Tires Foam filled tires

[Oldpath05]

I have never noticed any difference in winter vs summer with foam filled tires. Better than air filled tires under heavy load I think. Tire change: only necessary when tire are worn more than you find serviceable. Cost? Do not know today but a LOT more expensive than air! :laughing:

No difference in ride in winter............. Better when having a full bucket of dirt................ Cost of replacing a filled tire in 5-8 years, unknown.................... The first foam filling of a 7-16 AG tire, still unknown We need to nail down this unknown, nothing is more scary then the unknown.

What we all know so far and can come to some sort of consensus is, AIR is cheap, but depending on how fast one wants to fill his tire with air, the initial cost can be pricey.T prices of air can range from $20.00 to $1000.00, I'm in the 4-500.00 60 gal club.

 

[Brimfield]

I got my front tires foam filled and it is great. They ride better over rocks and no more flats hauling firewood out from the woods. I always chain up in winter with air filled of foam so no opinion on that. The foam fill is not a rock solid foam so it's a nice ride. The cost was worth it.

 

[fried1765]

No difference in ride in winter............. Better when having a full bucket of dirt................ Cost of replacing a filled tire in 5-8 years, unknown.................... The first foam filling of a 7-16 AG tire, still unknown We need to nail down this unknown, nothing is more scary then the unknown.

What we all know so far and can come to some sort of consensus is, AIR is cheap, but depending on how fast one wants to fill his tire with air, the initial cost can be pricey.T prices of air can range from $20.00 to $1000.00, I'm in the 4-500.00 60 gal club.

My pretty blue, 80 Gal 20CFM 175 psi 2 stage, pressure lubed, Quincy....lot more $ than that, and I bought it 30 years ago.

 

[Oldpath05]

My pretty blue, 80 Gal 20CFM 175 psi 2 stage, pressure lubed, Quincy....lot more $ than that, and I bought it 30 years ago.

I'm not familiar with Quincy, but you most likely have a much air compressor.

 

[Oldpath05]

I got my front tires foam filled and it is great. They ride better over rocks and no more flats hauling firewood out from the woods. I always chain up in winter with air filled of foam so no opinion on that. The foam fill is not a rock solid foam so it's a nice ride. The cost was worth it.

How much and what kind of tire? My 16" AG's with full bucket load squat down a lot, dont like that.

 

[Grumpycat]

I looked into this not too long ago, but decided against it. I was told it essentially makes a solid tire that has to be cut off the rim if the tire ever needs to be replaced.

Yeah. So? When the tire is done the tire is done.

In summer of 1978 I worked for a tire shop who sold a product called "Mitco-fil" mostly to coal mines. Was urethane but not very foam. I spent a lot of time cutting mining tires off rims. Sidewalls were often over 1" thick. Even 10" wheels cost $100 or more (in 1978 dollars) to fill.

A real foam fill would be interesting for a tractor. I suspect the quality of ride depends on how much pressure was used.

Also, scream bloody murder if they try to fill the tire on the tractor. The tire needs to be laying on its side when the foam sets so as to have a round tire.

In the dirtbike world a foam insert known as a mousse is becoming popular. $125 for a typical 4.00x18 tire. Placed in the tire then the tire is forcibly mounted on the rim.

Must consider the foam fill might wear out before the tire does. Foam flexes but eventually weakens and turns to duest.

 

[EddieWalker]

After multiple patches, commercial grade slime and more new tubes then I can remember, I foamed the front tires of my small tractor.

It's 37hp 4x4 that I mostly use for mowing.

There is no difference in how it rides.

Traction is better.

I never miss a day or any time due to a flat tire any more.

I would not own a tractor without foam in the front tires again.

my backhoe has the front tires foamed too.

 

[crashz]

I have been having a very slow leak in one of my fronts for a while (loses ~20 psi over a week). So I pumped a gallon of The Berryman's Tire Sealant into each front for the sealing effect and a little ballast. Tire guy is gonna hate me, but so far the leaker is no longer leaking. And I might have some protection from a flat on a job now.

 

[rodneyn]

You can place inner tube rubber in tires I had same issue with tires leaking air. The inner tube addressed this no more air leaks. Typically you replace front tires 2:1 ratio to rear. They wear out faster on compact tractor due short turning radius and FEL usage. Foam is a extreme measure and can reduce trade in value. If you plan to keep unit forever you can justify foam.

