Tire care

[knucklehead]

Here's a question: Is there anything (like silicone) that would help delay cracking and keep tires in better condition? I figure we'd all be using it on our road tires, but then I realized most of the cracked and nasty tires I see are on trailers, tractors, campers, etc., and the one thing that all of them have in common is the age of the tires. Passenger vehicle tires wear out in less time due to higher useage. I wonder if the silicone based (Armor-all) products I used to put on our tires actually does some good.
Anyone know? Isn't WD-40 a silicone product? I bought a couple jugs at a Sears sale years ago - nine bucks a gallon.

I suppose I just opened myself up for some slippery tire jokes. Dang.

Mark

 

[rmc]

knucklehead

Like the name

I have been using tire care on my ride on lawn mowers for years. The tire care that you just spray on and let it do the work. I have had no cracks or problems with the tires. I do spray both sides.

Now with the BX2200 I will be doing the same thing.

 

[knucklehead]

Tire Care - I'll look for that. Re: the name, I think I introduced my two boys to the Three Stooges at too young an age!

Is that something we can get at a place like VIP or CarQuest? Or Wally World? Is it a silicone based product?

Mark in ME

 

[phantom309]

Howdy-

I'm probably stating the obvious, but the best thing you can do for your tires is to keep 'em inside, out of the sun, rain, etc. Any treatment that you put on your tires is a distant second place compared to keeping your tractor inside if that is an option.

I have four thirty year old tires on an old Willy's Jeep of mine and they're in decent shape due to the Jeep sitting in a pole barn most of it's life.

I recently sold a Willys '41 MB that had two tires on it that were over fifty years old! They were cracked pretty good but the darn things still held air for a "reasonable" length of time. Amazing!

Disclaimer. None of my Jeeps or (obviously) my tractors ever see any pavement or anything but slow-poke speeds. I'd not trust tires that old on the highway.

ps: Are you an old Harley knucklehead owner/fan, or just a generic knucklehead? /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[TresCrows]

WD40 is not a silicone product. It is petrol based and likely not a good thing to put on your tires over and over since it has solvent properties.
I just spray my tires with those spray tire cleaners and foam tire cleaners. Don't use them on a motorcycle! J

 

[knucklehead]

Phantom

I was kinda thinking that when I wrote - my folks use small 1/4" plywood screens to hide their camper tires from the sun when it's out. Jeeps, huh? the guy I grew up next to a few miles South of here has been restoring old Jeeps since we were kids - he just sold one to the Smithsonian! All of a sudden he's famous around here. My son is a vintage jeep freak - I found an old copy of "Year of the Jeep" through library loan, about a kid that is jeep nuts, who finds an old one in a barn and gets it going. We read that to him when he was just little, and now he's pretty knowledgeable about them. Can't find books like that anymore for kids.

Re: knucklehead, see reply above, plus you also hit the nail on the head - sort of a double meaning thing. I gave up the bike hunt for the family thing - now we can do it, but I'd like other things first. I see you are kinda knowledgeable about yer older Harleys. No bikes yet, but I'd love a Knuckle, or even a Panhead, some day. A friend has a '36 knuck; another has a servi-car. Better yet, how about an old Scout? Wouldn't throw a Chief outta the garage, either. Can you say ten grand for a basket?

In another post, I mentioned that I tell my non-tractor friends the Kubota is my Harley. My boss has a Duece, my shift partner sold a Heritage a couple years ago (to build a lobster boat), and there are various and sundry Road Kings thumpin around within earshot. All new. My brother has a hardtail shovel basket in his basement - he talks about selling the frame, as we are all getting past that kidneys-in-a-blender phase.

I should stop - I'm gonna get in trouble! Maybe they will make us continue the two cylinder talk in the antique John Deere forum!

Mark

 

[knucklehead]

TresCrows

Thanks. Petrol? You over from the other side of the big pond?

Mark

 

[TonyC]

I use and believe in a product called 303 Protectant. It keeps the rubber lubed and alive and stops cracking. It just sprays on. I also use tire black which is good for the tires but makes them look balck as new again for several months. Both are at Miller Tire who are tractor tire experts. Go <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.millertire.com/>here</A> then go to "Repairs/Supplies" on the left menu.

 

[knucklehead]

TonyC

Thanks, I bookmarked that one.

Mark

 

[theboman]

Just say NO to Armour All on your tires if you love your tires. It makes them nice and shiny but absorbs the oil in the tires that make the rubber flexible. I think it draws the oil to the surface and it evaporates and they you have good old fashioned dry rot. A dirty tire lasts longer than a shiny tire.
I got this from the "tire man" when relpacing dry rotted camper tires that were kept Armoured All up in the summer months.