We have quite a few pieces of rental equipment that have foam-filled tires. The biggest draw for us is the lack of downtime on jobsites because reach forklifts boomlifts are constantly being used in situations where punctures are an issue.
I can see not noticing that much of a difference in the ride on a tractor due to suspension seats, but if you tried 'em on something with the seat solidly bolted to the machine....it's night and day. Foamed tires are twice as rough a ride...at least.
Traction isn't as good either...the tires don't flex and give as much. And the colder the ambient temp...the worse it gets.
Some of these "drawbacks" may be less of a factor in a tractor situation because the foam fill is available in different durometers. Our reach forklifts and aerial boomlifts are spec'd to use a stiffer durometer of fill because of the widely varying loads they have to carry while maintaining stability.
I can see not noticing that much of a difference in the ride on a tractor due to suspension seats, but if you tried 'em on something with the seat solidly bolted to the machine....it's night and day. Foamed tires are twice as rough a ride...at least.
Traction isn't as good either...the tires don't flex and give as much. And the colder the ambient temp...the worse it gets.
Some of these "drawbacks" may be less of a factor in a tractor situation because the foam fill is available in different durometers. Our reach forklifts and aerial boomlifts are spec'd to use a stiffer durometer of fill because of the widely varying loads they have to carry while maintaining stability.