Ballast Filled tires, tubes or not?

[RSR]

Pardon the ignorant question, but I am looking at getting rear tires loaded on a new tractor. One of the dealers who uses beet juice uses tubes in the tires. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to having, or not having, tubes when loading tires?

 

[JHurt]

Locally I have heard of a gentlemen who did not want tubes installed, and he had a small puncture that he did not know about. He parked it in his shop for the evening and when the air was all gone in the tire it slipped off the rim and ran beet juice all over his shop floor. Basically ruined/stained the concrete in the shop, and I'm not for sure he will ever get rid of the smell.

 

[Shaneard]

If you have a flat you will have a mess regardless if you have a tube or not. I personally like having tubes in my filled tires for the barrier between the rim and fluid. I've had several flats with filled tires and it isn't cheap to have fixed but it is what it is. You got to pay to play.

 

[5030]

I'm against filling rears with anything but irregardless you need tubes. Like the man before me said, you have to pay to play. CACL, beet juice or washer fluid, all the same mess if it leaks from a no tube carcass..... and, most commercial tire services / shops don't like beet juice because it clogs their pumps when doing a repair. Myself, I prefer external weights.

 

[PILOON]

External weights ore great but in snow country we need to load our tires as blowers usually are in the back.
Heck my CUT is loaded 4 x 4 and I still need chains.
Originally I had calcium but that played **** with the rims but with new tires I went with beet juice as well as new tubes.

A note here on tubes or not.

With tubeless you can have leakage as rust will eventually form where the tire sits on the rim and slow leaks will eventually occur so the cost of tubes will pay for themselves over a reasonable time.

 

[5030]

External weights ore great but in snow country we need to load our tires as blowers usually are in the back.
Heck my CUT is loaded 4 x 4 and I still need chains.
Originally I had calcium but that played **** with the rims but with new tires I went with beet juice as well as new tubes.

A note here on tubes or not.

With tubeless you can have leakage as rust will eventually form where the tire sits on the rim and slow leaks will eventually occur so the cost of tubes will pay for themselves over a reasonable time.

Like I don't live in snow country? Maybe that is why I have a 10 foot wide county plow and a rear mount Lucknow blower on my cab tractor in the winter...and no loaded tires either. I run chains on the front tires, thats it but then I have a full sized Kubota, not a compact. I don't believe your unit could even lift the plow I use.... It weighs 3/4 of a ton.

 

[oosik]

To each his own. Weight on/in the rear tires does help traction and stability. I choose to have RimGuard in my rear tires and tubes in all four tires. Tubes in the front tires help when lifting a heavy grapple load. Less chance of rolling the tires off the rims and loosing all the air.

In the rears - just an added layer of protection.

One thing for certain - if you have fluid in the rear tires and have a flat - it's a larger problem for a fix.

I knock on wood. 38+ years - two tractors - no flats.

 

[TractorGuy]

I also don't like the idea of loaded tires. If you are buying a new tractor I would price wheel weights over loaded tires.

I don't like tubes either. If you get a thorn or nail puncture on a tire without a tube you can usually get away with plugging it. Having a loaded tire with no tube would tell on a puncture pretty quick so you could move the tractor where the puncture is on top to prevent losing the fluid and plug and fill it with air.

 

[JHurt]

When i ordered my new tractor I ordered cast centers and three sets of rear wheel weights for it. I'd like to gain as much weight without filling my tires as I can. The MF3635 that I am trading in has beet juice in the rear tires and I've had really good luck with them, no punctures in the three rears I've had it. I'm interested to see the difference I feel in the two machines though.

 

[Tennsawdust]

Both of mine have tubes in the fronts and no tubes in the rears. One is running an RV antifreeze-water blend and the other has methanol and water. The tubes in the fronts help keep the tires from rolling off the rim. Not having tubes in the rear means I can plug a small puncture and get back into action without having to dismount the tire.

 

[Tireted]

Toby Sexton Tire In Loganville GA has ton of options for everything. A guy named Grant (770)466-1060 helped me put aircraft tires on my tractor and my batwing deck and I have not had a flat in over a year.

 

[pmsmechanic]

My opinion is that if your tractor is under 50 hp and 4x4 you have no need for fluid of any kind. For heavy front end loader work a bit of weight on the three point is more than enough to counter balance. Many tractor owners on this forum have their tractors ballasted a lot more than necessary.

That is my opinion and I have come to that conclusion through my own experiences with my tractors while using them. More than once I have removed ballast from an over ballasted tractor and had very positive results.

Edited to add: Most times I find I have a lot less problems with flat tires on smaller tires if they have a tube installed. Consequently the front tires on my 4410 (26x12x12) and the drive (24x12x12) and steering tires on my F-935 have tubes.

