only)

If you don't have an engine crane...
What to do, what to do....
I suggest you BUY one, even if you have no other use for it.
The risk of potential injury (IMO) is too great for ME to roll 1,000 or so pound tires around.
{A coupla hundred bux for a cheepo HF engine crane vs some unknown probability of some unknown injury ?}

Yes, I probably COULD "get away with it" a few times, but I do this swap twice a year.

BTW, I move the tires TO the engine crane with the FEL, then position the tractor to the engine crane, maybe 2 ft out from it.
That gives me just about enough space to get the 18 inch wide turf tire off and out of the way.

EDIT:
Couple of details prompted by some other replies;
I use CHAIN to hold the rim/tire in the engine crane, others may prefer straps - but I am not a rim waxer (-:
I have found that trying to keep the crane boom too far OUT in order to avoid the fenders leads to the tire being tipped with the top too far towards the tractor, which can make it HARD to align it with the studs, because the bottom is too far OUT from the axle flange.
Basically the crane hook needs to be at or very close to the tread center.
If fender clearance is TIGHT you might have to really tighten things up, e.g. not use the standard hook and short chain, but strap or chain with the boom barely clearing the top of the tire.

Be careful to align chain links, if you get it wrong the tire might make an unexpected 90 degree spin turn just as you pull it off the axle flange - and be very awkward to get back in line with the tractor's center line.
OTOH, a 180 spin could produce exactly the effect you want - if you don't mind the tread running "backwards" (-:
I wouldn't do that though.

One more thing;
Having screwed around with just about every possible width setting on every tractor wheels I've ever had, even turfs (that went badly wrong, different story)

Once you have chains on you MIGHT be tempted to load it up on a trailer and take it somewhere to dig out a relative or friend.
DO KNOW if it is too wide with chains to fit on your trailer.
My little tractor is OK on the trailer with the loaded 17.5Lx24 R4s all the way out, but NOT with the chains on.