Loosing Bead on Front R-1 tire/L3830

[Engine66]

I have a problem loosing the bead on my front R-1 tires on a L3830. It happened twice so far...once last winter when my tires were in a set of frozen tracks and I made a turn to get out heard the air bleed out. It happened agin when the loader had a light load in it and heard air bleed out during a turn. I was able to prevent full air lose the second time. Tire pressure was ok, loader well under weight limit, and I was going slow both times it happened. My property in Vermont is rugged, hilly, and lots of ledgestone areas that put sidewall strain on those R-1s...especially going downhill on a turn.

Will foam in the tires keep this from happening or should I go to R-4s? Anyone have this problem. It really sucks to loose a bead 1500 feet from the house and have to take the tire off and drag it in 2 feet of snow! Thanks for any advice.

 

[tommu56]

Engine66
I have had a few flats and usually if ground is hard or I'm not worried about it I raise front of tractor with loader and back back to my shed.sliding on my bucket

I have done it on rear I just swing hoe on the side with the flat lift it up press diflock and dirive back sliding on my bucket like a ski. Most of my ground is rocks and it dosent get torn up too bad in the process.

tom

 

[TedLaRue]

Engine66
I have had a few flats and usually if ground is hard or I'm not worried about it I raise front of tractor with loader and back back to my shed.sliding on my bucket

I have done it on rear I just swing hoe on the side with the flat lift it up press diflock and dirive back sliding on my bucket like a ski. Most of my ground is rocks and it dosent get torn up too bad in the process.

tom

Tom's suggestion of sliding on the loader bucket is a great idea for getting back home if you have a front flat.

But I would advise caution using the backhoe bucket as a skid. If you do this, you want to have your bucket as uncurled as possible (so the cylinder rod that moves the bucket is retracted as much as possible). If the hoe hits something that suddenly causes a lot of drag, the forward motion of the tractor will put an extreme pressure on the cylinder that works your bucket (the one on top of the dipper). If that rod is extended very far, it could bend under the pressure (don't ask me how I know). I suppose the dipper or boom cylinders may also be vulnerable, but I haven't experienced that (yet).

 

[TedLaRue]

If you're losing air because the bead broke, maybe you have a damaged bead (they can get damaged during a tire repair) or maybe your rim is corroded. Either can be expensive to fix. If it's the rim, there are products (gummy stuff) to help with the seal, but I doubt if they would help you in the long term based on your description.

Are you really sure your tire pressure was correct? Tire pressure for a machine with a loader is usually higher than otherwise (maybe twice what's in the rear tires).

You might consider using inner tubes, but in front tires, foam is a good option if you aren't filling the front tires with ballast.

 

[art]

Some times it just means that we need a little more air pressure in the tire or a tube would also remedy the problem with out going to any expensive solution.

R-4 tires are quite slippery on wet unlevel terrain compared to ag tires.

 

[Bird]

Will foam in the tires keep this from happening

Yes, it will, but it's a much more expensive solution than what art mentioned.

 

[JerryG]

How to get back to the house with a front flat?
If you have a loader you won't need to take the tire off out in the sticks.
Raise the front of the tractor off of the ground.
Push the tire that IS NOT flat down.
Put a piece of wood between the axle and the frame. Some tractors have a pad at the right place for an axle stop.
When you let the front down, the flat tire should still be off of the ground. If it isn't, it will at least have taken the pressure off of the flat tire so that you can drive it home. I don't recommend driving fast because you are now essentially driving a three wheel tractor but it will get you home.
My farm is a mile from my house. I have driven different tractors home this way several times.

 

[woodchuckie]

This info on how to drive on three wheels needs to also be on the mechanic tips threads. Valuable information.

 

[Engine66]

Thanks for the info and good ideas. Tried riding the bucket as far as I could, but the curves made it difficult to continue. I may put inner tubes in the fronts...anybody know what this would cost?

 

[JRobyn]

Had the same issue with my L4330, particularly when bushogging on rough ground and with tight turns. The slow leak in one tire didn't help any. If the pressure's a little low, they'll push off the bead fairly easily. I just put tubes in mine. They were less than $10 each at TSC.

- Jay