Tougher Tires... I need some

[Dadnatron]

Last week I had 2 flats... costing time and 2 service calls to the field. I am running a Danuser Intimidator into fencelines and tree/brushy areas clearing them out. So my front tires are taking a beating. JD 12.4x24 R1 ag tires with about 40% tread life left. 3 flats overall since I've owned it, but 2 last week.

I don't have a portable compressor that would pump that much air, and after the second call, I could have bought one. That being said, my real problem is the flats in the first place.

I've thought about foaming the tires, but overall, given the size of the tires and that I would need to purchase new tires to make it worth the while, it comes out to about $2K. That's more than I want to spend, especially since I know that in a year or so, my HARD work of cleaning fence rows, etc will be over, and I won't need that degree of prevention ever again, in all likelihood.

But, I have to do something... and given I have about 40% tread left on the fronts (which is where the flats have all been) I'm trying to think about current but also long term. I can't afford the time down... I can't afford service calls all the time.

I think, that purchasing a portable compressor is my best bet. Just rope fix the punctures as they pop up. But, while I've done it in the past, I tried to do it on the first flat of this week, and couldn't get it to work. The puncture was more of a 'slice'. They ended up with two big plugs side by side and a patch inside.

I put in Slime, but not nearly enough I saw as there was only a thin layer around the inside of the tire, when they pulled it off. I don't know whether this is a reasonable alternative for the short term on these tires? Adding several gallons of some sort of 'leak prevention'.

But what I really wonder, is whether there are 'tougher tires'. I know I've read about kevlar tires used in big farms for the newly bred corn stalks. But, I haven't seen them in the size I need 12.4X24. I also wonder about getting new tires in the 'wide body' size which would make it much nicer on my pastures when they are established.

Lots of questions... lots of concerns... not a lot of answers. I'd like your thoughts though.

 

[Ivan49]

Put tubes in them to stiffen them up. R 4's are thicker sidewall but you have to have them on the rear also

 

[s219]

R4 tires are considerably tougher -- will they work for all your other uses? The main downside is that they will have less traction in soft soil and mud than the R1 tires.

 

[jeff9366]

R4s are called industrial tires with good reason.

R1s are usually four ply, unusually six ply. With R1s, with greater number of plies, less traction.

R4s are six ply, often eight ply.

Some find used aircraft tires cheap, which are often ten ply or more......but not much tread for traction. Aircraft tires are replaced while there is still plenty of rubber on them.

I have read here that if you Slime tractor tires it can be near impossible to remove old tires from the rims. I have NO personal experience with Slime. I have six ply R4s.


Have you perused the TIRE forum here?

 

[LD1]

Foam is gonna be the only fool proof method. That price sounds high compared to what I have been quoted in the past.

The rears on my old tractor were 11.2-24, so not much different than your 12.4's. And IIRC, it was something like $400 a tire. So thats $800. New tires would have been ~$250 each. So in the $1300 range. Perhaps get some more quotes on foaming. In my area there are only a few places that do it, but almost everyone offers the service and just play middle man and send the tires to one of the 2 or 3 places that actually do it.

A new set of R4's, which ma require new rims, are also gonna be expensive, may screw up the 4wd ratio, and still not 100% effective.

I tried tubes in my fronts once. Didnt like them and wouldnt advise them. Something even like a small thorn (that likely wouldnt cause a leak in a tubless tire) will poke the tube and now you have to dismount the tire. Slime/thornguard/etc isnt real effective in tubes because the tube is so thin compared to the tires.

What worked best for me was plenty of thornguard in the tires, and keep a plug kut with you (the stuff that looks like twizzlers). Keep plugging them and get through this next year or so....then replace the swiss-cheese tires with new ones once your fence-rowing is done.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

i'll second the plug and play. As long as there are no large holes they work quite well. I plugged a small leak in my rear tires with rimguard using a plug and it has held for over a year now. The front tires I had a slow leak somewhere and I slimed them both. Now they don't leak at all but I feel bad for the poor bugger that is going to dismount them next.

 

[Wolfy]

Look at Gemplers, they have these things called tire liners, they are heavy pieces of rubber that go between the tube and tire that are designed for just such a problem.

 

[1stDeuce]

Since there's not much you can do that'll keep you from driving over things that poke the tires, the best thing you can do is stop making the service calls...

Buy a decent 12v compressor and keep it in the tractor. Any compressor not housed in a plastic case is probably good enough to get the job done. I have used this one for about 5 years and it's still going strong: Amazon.com: Q Industries HV-35 SuperFlow 12-Volt 140 PSI Air Compressor: Automotive
This one from HF is probably the same unit w/o the red paint: 12V 100 PSI High Volume Air Compressor
Just add alligator clips so you can run it right off the battery. It's not fast at higher pressures, but at tractor tire pressures, it's quick enough.

It sounds like you already have a plug kit, but if you don't, buy one. And buy some extra plugs, and rubber cement. I've put three or four in a sliced tire before and had them stay, and that's what you have to do sometimes. If the damage is worse than that, you're probably not going to fix it without breaking it down and putting in a patch, or a tube if it's really bad, but for lesser stuff, you can be back up and running in 5 minutes or less. I put a plug kit in EVERY vehicle we own, and because of that, I haven't had to install a spare tire on the side of the road in decades.

Keep a watchful eye on the tires and if you notice that one is going down, stop and plug it immediately so the bead doesn't come off the rim.

I believe there are R1 tires with heavier carcasses, so look for them when you replace the current tires.

Hmm, on further thought, is it possible that running slightly lower tire pressure might help? I don't know what kinds of things are puncturing your tires, but if they were a bit softer, perhaps they'll just deform, instead of having sharps push through them. ??

Good Luck!!

 

[94BULLITT]

Here is what you need.
Berryman(R) Seal-R(R) Tire Sealing Compound | Berryman Products

 

[Fallon]

R4s are definitely heavier & tougher, but not invincible. On my 32hp 3,500 L3200 I had R4s. 2 flats in 3 years, both from the same job. I was using my flail mower with grass side slicers instead of my rotary cutter in brushy woody stuff. Speared a front & rear. Found the front flat the next day & took it in. Les Schwab plugged it for free. Found a loaded rear weeping ever so slightly & missing a chunk of a lug. Rotated the hole up & ordered a plug kit. Plugged it & both were fine when it sold 6ish months later.

I'd get a plug kit at the least. Think about switching to R4s, but as all 4 rims & tires need to be swapped for that, which makes foaming them look reasonable.