Damaged 420/85R34 Michelin Agribib on my 5085M Looks like insurance won't cover

[pclausen]

So this past weekend I was doing some chipping clean up over at my mother's house less than 0.5 miles from my place.

I was parked and chipped for a while, then went to move to a new location, not realizing that a decent side stump was hiding right in front of me. It caught the inside of the left rear tire and the tractor rode up on it and was leaning very heavily to the side. I backed down off it very carefully, but heard this loud hissing sound. Jumped off the tractor and saw rim guard (beat juice) spraying out from a rip in the inside sidewall.

Got back in and raced back to my shop before I lost too much pressure and got a jack under the axle and turned the wheel so that the leaking section was at the 12 o'clock position. After about 10 minutes, the rim guard stopped coming out of the rip. So I don't think I lost more than maybe 5 gallons of that nasty smelly stuff.

Yesterday I scored a 250 gallon food grade container for $80, ordered a transfer pump, and picked up an air/water adapter kit from tsc. So I hope to be able to recover the ~90 gallons of rim guard still in the old tire and pump it back into the new one.

I checked into my John Deere Ultraguard insurance (still making payments on tractor) and it explicitly exclude any tire/rim damage unless other damage occurs during the same incidence. Mom checked her homeowners and umbrella policies, and they don't seem to cover it either.

Best price I could find online for a new Michelin radial that matches what I have, was $1,313 plus $133 shipping. Tire shop next to John Deere dealership that has experience mounting large tractor tires, want $30 to dismount the old tire and mount the new one. So it looks like it will be right around $1,600 to get everything fixed.

Has anyone else had a similar issue and found a way to get insurance to cover it?

What about extracting rim guard from a tire and pumping it back in afterwards?

 

[beenthere]

Sorry to hear that. But you need a tire, and looks like you just have to bite the bullet.. gonna hurt the pocketbook for sure.

Hope I don't do something similar.. poking around the woods all the time and know there are hidden stumps. But I just have windshield washer fluid in mine.

What chipper do you use on the 5085?

 

[murphy1244]

Long time no see there Peter. Where you been? Ever finish your house build thread?

 

[pclausen]

Sorry to hear that. But you need a tire, and looks like you just have to bite the bullet.. gonna hurt the pocketbook for sure.

Yeah, I sent some pics of the damaged area to a couple of shops that deal with agri tires and they all said the damage was too extensive to attempt a repair/boot. So getting a fresh tire is really the only safe option.

Hope I don't do something similar.. poking around the woods all the time and know there are hidden stumps. But I just have windshield washer fluid in mine.

What really gets me is that the stump was visible, but after 20 minutes of chipping, I forgot it was there and could not see it from the driver's seat when I went to relocate. I'll be grinding it (and others) down with my stump grinder once I get the tractor repaired, that's for sure!

What chipper do you use on the 5085?

A Vemeer 906. This one:

 

[pclausen]

Long time no see there Peter. Where you been? Ever finish your house build thread?

Hey Murph! Yep it sure has been quite a while. I'll need to update the house build thread with some new pics of the garden. That is actually mom's house, where this incident took place.

It is now pretty much exactly 4 years to the date that I took delivery of my M. Just 11 more payments to go. Got just under 700 hours on it and not a single issue with it to date. Awesome machine.

 

[DT86]

Go out with a big hammer and knock the fender off. Then report to insurance.
Wait, no don't do that.

Seriously though, I ran over the stub of a broken metal tee post and put a hole in my rear tire. Kubota insurance wouldn't cover the tire since there was an operator present, if it'd rolled off and damaged, I'd been covered. Tractor was basically new and I was sick to my stomach over the whole deal.

One tire shop said they'd fix it and later decided they couldn't. I ended up shopping around a bit and found the tire cheaper a bit further away. I have a buddy who passed both tire shops on his way to work so he picked it up and dropped it off at the cheaper place for me.

Good luck!

 

[topstoy]

How bad is the puncture or tear? Could they put a patch or boot on the inside and then a tube?

 

[pclausen]

DT86, the thought crossed my mind. But, I have definitely gotten my insurance's worth out out UltraGuard. First time was when my goose-neck trailer rolled through the rear and they replaced the cab frame, rear glass, and misc other parts. The 2nd time was when a branch poked through the front grille and damaged the grille, A/C radiator and oil cooler. All that was replaced under warranty. So I figured this third incident is on me, especially since it it not technically covered.

To me the puncture/rip doesn't look too bad, but from what the couple of shops I spoke to told me, it looks bad to them. Here's a pick of the damaged area:

It is about 2.5" long. I suppose there will be a lot of stress in that area when riding over uneven rocky terrain, especially when running at low pressure, which I like to do to maximize the contact area and minimize ground damage. You can also make out a piece of wood from the stump stuck between the rim and tire. Fortunately the rim is not bent at all and the bead didn't bust down in the woods. Now that would have been a complete cluster...

I bit the bullet and ordered the replacement tire yesterday. Maybe I should have held off until I get the tire drained and over to the tire shop so that they can take a closer look inside and out?

Speaking of draining, here are the pieces I got:

Gizmo installed on valve stem:

The 275 gallon food grade container I scored on CL for 80 bucks:

I can think of all kinds of practical uses for that once I get done with this job.

What a mess that sugar beet juice made of the whole back of the tractor...

One interesting thing I noticed that even with the gear shifter and range selector both in neutral, the wheel off the ground won't turn unless the engine is running. It will move a few inches in either direction, but then there is some sort of mechanical lock. Maybe there has to be hydraulic pressure to release the rear diff lock?

 

[MF283]

I cut a 16-9-24 Goodyear off my 5303 with 158 hours on it with an old T post still standing, 8" cut that went down in seconds.
I called the dealer , they gave me the number to a mobile outfit that couldn't get a Goodyear & went with a Titan that is close, it was on the side of the road & i wanted it back home. If it weren't for same day service, i wish i had taken the time to get another matching tire.
Like Peter, i knew the post was there, momentarily forgot about it to. In 30+ years of running tractors, that is the first time i've ever lost a rear tire, lucky i guess.

Ronnie

 

[Tx Jim]

pclausen
If you have comprehensive insurance on tractor then tire should have been covered.