Ballast Foam filling tires????

[Kays Supply]

Lets hear the pros and cons of putting foam in tractor tires. I have some contractors using it in skid steers. I am having a lot of flats while brush cutting.

 

[lawn_king]

The cost here insane! I got a quote of $800. to fill the turfs on my 21 hp kubota! I can buy new tires for less!

 

[Treemonkey1000]

There are several threads in here about the foam in tires. There are tire sealants that will help decrease the chances of a flat. I use my tractor to drag logs out of the woods and didn't want any punctures out there. It is very expensive at about $2 a lb.

 

[nikkopepper@yahoo.com]

Whether the flat problem is front or rear may determine what you do. On my little JD855 the tri-rib fronts were driving me crazy with thorn punctures. The little 5.00x15 size allowed me to have them foam filled for $70 each here in N Tx. Added more weight than I had anticipated.(good for me)

 

[Kays Supply]

I was afraid of the weight. I use my 24hp tractor to bush hog now but later I will use it more on my lawn. I am waiting to see if they can vulcanize a patch in the side wall. The tires still have the **** on the tread they are so new. It will be $40 for a patch or $300 for a tire.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

I was afraid of the weight. I use my 24hp tractor to bush hog now but later I will use it more on my lawn. I am waiting to see if they can vulcanize a patch in the side wall. The tires still have the **** on the tread they are so new. It will be $40 for a patch or $300 for a tire.

Wouldn't the politically correct term be, "the tires still have the udders on the tread they are so new"?
The other poster mentioned the extra weight of the tires while driving on lawns. That is an issue. I end up leaving large tread marks in the lawn when the ground is soft from rain.

 

[Kays Supply]

I think the sealant route will be the most practical for me. The leaks I am getting aren't from large things like fence posts. They are wire and hard tree splinters.

 

[LoneCowboy]

I looked into this
There are two types of foam, regular and ultra light, the ultra light is much more expensive than the regular. (it's also much lighter)

You can recap the tires 3 or 4 times.

So, you only have to get them foamed once and then recap them (3 days to a week) every 1000 hours or so.

Not cheap, esp on big rears but you have zero danger of any puncture, no downtime at all from flats and cuts.

BUT
My mechanic says NO. Says it puts a lot of weight against the moving parts and some parts have to slip.

At this point I haven't done it.

Perhaps on the skid steer (smaller tires) with ultra light.

 

[Knight]

I had all four tires on my B2410 foamed, I had the tractor for about 7 years, it was great. Drove on nails, etc. never looked back.

I just foamed all 4 tires on L3400.
They came out removed tires took the tires back to their shop. Brought them back 3 days later, foamed and installed $700. Industrial tires R4.
Love it, never need air, drive on anything.

 

[laen64]

This sounds good I shall purchase R-4s on a 2660 and This seems to be a good Idea up front. even for $700

 

[Knight]

The reason I foamed in the first place, was that I was putting a woods 7500 backhoe on a B2410. This backhoe was not recommended on the 2410 because of the front end weight of the tractor. The 2410 was 50lbs lighter than the 2710. The 2710 made the cut for the backhoe. I needed weight up front as well as in the back.
Since soft foam weighted more than calcium filled tires, minus the hassles when you have a nail, I did the soft foam.
These tires were great when I was doing clean up after replacing my roof.
I must have pulled 3 nails out of the tires.

Cons, I might be losing a little traction in mud because the tires are hard and not conforming to the terrain. But this traction loss is slight and chains can make up the traction loss in very mucking soil.

Now that I have foam, I will always do it on my tractors. Tractors are always running over things that can cause a flat, so it's worth piece of mind or should I say it's great to be mindless when driving over obstacles.

 

[7800DUDE]

I went from liquid filled R4s to soft fill turfs much better don't need weight box hardly put in 4 x 4 for snow cons have to cut off when worn out you can get recycled fill also for about 1.00 a lbs

 

[JOELENAHAN]

I don't know if you are interested in adding weight or protecting your tires from punctures, but in my case, I went the cheap route and put innertubes in my front tires. I was getting several small leaks from driving over sticks and other items on my r-4's. Since I put the tubes in (about $15 per front tire if I recall right) I haven't had any problems, knock on wood. If I do have problems in the future though, I would probably look into foam filled.

 

[GaryS]

I have liquid in the rears and recently foam filled the fronts. They are now much harder. I do not have to worry about nails and just wanted more weight. I now wish I had gone for liquid in the front.

 

[Knight]

I have liquid in the rears and recently foam filled the fronts. They are now much harder. I do not have to worry about nails and just wanted more weight. I now wish I had gone for liquid in the front.

Do the backs have inner tubes?
You don't have to worry about nails in the front's only.
Why don't you like foam in the fronts?