Doing this on the tractor wouldn't have been possible, the outer bead was completely rusted to the wheel, that bead breaker deal was completely necessary, took 3 sets to finally get it moving noticeably and I had to walk it all the way around the wheel... Glad I did it the way I did since I took a chipping hammer (couldn't find the needle scaler I swear I have) to get the scale out then with the knotted brush in the angle grinder then primer and paint... also took the time to work the rust flakes (the big ones at least) off of the original tube. I reused the original tube since it's a quality Bridgestone that still feels great... I put a big ol patch on the inside of the tear on the tire and one on the hole in the tube. Aired it up to seat the beads and the outside bead fell right back off when I let the air out to add back the calcium... Refilled and on the tractor for over 2 days good to go!
I think I'll try to buy new tires and tubes for the winter though, still have 75% tread but aren't very pliable on the outside anymore...
As I do I freaked out too much when it happened, was a pain in the rear but very fixable...