RFM's-- Solid or Air Tires

[AndyM]

RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I was just looking at Corriher's web page and I noticed that they are offering a choice of solid or air tires on their Rear Finish Mowers for exactly the same price. This would lead me to believe that their are advantages and disadvantages to both versions...

Well??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Also, what brand is their RFM and what to people here think of them?

Thanks!

 

[shady1701]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

the solid tires tend to realy press down hard and leave lines where there is no give in the tire the air ones tend to have less pressure on the ground and not cause ruts where you mow.. but can get flats and can cause uneven mowing if tire pressures aren't the same..

I'd take look at new midwest rfm looks neat..

 

[fivestring]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

My wheels are solid. I don't have to worry about flats. They don't seem to leave ruts any more that an inflatable tire would. They would support the same amount of weight.

 

[Boondox]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I have air tires in my RFM and think they're a pain in the rear. Filling them, with that little valve stem facing the axle, requires considerable dexterity and finger strength. Next time I'll go with solid tires.

Pete

 

[djradz]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I used to have solid tires. Two problems I experienced were, since the solid tires were pretty smooth, they tended to wiggle a lot when mowing, thereby increasing wear on the shaft and also scuffing up the grass. Also, being smooth, when backing up or sometime turning very sharply, the tires didn't grip enough and so rather than turn in the right direction, the tires just slid, really tearing up the grass. Lastly, the solid tires were so hard that I always felt I was putting much more strain on my deck because ever bump was a hard one. Even with my tractor 3-pt drop properly adjusted, I felt I was shocking the deck just on lowering it. Anyway, I went to air filled about 10 years ago and wouldn't go back. Yes, the valves are a little tough to reach, but with tubed tires it seems I only need to check/fill them once or twice all year.

 

[tdenny]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I have the air filled ones on my RFM and absolutely can't stand the fact that I have to put air in them before I go mow each time. Now I've heard that if you simply fill them with slime you won't have that problem any longer. I haven't done that yet. Right now if I had to order all over again I'd probably get the solid ones. The only good thing is the air filled ones roll really nicely (when properly filled with the correct amount of air). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[kensfarm]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I had my "air" tires foamed filled.. not sure if that's the same as the "solid" tires you guys have mentioned.

I've had this RFM for 4 years.. and it's been nice not having to worry about putting air in them.. I think it was $100 bucks more.. the dealer had to send them out to get filled.

The only problem I have had is w/ the shafts getting bent.. I believe mostly because I run the RFM on the highest cut setting.. and that the areas I mowed (road banks, etc) are pretty rugged. Now I use the BrushBull for the road side cutting.

 

[yellowsocks93]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I have soild on my JD 272. They seem to work good but you can notice lines where the tires were. I have had no problems with them for the 2 months I have owned the mower.

Nick

 

[shady1701]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

yap i forgot to add i bent one of the back wheel shafts from dropping the mower since it's 650# it goes down tons faster than anyother thing i have and since my rate valve is stuck i have to let it hit... most higher end ones have air tires to reduce plowing of the ground air tends to reduce PSI loading like the tracks vs low inflated radial tire issue..

 

[chim]

Re: RFM\'s-- Solid or Air Tires

I have one RFM with solids and another with pneumatics. This combo was unplanned. I had never really considered the difference before buying them.

The RFM with the solids is about 9 years old, and has been abused. It now gets used in areas that are rougher than the newer deck gets exposed to. It bangs along the roadside with the wheels being abraded by the edge of the blacktop, grinds its way through the small piles of fine stones that accumulate there, and whacks the occasional rock. It lives to chew up discarded drink cans, plastic designer water bottles, McDonalds bags and the odd things like an old ignition coil that the ignorant passing motorists toss out.

The big thing is the abuse the wheels take along the road. Pneumatic tires wouldn't stand up to that. One night I was lazy, and figured I could be careful with the new deck. Wrong. One tire popped off the rim during the exercise.

On the bad side, the solids tend to beat the deck up going over uneven ground. The pneumatics act to dampen the action. I can't say I noticed a difference in how the grass looks from the different tires..........................chim