 

[RSR]

My opinion is that if your tractor is under 50 hp and 4x4 you have no need for fluid of any kind. For heavy front end loader work a bit of weight on the three point is more than enough to counter balance. Many tractor owners on this forum have their tractors ballasted a lot more than necessary.

That is my opinion and I have come to that conclusion through my own experiences with my tractors while using them. More than once I have removed ballast from an over ballasted tractor and had very positive results.

Edited to add: Most times I find I have a lot less problems with flat tires on smaller tires if they have a tube installed. Consequently the front tires on my 4410 (26x12x12) and the drive (24x12x12) and steering tires on my F-935 have tubes.

What about the stability benefits (lower center of gravity) of loaded tires in hilly terrain?

 

[pmsmechanic]

What about the stability benefits (lower center of gravity) of loaded tires in hilly terrain?

Well I was talking from a traction viewpoint. As far as stability goes this is how I do it. I wish I know how to fix the picture but I don't so you'll just have to imagine that the roll bar is up.

 

[Shaneard]

Well I was talking from a traction viewpoint. As far as stability goes this is how I do it. I wish I know how to fix the picture but I don't so you'll just have to imagine that the roll bar is up.

I can’t imagine bush hogging what I bush hog with that much rubber pushing everything down. Love my loaded tires with 2 sets of wheel weights and I bush hog some hilly stuff.

 

[bridge4]

My opinion is that if your tractor is under 50 hp and 4x4 you have no need for fluid of any kind. For heavy front end loader work a bit of weight on the three point is more than enough to counter balance. Many tractor owners on this forum have their tractors ballasted a lot more than necessary.

That is my opinion and I have come to that conclusion through my own experiences with my tractors while using them. More than once I have removed ballast from an over ballasted tractor and had very positive results.

Edited to add: Most times I find I have a lot less problems with flat tires on smaller tires if they have a tube installed. Consequently the front tires on my 4410 (26x12x12) and the drive (24x12x12) and steering tires on my F-935 have tubes.

My opinion is you've never drove one of those tractors up a hill or you'd have a different one. I have a 38hp I just bought and it wouldn't go up a slight hill without a huge struggle. I filled them and it goes up way tougher stuff without hesitation now, a totally new tractor. Not all of us live in wide open prairies.

 

[bridge4]

My opinion is that if your tractor is under 50 hp and 4x4 you have no need for fluid of any kind. For heavy front end loader work a bit of weight on the three point is more than enough to counter balance. Many tractor owners on this forum have their tractors ballasted a lot more than necessary.

That is my opinion and I have come to that conclusion through my own experiences with my tractors while using them. More than once I have removed ballast from an over ballasted tractor and had very positive results.

Edited to add: Most times I find I have a lot less problems with flat tires on smaller tires if they have a tube installed. Consequently the front tires on my 4410 (26x12x12) and the drive (24x12x12) and steering tires on my F-935 have tubes.

My opinion is you've never drove one of those tractors up a hill or you'd have a different one. I have a 38hp I just bought and it wouldn't go up a slight hill without a huge struggle. I filled them and it goes up way tougher stuff without hesitation now, a totally new tractor. Not all of us live in wide open prairies. And I can't add 3 feet or more of width and fit woods trails. So 10 tires on the rear (way more expensive and PIA) isn't a good solution.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Not all of us live in wide open prairies.

Part of my earnings with the tractor is done mowing irrigation ditches. They might be in the prairies but the banks are defiantly not level.

So 10 tires on the rear (way more expensive and PIA) isn't a good solution.

It cost me about $700 to install the duals not counting labor to make the spacers and the clamps. I don't know how that compares to cast or fluid. It's also a lot more convenient to remove a set of duals than the fluid or wheel weights when I want a light tractor, which is most of the time.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I can稚 imagine bush hogging what I bush hog with that much rubber pushing everything down. Love my loaded tires with 2 sets of wheel weights and I bush hog some hilly stuff.

I usually mow back and forth and one set of duals is already on the mowed grass so there is really only 14" of extra grass being compacted down. When I come back the action of the mower lifts up the compacted grass and I actually get quite a nice cut.

I've mowed irrigation ditches where I ran out of room because of a fence and was situated so steep that I had to lift the mower a bit to get the rear tires to come back down onto the grass enough to move forward. I can't imagine that loaded tires would be preferable in a situation like that.

 

[bridge4]

Part of my earnings with the tractor is done mowing irrigation ditches. They might be in the prairies but the banks are defiantly not level.

It cost me about $700 to install the duals not counting labor to make the spacers and the clamps. I don't know how that compares to cast or fluid. It's also a lot more convenient to remove a set of duals than the fluid or wheel weights when I want a light tractor, which is most of the time.

I will always need the weight for my use, so I think this boils down to usage. For you it does seem to make more sense to go about it the way you did.