Tires Fluid in the tires

[aggc]

I've been reading a lot of filling my tractor's tires to help lower the center of gravity and make it more stable on slopes. A few questions:

1. Should I fill all four tires or just the rear tires?

2. What should I fill them with? Is water ok? There's no really danger of them freezing here in Georgia.

3. To what level should I fill them? Halfway? All the way?

 

[Fredex]

1. I think most just fill the rears though some do fill all 4.

2. I have heard of using plain water in warm areas. Most ag operators here in MO use tubes and fill with CaCL. Many CUT owners seem to be migrating to the "beet juice" products which are OK in tubeless. I don't know how that compares to plain water for rust issues.

3. Fill to just below valve stem when stem is at top-vertical. Any more messes up checking tire pressure.

 

[guyrj33]

I suggest using a weight box instead of filling the tires, My B7800 was too heavy for soft soil with the tires filled and the backhoe on.

I drained the tires.

 

[bigjohnkub]

You should only fill rear tires. If you fill front also, you are changing weight distributiion with FEL. Gheck your operators manual and it will explain in more detail. Remember, Your tractor is front wheel assist, Not four wheel drive. If this is confusing, reply and I'll attempt to explain

 

[Ben3130]

If this helps, I was told by my Kubota dealer that filling the front tires would void my warranty (or at least create a lot of pain for me) because when the tires are filled they don't have the same flex that air filled tires do because the liquid does not compress. Since the tires don't 'give', shock from the FEL is not softened by the flex in the tires which creates a lot of pressure on the front axle. Apparently, the FEL is capable of generating enough shock forces to damage the front axle with filled front tires, which is why Kubota says not to fill the front tires.

It sounds like it makes sense, but I honestly don't know if it's a load of s**t or not.

I have my rear tires filled and love it. I do not do any finish yard work with my L3130, so I am not worried about ground damage. The filled rears add a noticeable amount of stability to the tractor. I would still recommend having rear ballast when doing heavy FEL work, as my filled R1s do not enough counterweight.

I really don't know what mine are filled with (CaCl I think), but I would think you would be safer to use some tested and proven liquid instead of water. It's nothing but a pain in the a** to work with filled tires, so I would want to use something that I won't have to mess with until it's time to replace the tire.

 

[MadReferee]

If you have a local dealer that sells it, fill your tires with Rim Guard. Heavier than water or CaCl, and it's environmentally safe. There are plenty of posts here on TBN that talk about Rim Guard (aka beet juice).

 

[tawilson]

Fill them to the top of the rims. I would suggest buying the adapter and filling them with water to see how you like it. Possibly rust may be a problem if you don't have tubes, someone else may know that. If you want more weight you can switch to something else and if you don't like it you can drain them. After 4 onsite tire repairs since I bought my tractor, I bought the adapter and some Cacl and do it myself now. Before I do it again, I will get the better adapter with the relief valve. Seems like it would speed up the process.