Ballast Filled tires, tubes or not?

[RSR]

Pardon the ignorant question, but I am looking at getting rear tires loaded on a new tractor. One of the dealers who uses beet juice uses tubes in the tires. Is there an advantage/disadvantage to having, or not having, tubes when loading tires?

 

[JHurt]

Locally I have heard of a gentlemen who did not want tubes installed, and he had a small puncture that he did not know about. He parked it in his shop for the evening and when the air was all gone in the tire it slipped off the rim and ran beet juice all over his shop floor. Basically ruined/stained the concrete in the shop, and I'm not for sure he will ever get rid of the smell.

 

[Shaneard]

If you have a flat you will have a mess regardless if you have a tube or not. I personally like having tubes in my filled tires for the barrier between the rim and fluid. I've had several flats with filled tires and it isn't cheap to have fixed but it is what it is. You got to pay to play.

 

[5030]

I'm against filling rears with anything but irregardless you need tubes. Like the man before me said, you have to pay to play. CACL, beet juice or washer fluid, all the same mess if it leaks from a no tube carcass..... and, most commercial tire services / shops don't like beet juice because it clogs their pumps when doing a repair. Myself, I prefer external weights.

 

[PILOON]

External weights ore great but in snow country we need to load our tires as blowers usually are in the back.
Heck my CUT is loaded 4 x 4 and I still need chains.
Originally I had calcium but that played **** with the rims but with new tires I went with beet juice as well as new tubes.

A note here on tubes or not.

With tubeless you can have leakage as rust will eventually form where the tire sits on the rim and slow leaks will eventually occur so the cost of tubes will pay for themselves over a reasonable time.

 

[5030]

External weights ore great but in snow country we need to load our tires as blowers usually are in the back.
Heck my CUT is loaded 4 x 4 and I still need chains.
Originally I had calcium but that played **** with the rims but with new tires I went with beet juice as well as new tubes.

A note here on tubes or not.

With tubeless you can have leakage as rust will eventually form where the tire sits on the rim and slow leaks will eventually occur so the cost of tubes will pay for themselves over a reasonable time.

Like I don't live in snow country? Maybe that is why I have a 10 foot wide county plow and a rear mount Lucknow blower on my cab tractor in the winter...and no loaded tires either. I run chains on the front tires, thats it but then I have a full sized Kubota, not a compact. I don't believe your unit could even lift the plow I use.... It weighs 3/4 of a ton.

 

[oosik]

To each his own. Weight on/in the rear tires does help traction and stability. I choose to have RimGuard in my rear tires and tubes in all four tires. Tubes in the front tires help when lifting a heavy grapple load. Less chance of rolling the tires off the rims and loosing all the air.

In the rears - just an added layer of protection.

One thing for certain - if you have fluid in the rear tires and have a flat - it's a larger problem for a fix.

I knock on wood. 38+ years - two tractors - no flats.

 

[TractorGuy]

I also don't like the idea of loaded tires. If you are buying a new tractor I would price wheel weights over loaded tires.

I don't like tubes either. If you get a thorn or nail puncture on a tire without a tube you can usually get away with plugging it. Having a loaded tire with no tube would tell on a puncture pretty quick so you could move the tractor where the puncture is on top to prevent losing the fluid and plug and fill it with air.

 

[JHurt]

When i ordered my new tractor I ordered cast centers and three sets of rear wheel weights for it. I'd like to gain as much weight without filling my tires as I can. The MF3635 that I am trading in has beet juice in the rear tires and I've had really good luck with them, no punctures in the three rears I've had it. I'm interested to see the difference I feel in the two machines though.

 

[Tennsawdust]

Both of mine have tubes in the fronts and no tubes in the rears. One is running an RV antifreeze-water blend and the other has methanol and water. The tubes in the fronts help keep the tires from rolling off the rim. Not having tubes in the rear means I can plug a small puncture and get back into action without having to dismount the tire.