Flat Proofing Airplane tires

[LukeD]

I did a search and it came back empty, so I'll ask...
Anyone running airplane tires on implement rims? I'm not that far away from Gensco tire, which advertises airplane tires mounted on a Ag rim for implement use. I'm thinking about putting some on an old cotton trailer to haul hay. Anyone use them? How long do they last? It's $108 per tire/rim for the size I need, and I need the rims regardless!

 

[TripleR]

We run foam filled airplane tires on our pull type cutters like many around here and they work great.

 

[Timm250]

I looked at some for a hay hauler and was told that if you pull them at highway speeds for more than a few miles they won't hold up. Something about they won't dissipate the heat that builds up.

I was told they are great for using in the field or for a short distance on the highway.

Instead of taking the chance of having them blow out I went with used LT tires.

 

[TripleR]

My mower was delivered by being pulled behind a truck at highway speeds for over 75 miles.

 

[hd6gtom]

Luke If they can guarantee you they will stay up, go for it. I sold several of them and could never get them to stay up. the bead on them is so thick, they actually cut away about half of the bead on the inside of the tire. It leaves a rough surface about 2 1/2 inches wide all around the inside of the tire. Even with buffing the inside of the tire smooth, we could not stop the tire from destroying tubes. If they were filled with foam they will work good but at the price you have listed I cannot think they are foam filled

 

[LukeD]

Thanks for the replies. For the foam filled, it's $237 per tire. I'll have to ask about any sort of guarantee. It's going to be used for hauling within about a 2 mile radius. And the trailer is the old type where the front wheels turn with the tongue, so there's no going above about 30 mph without it swaying! So needless to say, it's going to be going very slow regardless. I just hate to put some more car tires on it. They don't last.

 

[Timm250]

When I was looking for them for the bale hauler it seemed like I was constantly having a flat & I thought if they work on a plane they should work on it.

The tires were from a place in Alabama that advertises in a local farm equipment paper. When I told them I would be pulling it about 50 miles round trip they said they didn't recommend using them on the highway.

He said that a plane is only moving at high speed for the length of the runway & then the rest of the time its at low speed so the tires have time to cool down.

I was ready to buy & he was looking to sell so I had no reason to doubt what he was saying & passed.

 

[haroldy]

i have an aircraft fuselage that was towed 1200 miles on the highway at normal speeds so I don't know where you guys are coming from regarding this subject

 

[Gem99ultra]

I did a search and it came back empty, so I'll ask...
Anyone running airplane tires on implement rims? I'm not that far away from Gensco tire, which advertises airplane tires mounted on a Ag rim for implement use. I'm thinking about putting some on an old cotton trailer to haul hay. Anyone use them? How long do they last? It's $108 per tire/rim for the size I need, and I need the rims regardless!

No experience on airplane tires on implements, BUT - I did switch to them on my old Fordson Dexta tractor. I was patching 10 - 15 thorn holes per week on the front end of that old beast. Switched to airplane tires same as you described and never had another flat. Those tires were 14 ply (18 ply was available as well) and didn't matter if they had air pressure or not They were plenty strong and durable. After many years, I never wore either one so much as to be able to see wear. My cost back then was $85/each mounted on rims.

 

[CobyRupert]

Growing up, we had an old airplane tire on a haywagon. Would sometimes get towed 7-8 miles with no problems. I think it was a many ply tire. It was worn beyond bald and never gave up. It wore through a few plies in a few spots and started looking like sheet of plywood made of out knotty pine.

 

[Soundguy]

We run foam filled airplane tires on our pull type cutters like many around here and they work great.

my jd 1517 batwing has airplane tires on it as well. even if they are flat you can't tell because the things are so stiff.

 

[npalen]

Many farm implements were converted from steel wheels to rubber back in the late forties using WWII surplus airplane tires.

 

[joeu235]

I pull a JD batwing shredder with aircraft tires 18 miles behind my truck all the time. I keep it under 45 MPH and does just fine.

 

[trailbuilder]

I had a set of airplane tires on my WA_40 Loader for 10 years. I thought they were foam filled and drove over nails etc doing demolition work. I finally got a flat one day and found they were not foam filled,just real a thick multi ply durable tire. I did not have much traction so I changed to a forestry tire.

 

[GregP27]

There's hardly a tougher tire than an aircraft tire.

When a 747 takes off the tires get very hot and knowledgeable Captains leave the gear down for a bit to cool them before retracting. The thing to remember is the 747 regularly takes off at 700,000 pounds. That causes a LOT of heat.

If you can find an aircraft tire of the right size for a wagon or other implement, it's not going to be as heavy, generally, as an aircraft at full load. Even a Cessna 180, with tire too small to be of any use on an implement, comes in at 2,850 - 2,900 pounds. And that's with VERY small tires, like maybe a foot in diameter and not useful for an implement.

Any aircraft tire big enough for an implement is probably designed for WAY tougher conditions than you are likely to give it, and is probably many more plies than any road vehicle tire except maybe military off-road 20-ply tires, which would be my choice, especially the ones with the center bead all the way around the middle that makes road travel easier.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I bought a set of "new" airplane tires and rims from Gensco for my Ford 4610 SU. Got tired of fixing flats bush hogging. They are 18 ply recaps. Very heavy. I need to get them installed. I plan on keeping my other rims and tires in the shed for other use. I found a company in Charlotte that would foam fill my rims but decided against to go this route. Very fast shipping. Tires and rims look great.

Agriculture Tires

 

[BHD]

I have bought a number of tires from Gensco, some are a bit ch to put on the standard rims, the one set was, the second set was not much worst than standard tires,

 

[CADplans]

I learned a "tidbit" about airplane tires in a college class I took,,, way back when,,,

NASA was studying hydroplaning, they found almost any tire will hydroplane at a speed greater than

10X the square root of the tire pressure, in miles per hour.

25PSI will hydroplane at 50 MPH. 36PSI will hydroplane at 60 MPH

So airplane tires are designed for VERY high tire pressure, to avoid hydroplaning when it rains during a landing.

If you want to avoid hydroplaning at 200 MPH landing speed,, you would need 400PSI pressure.

I run more than 36PSI in all my vehicles, and never drive over 60MPH in the rain,,,

Airplane tires are STRONG!!

 

[bcp]

Some sample tire pressures:

14bar = 203psi, 16bar = 232psi

Bruce

Airliners


F15E
F-15E.info: Strike Eagle reference and resources - F-15E.info - Landing Gear

Due to it's higher maximum take-off weight the F-15E features an strengthened landing gear system.

This tricicle-type landing gear system consists of one nose landing gear unit and two main landing gear units with Bendix wheels and Michelin AIR-X radial tires. The size of the nose landing gear tire is 22x7.75-9 while the size of the two main landing gear tires is 36x11-18. The bigger size of the main landing gear wheels and tires (compared to those of previous F-15 variants) necessitated a noticable outward bulge in the main landing gear doors. Tire pressure is 21 bar (305 psi) for all three tires.

Specific aircraft tire size, speed rating, and ply rating.
https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/pdf/application_charts_12_2015.pdf

Bruce

 

[Turbys_1700]

I have bought a number of tires from Gensco, some are a bit ch to put on the standard rims, the one set was, the second set was not much worst than standard tires,

I know that when I took them off the truck they were much heavier than my other 6 ply 3 rib agriculture tires. They are 18 ply and I expect they will perform well. I bet they are an absolute bear to take on and off.