front tires 8.3 x 16 for L4400 keep getting flats!!!

[krackerjack9]

Ok here it is, had this L4400 sense 08 its been great got about 1500hrs on it and only thing that has let me down is getting flats, now here in South Texas we have those Mesquite trees and if you dont know anything about them they have thorns about almost the size of pencil in diameter and bout 2 1/2 in long , i finally got some 16ply backhoe tires for the back and have to say those are doing pretty well now for the last 4yrs before that i must have bought 4 sets, Yes i have tried it all bullet proof tire sealer, comercial grade, just about anything and everything, but the backhoe tires working pretty good one has a slow leak about every 2 months might have put the airchuck on it for a few pounds.

Now the front tires they only last a year at best i can only find 6ply and thats it, so im wondering if i go to those skid tires that are 10x 16 will that throw off my gearing when im in 4x4 to where i will mess up the front diff?? not sure if i would have to get the rim and tire and would it bolt up go to the kubota website and yeah it has the skid steers there but shows no info on tires , i guess im going to have to call and most likely their not going to know how to answer my issue, due to i been to that dealer and the other one and they were bought out and none of those people there know anything it seems like

On front tires i bet i have bought over 10 sets easy, you get so many thorns in the tire the tire itself starts loosing its structure, and then if just rips or tears a hole and your done

 

[krackerjack9]

so took the time to call and yep i was right service dept dont know , sales no idea, and parts have no clue, so hopefully the Orange Army will come thur for me in the next couple of days

 

[Industrial Toys]

I'm guesing you have a loader. Can one foam fill a front tire with such loading?

 

[AWSubie]

I use TRC Tireseal (Texas Refinery Corp) and I no longer worry about Mesquite thorns.

 

[Henro]

I'm guesing you have a loader. Can one foam fill a front tire with such loading?

Foam filled front tires work as well as air filled tires with a loader, in my experience, which is limited to my tractor.

But foam is not cheap. Front tires being smaller are not too expensive to fill, but that is relative.

If the OP is only getting a year out of his tires...perhaps the foam filling will make the tires last much longer, as it sounds like the front tires are being damaged as air is lost due to punctures.

If I were in the situation the OP is, I would try foam filling a new set of front tires and see how it worked out. Might result in a pleasant surprise.

 

[krackerjack9]

I got a guy who has foam in his front tires but his only lasted about 2yrs before the tire started coming apart ,, after about 2 or 3hrs of shreading and this time of the year i got 15 people right now wanting to shred before November and I doubt i will get to them all, i can have over 100 of those thorns in each tire and i say half break off most dont make it all the way thur but its that over time when you got 1000s of them there thats when the tire just starts tearing apart. that why i want to go to a skid steer tire those are 12 ply or better and i know i have better luck with them, i guess I will call a San Antonio Kubota dealer see if i can get some info from them on this

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have been through the, "trying to match tires to your 4x4 ratios", and that's no picnic. That's why I mentioned foam.

 

[Smokeydog]

There are inside tire liners. Gemplers has them. I considered them but went with foam. There different kinds of tire foam so went with the local Bobcat dealer recommendation. Heavy but bouncy. Expensive but no flats or tire damage.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Having had the same problem with my old Fordson Dextra, some days I'd pick up as many as 16+ thorns. I got real good at fixing flats on front, but that also got really old really quick.

I tried metal liners with little or no success. Thorns would still get through to the liner, and still go flat. My final solution was to go with recap airplane tires. Those are 18 ply and are just fine with or without air :laughing: Another plus on the recaps are that they're cheap. I think I paid $85 each which included the rim.

There's a place in Houston that sells them and can help you with the correct diameter. Sorry I've forgotten the name of the dealer, but they're certainly worth looking up and talking to.

 

[LouNY]

I really, really dislike foamed tires but with what you are going through I would be tempted to foam a new set of tires.