Tires Paying too much for filled tires

[phiferpharm]

Put foam in them and never have to worry about punctures or freezing. I can't imagine foam being any more than 400-500 dollars. I did the fronts for $150.

Does foam add weight or just help with punctures?

 

[k0ua]

Does foam add weight or just help with punctures?

it adds a lot of weight

perhaps this will help:

Tire Fill Flatproofing Foam Fill | Pathway Polymers

James K0UA

 

[milkman636]

Foam may void part of your warranty. My Bobcat tractor specifically says to not fill the tires with foam. I believe it states something about being harder on the axle bearings.

Rimguard weighs around 10 lbs. per gallon compared to something like 11.5 for calcium chloride. Rimguard installation was running about $6.50/ gallon a year and half ago at some local places while I was tractor shoppping.

Going through my dealer in the tractor purchase he was able to source it for $5/gallon from a tire shop he dealt with routinely. My CT335 has 90 gallons in the rear and it cost me $450 installed. The dealer included tranport to the tire shop to have the tires filled on the way to my house for delivery of the tractor. Quick and painless.

Call some other tractor dealers and tire shops in your area. I found that the local Kubota dealer 4 miles from my house handles rimguard. They would have been my next option if the Bobcat dealer wouldn't have come through with such a good deal.

 

[Deere Dude]

I never put foam in mine, but I understand foam make the tires solid, but I'm not sure. Maybe spomebody else could verify that. That would be terrible riding and hard on the tractor unless it's always on smooth concrete.

 

[phiferpharm]

it adds a lot of weight

perhaps this will help:

Tire Fill Flatproofing Foam Fill | Pathway Polymers

James K0UA

Gotcha James - My question was more out of curiosity. I guess my thinking was it would be less dense than water and would weight less. I still haven't filled mine and may not. Between the Bush Hog or the Carry-all platform with the new Barrel Weight I added, it may not be needed

 

[Gil Case]

When I filled the fronts (at the recommendation of my dealer) they came up to over 100 lbs per tire, maybe 121. The tire is full, but the foam is pliable like the tire, so I do not notice any difference on the road, but I am only on the road a couple of times per year.
I do not understand how filling with liquid is good and filling with foam is bad?
Let me tell you that if you have a ck20s with a 2465 backhoe on the back, going up any kind of hill will cause you to pucker since the fronts come off the ground making it difficult to steer. There are several discussions of the problem on this forum.

 

[northcreek2624]

I filled mine with windshield washer fluid 10 years ago(no tubes) and it's still doing the job.Got mine at a Kmart close-out for 50 cents a gallon.Probably one of those dollar stores would be a good source...Mike.

 

[blucoondawg]

Definitely take the advice of all these guys and run far, far away from the chloride crap. I have that in my old Allis C and it is real bad on the rims, your tubes won't last forever and if they have a hole worn in them all that corrosive junk will be rollin around in your tire and u will be replacing the rims. Also if using Windshield Washer fluid be aware that it isn't as heavy as Rim Guard and also some WW fluid freezes, I didn't pay attention to what I was buying last winter and froze the tank in my truck, if you go with WW make sure you get the stuff that is rated for the cold weather.

 

[ricklman]

Rim guard should run ~$250-300 and wouldn't need tubes.

Took mine in for her 50hr checkup yesterday. Filled the rear tires with RIM GUARD (beet juice). Was US $3.00 per gallon @ 58 gallons total. $174 for my little CK30.

Labor was in there somewhere with all the oil and filters, but the $174 was the line item for the juice, fyi.

Also, the loaded tires have made a HUGE difference in the stability of the tractor when I don't have the hoe attached.:thumbsup:

 

[1969grandpa]

Is there another brand of beet juice other than rim guard that will ship? I don't have a local rimguard dealer and I would need trailer my tractor several hours to the closest dealer. I called them today and they said it would be $3 per gal. installed and they would not ship so I could do it myself. I don't mind paying the $300+ but I'm not sure I can justify a day and $200 in fuel to haul my tractor there. The dealer will load them with anti-freeze for me for free for me if I want him to.