Mount Tires by Myself?

[daryelcorran]

The front tires on my Kubota have seen better days. I am thinking I should replace them. I don't understand why they are so cracked and nasty while the rears look Speed Test perfect, but I guess I should be glad the expensive ones are in the best shape.

I was thinking I should buy new tires, take the wheels and tires off the tractor, and have a shop mount them. Then I started wondering if I could mount them myself. It's not like they have to be balanced or anything.

Is mounting tires with totally inappropriate tools an unrealistic goal? I have plenty of tools but nothing designed for mounting tires.

metal rods maybe flatten one end. Watch a youtube

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Thanks for all the replies. I am thinking it would be best to let someone else handle this, although I will still have to jack the tractor up, remove the tires, and take them to the shop.

Looks like it's not easy to find 8.3-16 turf tires for this thing. I haven't seen a single one in searches.

I am reluctant to try the Kubota dealer after they charged me $1600 to put the front cover on my engine, after I brought them the parts and paid for moving the tractor myself.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

Man, this is confusing. Tractordata says my tractor takes 8.3-16 tires. I just took a photo, and I have 27x8.50-15NH9 Goodyear Softrac tires. They are rated at 1000 pounds, which makes it pretty clear I have been overloading the snot out of them. The tractor, loader, and forks probably exceed that figure before I add any branches or rocks.

I am thinking I'll get a somewhat more aggressive tread since this tractor has four-wheel drive.

Are there any brands I should avoid? Looks like Carlisle makes a good candidate. Web lists a load capacity of 2400.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I’ve done it and mostly it’s all about breaking and seating the bead…

Sometimes one has to get creative when it comes to seating tubeless tires with high volume of air with valve core removed and a ratchet strap around the circumference of the tread to force the bead to the rim…

Starting fluid works every time.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

The front tires on my Kubota have seen better days. I am thinking I should replace them. I don't understand why they are so cracked and nasty while the rears look perfect, but I guess I should be glad the expensive ones are in the best shape.

I was thinking I should buy new tires, take the wheels and tires off the tractor, and have a shop mount them. Then I started wondering if I could mount them myself. It's not like they have to be balanced or anything.

Is mounting tires with totally inappropriate tools an unrealistic goal? I have plenty of tools but nothing designed for mounting tires.

Be careful with the corner of the bead. I have not been to a tire store in over 20 years. Have well over 100 tires on the ground on trailers and trucks. All four tires on the vehicle I'm in right now, I mounted. Get some sort of lube, soap, not hand cleaner.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I ordered a couple of Carlisle tires; $300 including tax, shipping, and greenie fees. They get good reviews, and they will fit my rims, so things are looking good.

I will probably take the wheels to a tire shop, but I don't know yet.