Tires...black, round, hold air...so how can you have a question about those

[CalG]

This is simple. It's a test on how good of a dealer you have. A good dealer will value your business and swap them out. But even if your dealer doesn't want to you still have a 2 year warranty. That covers everything on the tractor. It starts the day you take possession. Tires that are dry rotted after such a short period of time are defective. Even if those tires came off of a 1974 Kubota and have sat behind the dealers shop the warranty still starts the day the tractor was delivered to or picked up by the customer. Trying to say that the customer should have noticed them is a fools argument. It would be like saying the customer should have noticed that the water pump leaks when they inspected it so a week after buying it when the customer notices water leaking he's out of luck as it's not covered under warranty. If it was damage that could have been caused by the customer then the dealer could make the case it was done after delivery but in this case, dry rot, clearly the OP is not at fault.

For those advocating restoration.

Just how would you describe the defect and it's failure to form fit or function?
Just how does the depicted defect change the service life of the tire?

My understanding (and experience) is the sidewall rubber is entirely cometic. (The same characteristics on the tire tread woulds be unacceptable in my opinion)

The term "Dry rot" is completely irrelavent to the picture ... That is NOT dry rot unless someone has changed the description and definition in the past 20 years...... (over inflation? perhaps.....)

Is this all about cosmetics and "feel good"? Has it anything to do with service life of what might be considered a second tier tire? (has the tire brand been identified?)

If the "dealer" replaced the oem tires with the cheapest chicom replacements that did NOT show similar cosmetics, would that be acceptable?

NOT TO ME! id the present tires were "reputable".

Just considerations... most of our coments are based on bias, and little fact is presented but the photo.

"I get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions and flying off the handle"

 

[aczlan]

For those advocating restoration.
Just how would you describe the defect and it's failure to form fit or function?
Just how does the depicted defect change the service life of the tire?
My understanding (and experience) is the sidewall rubber is entirely cometic. (The same characteristics on the tire tread woulds be unacceptable in my opinion)
The term "Dry rot" is completely irrelavent to the picture ... That is NOT dry rot unless someone has changed the description and definition in the past 20 years...... (over inflation? perhaps.....)
Is this all about cosmetics and "feel good"? Has it anything to do with service life of what might be considered a second tier tire? (has the tire brand been identified?)

I had a pair of trailer tires that looked like that, had looked like that for a year or so and they decided to start leaking through the cracks one day.
Assuming that its just in one spot, I would say that the tires look like they sat for a period of time with weight on them and not enough air pressure. My worry would be that the cracks would over time extend through the sidewall and let out the air and/or liquid (if liquid filled).

Those look worse than the original R4 tires on our 2003ish B7500 with close to 700 hours on it. Not acceptable on a new tractor IMO.

Correction, 820 hours on our B7500 and the rear tires look like this:

No cracks, no weather checking, just a little algae/dirt in the bead area.

Aaron Z

 

[CalG]

Correction, 820 hours on our B7500 and the rear tires look like this:
Aaron Z

You said it, those "LOOK" like.

If the leakage is expected to be stopped by the outer cover, the tire has bigger issues than those shown in the OP pics!

 

[aczlan]

You said it, those "LOOK" like.
If the leakage is expected to be stopped by the outer cover, the tire has bigger issues than those shown in the OP pics!

If the outer cover is cracked on a (supposedly) brand new tire, how is one to verify that the inner shell is undamaged? Might be a month, might be 3 years, but if the outer cover is cracked like that, the inner core is far more likely to be compromised than on the same make/model tire without such cracks.

Aaron Z

 

[like2wheel]

For those advocating restoration.

Just how would you describe the defect and it's failure to form fit or function?
Just how does the depicted defect change the service life of the tire?

My understanding (and experience) is the sidewall rubber is entirely cometic. (The same characteristics on the tire tread woulds be unacceptable in my opinion)

The term "Dry rot" is completely irrelavent to the picture ... That is NOT dry rot unless someone has changed the description and definition in the past 20 years...... (over inflation? perhaps.....)

Is this all about cosmetics and "feel good"? Has it anything to do with service life of what might be considered a second tier tire? (has the tire brand been identified?)

If the "dealer" replaced the oem tires with the cheapest chicom replacements that did NOT show similar cosmetics, would that be acceptable?

NOT TO ME! id the present tires were "reputable".

Just considerations... most of our coments are based on bias, and little fact is presented but the photo.

"I get most of my exercise jumping to conclusions and flying off the handle"

I believe "dry rot" is common vernacular for this condition & a quote from a Popular Mechanics article on when to replace tires would side with the majority here:

"Tires do degrade over time, though, and that process is called dry rot. Oils and chemicals in the rubber compound start to evaporate or break down because of UV exposure. The rubber loses its flexibility and begins to crack at the surface, and the structure becomes more and more brittle (think of a really old rubber band), leading to sidewall damage and eventual failure. And we're not talking "Oh, I'll just fill it up and drive on it"; this is a complete loss of function. You might even see tread start to separate. It's good practice to replace tires as soon as you see signs of dry rot, to prevent blowouts and the subsequent loss of vehicle control. Even if there are no signs of rot, the industry standard is to swap out tires before they hit 10 years old, and some tire companies recommend replacement as early as six years after manufacture."

 

[crazyal]

How could anyone not call that dry rot? If you opened the hood on your one week old tractor and the radiator hose had cracks in it like that who here wouldn't be calling the dealer and getting a replacement? So why would a tire, that's at a higher pressure, be an exception?

 

[Cherokee140]

The cracking goes all the way around the tire.

I plan on calling the dealer today after work.

 

[ultrarunner]

When I bought my Kubota 3 tires were new with shiny rims and one was dull... both tire and rim.

Said it was because of how the set was stacked out in the yard... did not have any others so I brought it home.

It wasn't a week and the dull tire went flat... it was the valve stem... all cracked.

In the end I had both rears foam filled.

There was not much point taking it up with the Dealer since unknown to me, they were going out of business.

 

[woodchuckie]

Like was mentioned earlier UV damage is what causes "dry rot". Just a few years with full sun will do it. I cover my tractor with a vinyl tarp and cover the entire side which faces the sun. 7 or 8 years with no sun damage yet.

 

[DeereMann]

The cracking goes all the way around the tire.

I plan on calling the dealer today after work.

Absolutely. Tell 'em TBN sent you. :tractor:

Like woodchuckie says, back before I had a pole barn & had the motorhome parked on my 3rd drive, I covered the tires with UV-proof covers for just this reason.

Good luck!