 

[Smokeydog]

If cost wasn’t an issue I would foam fill all my tires. No problem with the added weight or performance from my experience. Ag tires wear out much faster than R4. Don’t see as
many ag tires foamed. Cost effective for new tires so worn tires are rarely filled. Add cost of new rims when replacement is due. Down time for tire repair is offset and that can easily be justification for the initial cost. See some tire dealers selling new foam filled tires and wheels cheaper in a select few sizes than I can get my own foam filled. I only have a few of the dozens of tractor and equipment tires filled with foam.
Used to be several places within a few miles that repaired liquid ballasted tractor tires. Now 27 miles away and expensive.

 

[Oldpath05]

Well two weeks ago after noticing my front AG 7-16 tire going slack again I decided to once and for all get a price on this great and wonderful no hassle foam filled tires procedure, in 5 minutes I was ready to throw the phone across the room but i just went back out the garage to look at my tire again, sputtering all the way.

Come to find out to get my tires filled with foam I have to take them down to the Friendly Folks where I bought my tractor, drop them off, $160/tire plus tax, they ship them out to MA and I get them back in 2-3 weeks, what the crap is up with that, why cant I just take them to a tractor place in ME within 40 miles or any large tire place and have them filled then bring back and put back on my tractor, 2 weeks are you nuts............. My sputtering went away after I noticed my 2-peice valve stem was just loose.

 

[Henro]

You need to call around and find a place that foam fills tires.

It still may take a couple days though, as they may only do it one day per week like a place nearby here does.

I dropped tires off the day before and picked up the day after filling. Would think you should be able to do something similar.

 

[Oldpath05]

I ask the the tractor place but they said no one in ME fills tires that they know of, I mean,,,,, really!!!!! What the heck is up with that and way over $300.00 for 2 small tires, why so much................

 

[stuckmotor]

I bought my MF used. The front tires were foam filled. Actually, the fill looked more like thick brown rubber cement. Differential lock stuck ON when I got the tractor home and this must have been a problem for the previous owner because the side pressure on attempted turns caused the tread on those tires to begin to come off in turns. A little grease and working the diff loc mechanism in and out fixed the locking problem but the tires looked like they'd be running without treads pretty soon so I replaced them with tubeless tires. I usually keep a tire plug kit handy.

 

[Smokeydog]

Foam filling front ag tires is expensive given the short life. Never had long life with ag fronts with loaders compared to R4 tires. Flat free performance and less down time helps offset that expense.
Cost estimate to foam tires slightly higher than what I had paid but for a different size. Considerable cost to start and clean foam machine so they want to do as many tires in batches. Any time you can loose the middle man benefits you. Dropped off on Wednesday and picked up on Friday. It fixed a weak point on the B20 TLB that last for 20 years and 3000 hours.

 

[Oldpath05]

I'm also wondering if foam filled front AG tires harder on front end components, the tractor place said they would be like a hard rubber tire without any give to a shock load. Then whats the cost on tire replacement....... But until I can take my own tires to a local tire place and have them filled I'll be reluctant to have it done.

 

[ultrarunner]

Foam is sold by the pound and generally overnight because the idea is to let the foam cool and set undisturbed to avoid flat spots or bulges...

I got the run around too but found the motherlode doing a little detective work which meant I could deal direct...

Also learned they typically offer 3 levels of density... high density works well on smooth concrete warehouse floors.... also learned foam is not recommended for SCUT fronts due shock impact damage to front axle components...

 

[Oldpath05]

Foam is sold by the pound and generally overnight because the idea is to let the foam cool and set undisturbed to avoid flat spots or bulges...

I got the run around too but found the motherlode doing a little detective work which meant I could deal direct...

Also learned they typically offer 3 levels of density... high density works well on smooth concrete warehouse floors.... also learned foam is not recommended for SCUT fronts due shock impact damage to front axle components...

Thats what I'm leery of by changing to solid rubber tires then going over rough ground and with all that pounding on my small front end, dont think my outer axles could take it.

But worst part would be when I'm hooked on a log that weighs lot more then I thought or catches on something that I didn't see, my front end comes up then if I back off to quick the front comes down quicker and BANG, my front end is on the ground in 5 pieces because solid rubber tires is almost like steel wheels, no give.......

 

[Henro]

You have to get the tires filled by a place that offers options on how stiff the foam will be. I was told it can be cured at different pressures to mimic air to some degree.

The place I used had samples showing different densities. There was a definite difference in hardness. 18 years on the fron tires on my B2910 and 16 years on all four tires on my BX2200. No complaints or issues here. No flats either...:thumbsup:

 

[Oldpath05]

The tractor place I caller said the tires will be like a hard rubber tire, there was no mention of different densities of foam.