I recently purchased new front tires and tubes for my Yanmar 1500 tractor from Hoye tractor equipment. However, I just noticed that it says “tubeless” on the tires. Can I really just install the tire without the tube (probably bring it to a tire place)?
From tubed to tubeless tires?
- Thread starter chauke
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5030
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Either way works. I prefer tubes in my tires.
5030
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I have my tire man come out and do mine. Too heavy to fiddle with.
mo1
Platinum Member
It depends on the rim. There are some differences between tube-type and tubeless rims, but mostly if the rim isn't airtight (generally due to how the rim was welded together), you must run a tube. If the rim is airtight, you would need to put in the correct size of valve stem and then you could mount a tubeless tire without a tube.
I have mounted tubeless tractor tires before and a ratchet strap or two around the circumference of the tire to compress the beads against the sides of the rim is the poor man's way to mount a tubeless tire. The proper way would be a bead seater (aka Cheetah). Some guys detonate ether to seat beads, I have seen this be done and it does work, but I only use the ratchet straps myself. You could just put the tube inside of the tubeless tire and use it tube-type and not have to worry about seating beads.
Grumpycat
Elite Member
The bead seat on the rim is different for tubeless than for tube. Usually it is wider and has a very small rounded ridge on the inner surface.
Vigo327
Platinum Member
^ It is called the ‘safety bead’. Tubeless wheels have a different shape in the bead area to prevent the tire from ‘de-beading’ at low inflation pressures. If this were not the case every car that ever got a flat tire would have had the tire actually separate from the rim and flop around, which on a car means the tire and sometimes the wheel are destroyed. This is also why if you hang around a tire shop, car tires ‘pop’ into place when seating the beads whereas tube tires usually just slowly slide into place. Tube tire and wheel design facilitates ‘field service’ where you can leave a wheel on a machine and separate the tire bead from the rim without hydraulic/pneumatic assistance (this is before the rust sets in, mind you!) by just letting the air out, vs having to dismount the wheel from the vehicle and mount it to a machine 5 times bigger like we do with car tires.
There are bead breaking tools you can use in the field of course, but in general if you intend to mount and dismount your own large tires stick with tube type stuff.
There are bead breaking tools you can use in the field of course, but in general if you intend to mount and dismount your own large tires stick with tube type stuff.
Billrog
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A good reason for tubes in the front tires on equipment is because they can turn very sharp and under the right conditions pop the tire off the bead.
Grumpycat
Elite Member
One can always drive over a tubeless tire with another vehicle to break the bead off the rim.
I have a mounting stand from No-Mar and have mounted about 60 tubeless motorcycle tires. It has a bead breaker which uses leverage.
I have a mounting stand from No-Mar and have mounted about 60 tubeless motorcycle tires. It has a bead breaker which uses leverage.
Grumpycat
Elite Member
Tubes are good for low pressure but tubeless is not going to come off easily at higher pressures. That said, ATVs run 3 PSI tubeless with few issues.