How heavy are the wheels?

Superduper · Aug 18, 2006

Wanted to remove the wheels/tires on JD3120 with filled rear tires but I was wondering whether I will bite off more than I can chew. My tires are 15-19.5 and look awfully heavy. Has anyone removed one of these wheels/tires and can it be done without using a big rig wheel/tire lift? I figure the water alone comes to 29 gallons or so for a water only weight of 246 +/- lbs. A 400lb rim/tire combination will be more than I can handle.

scott_vt · Aug 18, 2006

Superduper said:
Wanted to remove the wheels/tires on JD3120 with filled rear tires but I was wondering whether I will bite off more than I can chew. My tires are 15-19.5 and look awfully heavy. Has anyone removed one of these wheels/tires and can it be done without using a big rig wheel/tire lift? I figure the water alone comes to 29 gallons or so for a water only weight of 246 +/- lbs. A 400lb rim/tire combination will be more than I can handle.

Your gonna need a large engine hoist or another tractor with FEL and a nylon strap. Way too heavy for one man. I have my hands full when taking off the rim and tire on my Farmall A or Super A and those tires are not filled. I jack up the tractor so the tire is just off the ground and am able to roll it to another spot.

daTeacha · Aug 18, 2006

If you're inside, a chain hoist or come-along connected to something strong overhead will make life a lot easier.

ovrszd · Aug 19, 2006

scott_vt said:
Your gonna need a large engine hoist or another tractor with FEL and a nylon strap. Way too heavy for one man. I have my hands full when taking off the rim and tire on my Farmall A or Super A and those tires are not filled. I jack up the tractor so the tire is just off the ground and am able to roll it to another spot.

Sometimes we forget our rural farmer heritage. How do you think the olden farmers used to set their wheels out or in for differents seasons??? 40 years ago not one farmer in ten had a loader or a hoist. You do it by hand. After you drop it once and have to figure out how to get it standing back up, your skills will get better.

Break the lug bolts/nuts loose. Then jack it up until the tire just starts to lift. Take out all of the bolts/nuts except the most top one. Then jack again until you see the tire coming off the ground. Take out the last bolt/nut while holding the tire upright with one hand. Gently wiggle the wheel off the axle face and start twisting it back and forth to "walk" it away from the axle. Once it's free of the tractor it is very important to keep it upright and balanced with just enough weight pushing toward you for control. Then start rolling to wherever you are headed.

I can't count the times I've watched my Dad, brother or myself change tires on tractors this way. It was the only way to set the width for different applications. And on our Oliver tractor and Farmall M we are talking a tire a lot bigger than you are dealing with. Patience and steady control is the key.

daTeacha · Aug 19, 2006

I had occasion to walk in a parade in a small town today. There was an Oliver 1950 in the line with some very impressive tires. Picture 66-43.00x25s. For those still learning the tractor tire lingo, those tires were 66 inches from top to bottom, mounted on a 25 inch rim (made up for the purpose) and 43 inches wide! The guy had mounted Terra Gator tires on his tractor. Oh yeah, they were R-1 tread, too.

I would not want to try to stand one of those up by myself, especially if it was filled.

ovrszd · Aug 19, 2006

daTeacha said:
I had occasion to walk in a parade in a small town today. There was an Oliver 1950 in the line with some very impressive tires. Picture 66-43.00x25s. For those still learning the tractor tire lingo, those tires were 66 inches from top to bottom, mounted on a 25 inch rim (made up for the purpose) and 43 inches wide! The guy had mounted Terra Gator tires on his tractor. Oh yeah, they were R-1 tread, too.

I would not want to try to stand one of those up by myself, especially if it was filled.

I'm with you there!!! Twenty years ago I ran a Big "A". Had the tires off several times by hand. Good part is you could let the air out and they would stand by themselves so the risk of falling over was pretty small!!!

scott_vt · Aug 21, 2006

ovrszd said:
Sometimes we forget our rural farmer heritage. How do you think the olden farmers used to set their wheels out or in for differents seasons??? 40 years ago not one farmer in ten had a loader or a hoist. You do it by hand. After you drop it once and have to figure out how to get it standing back up, your skills will get better.

Break the lug bolts/nuts loose. Then jack it up until the tire just starts to lift. Take out all of the bolts/nuts except the most top one. Then jack again until you see the tire coming off the ground. Take out the last bolt/nut while holding the tire upright with one hand. Gently wiggle the wheel off the axle face and start twisting it back and forth to "walk" it away from the axle. Once it's free of the tractor it is very important to keep it upright and balanced with just enough weight pushing toward you for control. Then start rolling to wherever you are headed.

I can't count the times I've watched my Dad, brother or myself change tires on tractors this way. It was the only way to set the width for different applications. And on our Oliver tractor and Farmall M we are talking a tire a lot bigger than you are dealing with. Patience and steady control is the key.

Mornin Ovrzd,
I dont disagree with any of what you said, and I do the tires and rims on my two smaller Farmalls. But if I was going to do a large tractor tire like an M I would want another set of hands or some kind of lift. Your very right about no one having loaders back then, Im just thinkin easy