Loaded tire discovery

GreatWhitehunter · Feb 28, 2012

Reg said:
I find it a LITTLE surprising that you didn't just feel that they are loaded, assuming they are loaded up to about the 75% level.
There is SO MUCH DIFFERENCE that (IMO) it is kinda hard to miss.

OTOH, I don't have much idea what size your tractor is.
Maybe a hundred or two pounds in a small tire doesn't feel like much, though I suppose with small tires on a light tractor I would still expect it to show.

I'm in Mass, it gets cold here, but I have left 55 gallon drums out full of water and it takes a long time at very low temperatures for them to freeze SOLID.

I am trying to imagine what happens if/when a tractor tire freezes.
A couple or three inches of ice across the top ? OK, that will probably break up when it gets to the bottom.
The flat on the bottom... ?? I don't know about that, it is against the ground and holding down some "day heat" - assuming the days get up above freezing.
Then again, if the sun hits the black rubber your old friend solar gain has an effect.

Hmmm, nothing I'm going to experiment with, though I don't recollect any frozen tire disaster stories on TBN, so it may all not matter THAT MUCH.

I have the backhoe on 90% of the time so it not that hard to imagine not feeling the tires weight. I doubt they ever froze solid,more like a mass of ice that cause a wobble feel.

eray1066 · Feb 28, 2012

I bought a tractor in Cape Cod Massachusetts where it doesn't get too cold. I brought it to my place in Maine and the rear tires full of H2O did freeze solid. That the air in the top of the tire was lighter than the solid ice became apparent if you went too fast. Once you turned the tractor and the air pockets got out of synch it could be a wobbly ride. This was back in 1975. We weren't so fussy then.