Tubeless Tires but Not tubeless rims!?!

OzGrasshopper · Feb 27, 2011

Hi all, i've been doing some pond making with JD 3120, & over years have had a bit of trouble with front tyre pressures. i find i have to pump front tyres right up to limit when moving wet sand in the bucket, then let pressure down when using for pasture work. both myself & another 3120 local owner have had blistering on front tyres, & this week i had to change right front over at 950hrs - still plenty of tread, walls just too badly blistered to continue - didn't want to have a flat in the middle of the pond with rain forecasted!!!
anyway local tyre supplier got me a new R1 front tyre & took a look at the rim while changing for me and said that the rim was NOT a tubeless rim ie profile was not suited to tubeless - should have had deeper bead line. now this probably happened once the tractor was landed in Oz after importing - point being he recons some of the trouble i experienced was the wall of the tire "rolling" when bucket was filled and turning tight. as a precaution to further wall damage he had installed a tube on new one and as soon as i have time i will get a tube put in the other left front tyre as again these a lot of tread left.

might interest u US members that the tyre we got was a US made "Titan" marked "Tubeless may be used with tube"
unfortunately no tyre manufacturers left in Oz, other alternative was Chinese. the tyre cost $175 here and $16 for the tube. might be something for others to watch for, cos the cost of a tube is good insurance for longer life of the tyre IMO.

Heres pic of that wet sand digging ( full pic story in "projests" thread) cheers OzG

allenr · Feb 27, 2011

I agree the tube is a good idea - I've had tyres which were forever unreliable at holding air but quickly cured with a tube.

That sand is very white - does the dam hold water or is it filled from the water table?

OzGrasshopper · Feb 27, 2011

Hi allenr, yes white & grey sand on ironstone base is funny stuff, if its kept wet it holds very well, but if u don't keep the water up from external sources it follows ground water table up & down depending on season. i have a good supply of cold bore water & solar panel power so keep water up by a once week injection of water, also use bore water to cool surface down if it gets too hot.
yes if i'd known about the rims i would have put in tubes right at the start. i couldn't work out why they kept needing air when there was no puncture - dropped both front tyres in pond to see if there was any leaks, it must have been that rolling on the rim just let a bit past bead every now & then - anyway all fine now - just worth knowing. cheers OzG

megotatractor · Feb 27, 2011

haha. I just busted a bead on a front tubeless on my 2210 moving snow around. I had a BIG heaping lump of frozen snow in the bucket and was hauling snow around a turn and suddenly couldn't steer, tire rolled off the rim. Looks like I'll be putting tubes in my front tires eventually.

beenthere · Feb 27, 2011

I haven't had any tire issues with my R-4's (JD 4300). The R-1's might be fewer ply tires and cause the problem.
But I think having tubes is a good idea. Might add them when/if I get new R-4's. They are losing tread right along with a lot of snow plowing, etc. in the last 13 years.

I sure enjoy the pond-making pics.

Lots of seat time for you too.

Glen Watkins · Feb 27, 2011

megotatractor said:
haha. I just busted a bead on a front tubeless on my 2210 moving snow around. I had a BIG heaping lump of frozen snow in the bucket and was hauling snow around a turn and suddenly couldn't steer, tire rolled off the rim. Looks like I'll be putting tubes in my front tires eventually.

Got to check air pressure and go easy and watch front tires with heavy loads in the front bucket!

crash325 · Feb 27, 2011

allenr said:
I agree the tube is a good idea - I've had tyres which were forever unreliable at holding air but quickly cured with a tube.

That sand is very white - does the dam hold water or is it filled from the water table?

Wheel design has not changed since the 40's or 50's and they were not designed for tubeless tires. I've had trouble with the right front almost from day 1. No problems with left front??? Currently I'm running 65 psi in right, recommended pressure as stated on tire.

Tubes create their own problems. If punctured it goes completely flat, then you not only have to put it back on the wheel, you have to take it off first. Yes I had one in the right front for a while.

I sure would like to hear from folks that have cured this problem

megotatractor · Feb 27, 2011

Glen Watkins said:
Got to check air pressure and go easy and watch front tires with heavy loads in the front bucket!

You bet. Low tire pressure is my theory on the base cause. 20/20 hindsight.

chipsndust · Feb 27, 2011

crash325 said:
Wheel design has not changed since the 40's or 50's and they were not designed for tubeless tires. I've had trouble with the right front almost from day 1. No problems with left front??? Currently I'm running 65 psi in right, recommended pressure as stated on tire.

Tubes create their own problems. If punctured it goes completely flat, then you not only have to put it back on the wheel, you have to take it off first. Yes I had one in the right front for a while.

I sure would like to hear from folks that have cured this problem

I was losing air from the front tires on my 2305 during cold weather. I put Slime in the tires and haven't had a problem since.

OzGrasshopper · Feb 27, 2011

Hi folks, the R1 was a 6 ply tyre. yes "Beenthere" it's been about 2 weeks "work" so far....its not really work its just damned good fun - but don't tell the wife!! i'll keep updating more pics in Projects thread.
cheers OzG