I should have had this done before delivery....

[warhammer]

I think I need to get the rear tires filled as I frequently spin the rear tires while doing work. I do not have a tractor hauler.
Would it be crazy to take just the wheels to a dealer and have it done? Can two people move a filled wheel without mayhem?
On my lower field the only access is down some terraced acreage. The tractor goes up and down these fine now with no feeling of instability. Needs to be in Mid with fwd on to go up. Would filled tires make this more unstable?

Warhammer

 

[JoelD]

I would think as a general comment filled tires would make more stable rather than less.

I don't know the size of your tires, but some can get super heavy filled, there must be some formula out there to calculate.

In a recent thread there was talk by I think Island with regards to how heavy filled tires are.

Joel

 

[IMCA38]

I filled my tires after the fact.
Not sure what you're planning on filling them with, but the Rim Guard website (Rim Guard - Liquid Tire Ballast) has a table under the "documentation" tab that shows gallons and weight of specific tire sizes. Bearing in mind that I have a small tractor, I pulled the rears off and loaded them in the back of my pickup with a "cherry picker" engine crane. I welded a U bolt to a piece of bar about a foot long and put that in the center hole of the wheel so I had something to hook the chain on, it worked fine. Once I got the loaded tires out of the truck, I stood them up and rolled them into place along the hub. Wasn't hard at all to re-install.

 

[jimmyj]

A good farm service or tire service should be able to come and do it at your place should they not?

 

[Ductape]

I had to remove my loaded tires to install wheel spacers............. they were waaaay heavier than I anticipated. I just rolled them a very short distance and leaned them against a wall. If one would have fallen on it's side, there would have beeen no way I could have lifted it back up. I'd guesstimate they weighed four hundred+ pounds each.

If I were looking to get tires filled, I'd probably remove them and bring them to the dealer myself as you suggested. You will want to have plenty of help getting them out of your truck or trailer when you get home though. Gawd help you if one falls on your foot !!

I've got RimGuard in mine and only have good things to say about loaded tires. They most definitely add stability to the tractor. The only down side I'd see is if you do alot of finish mowing...... they will tend to be a little tougher on a lawn because of the added weight.

Having them done at your place , as mentioned, is another good option. I'm just too stubborn (cheap?) to pay extra to have someone come out. Depending on your situation..... paying extra may be better than a smushed toe or other injury.

 

[IXLR8]

Doesn't TSC or some of the other tool places have the tools to install the fluid yourself? Then you need to deal with getting the fluid, but I have seen posts were folks here have done it.

 

[MarkV]

Why not fill them at home yourself? Your far enough south that water, environmentally friendly anti-freeze, a $15 valve from NAPA or TSC and a drill powered pump ($20?) is all that is needed. Do a search here and the procedure has been covered a number of times.

MarkV

 

[tydp]

Warhammer, Just go to Tractor Supply and get the nozzle that goes on the end of a garden hose and attaches to the valve stem. 1st, remove the schrader (sp?) valve inside the valve stem. Attach a funnel via a small tube to the stem. Put in a gallon or 2 of anti-freeze. Attach hose and fill to approx. 75% full. Repeat for other side. Done....Total cost with 1 gal anti-freeze in each tire, about $30....

 

[greenmule]

I got a guy who does that[he has a truck,pump and every thing else needed] come to my house and he did it in carport,tires stayed on tractor,took about 1 1/2 or so. Filled them with water and methinal.

Mine is a ck 30 with industral tires[same size I believe as ck25 and 35]. Put about 10 gal or so methinal in each tire mixed with water.Thats supposed to be good down to well below zero,don't know for sure know. Each tire held about 35 gal or so,which would be about280 lbs in each tire[Ithink?]
So tires and rims would probably weigh well over 300 lbs,maybe 350 or more?

That would be your best bet.

Methinal weighs about same as water,or maybe less,that beet juice is even heavier.

 

[Kioti4me]

I think I need to get the rear tires filled as I frequently spin the rear tires while doing work. I do not have a tractor hauler.
Would it be crazy to take just the wheels to a dealer and have it done? Can two people move a filled wheel without mayhem?
On my lower field the only access is down some terraced acreage. The tractor goes up and down these fine now with no feeling of instability. Needs to be in Mid with fwd on to go up. Would filled tires make this more unstable?

Warhammer

I recommend using Rimguard. Read about it, and save your rims. It's a great product at a low price.
Rim Guard - Liquid Tire Ballast

 

[mikim]

Ditto what tydp said .... we don't need anything fancy here in central Tx ..... just find the doohickey that connects to a water hose then to the tire valve ....TSC should have 'em.... I didn't even have antifreezer in my previous tractor. PS be sure your tire valve is at the top when you do this.

 

[IslandTractor]

A lot of good advice here. I would first agree that in central Texas you don't need something as expensive as RimGuard. If you don't get hard freezes more than occasionally or overnight then plain water should be fine. I plan on using windshield washer fluid (ie methanol/water mix) but I'm in a freeze zone.

The advice on filling tires yourself with adapters from TSC is right on but I didn't see anyone mention that you need to be careful to jack up the tire a little first and block the axle before you remove the valve mechanism. You don't want the tire unsupported. Most authorities (ie tire manufacturers) recommend not filling more than about 75% so you still have some air to allow the tire to be flexible. Best way to measure is simply to put the valve at about three quarters from the bottom (probably not right at the top unless you are going to carefully measure the fluid you put in).

I'd be REAL careful if you are thinking of removing the tire to fill it (no particular advantage for doing that other than taking the tire to the dealer). Remember these tires/wheels are heavy to begin with and that adding even plain water adds over 8 pounds per gallon. My DK40se rear tires will gain about 400lbs each when loaded with WWF and will end up weighing over 600lbs each. That is a potentially very dangerous thing to be manhandling.

 

[greenmule]

Rimguard is a little heavier than methinal and water,but costs more,methinal will not hurt your rims either[or anymore than rimguard]

 

[warhammer]

As always a lot of good info here!
Moving fluid filled wheels that weigh several hundred pounds does not sound like a plan if it can be avoided.
I had not considered filling the rims at the farm.
No water service at the farm yet. With the cost of the meter and the length of trench needed to put it in that project is a ways off. Perhaps a neighbor with water service is a possibility.

Warhammer

A lot of good advice here. I would first agree that in central Texas you don't need something as expensive as RimGuard. If you don't get hard freezes more than occasionally or overnight then plain water should be fine. I plan on using windshield washer fluid (ie methanol/water mix) but I'm in a freeze zone.

The advice on filling tires yourself with adapters from TSC is right on but I didn't see anyone mention that you need to be careful to jack up the tire a little first and block the axle before you remove the valve mechanism. You don't want the tire unsupported. Most authorities (ie tire manufacturers) recommend not filling more than about 75% so you still have some air to allow the tire to be flexible. Best way to measure is simply to put the valve at about three quarters from the bottom (probably not right at the top unless you are going to carefully measure the fluid you put in).

I'd be REAL careful if you are thinking of removing the tire to fill it (no particular advantage for doing that other than taking the tire to the dealer). Remember these tires/wheels are heavy to begin with and that adding even plain water adds over 8 pounds per gallon. My DK40se rear tires will gain about 400lbs each when loaded with WWF and will end up weighing over 600lbs each. That is a potentially very dangerous thing to be manhandling.

 

[IslandTractor]

As always a lot of good info here!
Moving fluid filled wheels that weigh several hundred pounds does not sound like a plan if it can be avoided.
I had not considered filling the rims at the farm.
No water service at the farm yet. With the cost of the meter and the length of trench needed to put it in that project is a ways off. Perhaps a neighbor with water service is a possibility.

Warhammer

For someone in Texas without access to piped water, it is still possible to truck in 40-50 gallons or so at a time and load the tires batchwise.

Windshield washer fluid is a good option in this situation too for those of us in freeze zones. You don't need to take the tires off and you don't need a water supply. It is a good time of year to buy it (I got some last summer for almost half the winter price from home despot). It comes obviously in managable one gallon containers and can be transported in batches. I currently have about 110 gallons stacked next to my barn and hopefully will get around to loading the tires this spring/summer.

 

[jimmyj]

The rimguard site says it won't freeze to -35. We get colder than that here sometimes. Would that mean I can't use this product?

The guys around here seem to use inner tubes with calcium chloride in them the most.

 

[Kioti4me]

The rimguard site says it won't freeze to -35. We get colder than that here sometimes. Would that mean I can't use this product?

The guys around here seem to use inner tubes with calcium chloride in them the most.

Yeah, I like it because it will not rust the rims on my new tractor. We used CC on the farm. One other thing ,it's suppose to plug holes in the tire too. Well, we'll see about that. It getts cold here, but I keep my trator in the shed and I run the heat if it gets to cold.

Have a great evening

 

[George in Spokane]

The other nice thing about Rimguard over CC is that it is just concentrated sugar water. So if it leaks out you don't have to worry about your well.

 

[California]

I'm in a location where I don't need freeze protection. And my rims have tubes in them.

So I made a special adapter to get from garden hose, to an ordinary tire fill valve that had the clip on it to keep it on the tire stem. Total cost zero since I already had everything. Here's my 'special adapter' (after I put the fill valve back where it belonged on my air hose).

Just stop once in a while to let air bleed out as you run the hose to put water in.

Oh and you should remove the Schrader valve from the tube, jack the tire an inch off the ground to get weight off it, and rotate the tire to establish the intended waterline inside. You can easily hear when the target is reached and the stem becomes submerged.

I filled mine to maximum, stem at 12:00, then later backed down to 50% fill (stem horizontal) after I realized the excess weight affected how easily I could drive up the grades that are everywhere here.